


La Belle Au Bois Dormant

by Anath_Tsurugi



Category: CLAMP - Works, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Alcohol, All The Ships, All the Clamp, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Anal Sex, Blood, Don't let the childhood fluff fool you, Eating Disorder, Fem-Yuui, Guilt, I've learned well from the ladies of CLAMP, Massive Crossover, Masturbation, Mind Rape, Mpreg, Multi, Oral Sex, PTSD, Pregnancy, Seriously graphic mind rape, Sleeping Beauty - Freeform, Vaginal Sex, Voyeurism, drunk teenagers, snake bites
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2016-01-19
Packaged: 2018-02-12 03:28:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 43
Words: 423,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2094015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anath_Tsurugi/pseuds/Anath_Tsurugi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Queen Sakura had longed for children for many years, but when Yuui and Fai are finally born to her, a terrible curse is placed upon their heads.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Once Upon Another Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I began this monster of a tale back in 2008 and finished it in 2011. Considering the precarious state of ff.net, I decided it was about time to move my baby over here. Hopefully, it will find just as loving a home on AO3 as it did on its first site. For anyone brave enough to take it on, I hope you enjoy this Sleeping Beauty story.

The story was always the same. The old woman came to the sleepy little village, bringing her tales of the old world: tales of brave warriors, of deeds good and bad, of powerful kings and queens, tales of the ancient faerie people and their hidden kingdom, tales of the wars of long ago, of love, hate, revenge, despair, defeat, and triumph…tales of nations that had long since turned to dust.

The ancient storyteller was of a different era…a dying breed. Some thought she may well have been the last of her kind in all the world. The time between her visits stretched longer and longer as the years passed because it took her so long to make the journey between each village. Everyone knew the old storyteller. She’d been a part of their lives for as long as anyone could remember. It was sometimes said she was well over a hundred years old.

They all knew and loved her. Several people had attempted to offer her a permanent place in their village, or at least a horse to make her long journeys a little easier on her aging legs, but she always refused. She always said the road was the only life for her. Someone had to keep the old stories alive.

She would never stay anywhere longer than a week. Her visits were treasured times and all work ceased in the evenings, sumptuous feasts were prepared, and those who wished to could gather around the bonfire in the meeting hall and listen to the old woman spin her stories. The older members of the audience would wait patiently for her to begin, having listened before and knowing she would come to it eventually. The younger ones, however, would pester her about what story she would tell.

“Tell the story of the Battle of Shirahime!” a dark-haired little boy demanded.

An even younger girl, his sister, put in shyly, “But I wanted to hear about the dragon and the phoenix.”

Yet another child, blond this time, asked, “Granny, would you please tell us about the mirror queen?”

The old storyteller chuckled at their antics. “Be patient, you little scamps. Can’t an old lady have a moment of peace? I’ve been walking for weeks and have only had a few moments rest and a few mouthfuls of stew. I bring you my wonderful stories and all you can do is nag me. Perhaps I should take my tales elsewhere?”

The children immediately settled down, sitting before her in a neat little row and apologizing for their behavior, begging her not to go.

“All right, all right. I suppose I might as well stay. I’ll come to all of your requests eventually. They are, after all, a part of the same story: the Tale of the Two Princes.”

A hush fell over the crowd at this. It was a story they had all grown up hearing, in fragments, anyway. No one told the tale quite like the old storyteller. It was said only she knew the whole story.

“It isn’t the oldest tale by any stretch of the imagination,” she began in a gravelly voice. “The history of the world goes back much further than those two, but they lived at a time when the world was changing, as it had not changed since the birth of the Nihon Empire. At that time, there was only one other country on our continent apart from the Nihon Empire: the kingdom of Valeria. It was all that remained of the ancient empire across the ocean, Gallia...

XxX

_Once upon a time, in the far away kingdom of Valeria, there lived a king and queen. The king, Syaoran, was a noble and just ruler, and his queen, Sakura, was wise and beautiful. They were kind and gentle rulers and under them, Valeria prospered as never before. However, as warm and caring as the young royal couple was, there was a dark cloud hanging over their reign. For many years, they had longed for children, but Sakura had been unable to conceive. Year after year, the young queen tried, but still her womb remained empty. But, finally, after so many months of failure and heartache, Sakura suddenly found herself two months gone with child._

XxX

"So, Yukito? Can you tell me what's wrong?" the nervous queen asked her high priest. Yukito had also been trained as the palace physician. Normally there wasn't a great need for his services as a doctor, but for the past two weeks Sakura had been violently sick most mornings. Every evening she would seem to be getting better, but by morning the sickness would always return. Both Syaoran and Touya had been getting worried and insisted that Yukito have a look at the young queen. At this point, he was fairly certain of what was "wrong" with her.

"Yes, Highness, I believe I know what the…eh…problem is. I hope you don't mind my asking, but I need to know…when was your last blood?"

Sakura tilted her head sideways, confused by the question, but thinking it over, nonetheless. "I…I'm not sure…I think…maybe…" A warm smile spread across the priest's face as comprehension dawned in the queen's sparkling green eyes.

"I…I'm…" The words refused to leave her mouth as her hands slowly traveled up to rest protectively against her womb.

"Yes, nearly two months would be my guess," he said, placing a hand atop hers. "In early spring, you will bear twins."

"Twins?" Sakura whispered, practically faint with joy and shock.

"You heard that, I take it?" Yukito suddenly called over his shoulder. At that, Touya's head appeared in the doorway to the king and queen's bedchamber.

"Only because I was eavesdropping," he said matter-of-factly as he swept into the room, dragging a bemused King Syaoran behind him. Touya was the only one other than Sakura who dared to manhandle Syaoran so. This was probably because he had been king before Syaoran. He had reigned in peace for several years, but once it became apparent to him that he would never be able to provide the kingdom with an heir because of his love for his childhood friend, Yukito, he had abdicated in favor of his little sister and her husband. Now he and the high priest were happily married and Syaoran and Sakura shared the throne and would soon produce the longed-for heir. Touya had no great love for his brother-in-law, but he apparently trusted him enough to leave his sister and the kingdom in his care. Syaoran still came to him for advice, though.

"Syaoran?" Sakura started, gazing at the young king with tears of joy in her eyes. Syaoran ran to his wife and seized her in a tight hug.

"Twins, Sakura. Twins! At last," he whispered to her as he lifted her from their bed and spun her around.

"Hey! Be careful with her!" Touya shouted. "You can't be so rough. She's going to be a mother."

The king blushed and quickly set his bride back down. "I'm sorry, Sakura! I didn't mean…I didn't hurt you, did I? Or the babies?"

"It's fine, Syaoran," the young woman said with a giggle. "I'm just so happy."

Syaoran was about to respond when he suddenly felt an arm around his neck.

"Now comes the part where I kill you for getting my baby sister pregnant, bozu."

"Now, Touya," Yukito began to scold. "If you wanted to do that, then you probably shouldn't have named him king in your place. He can have you beheaded, you know."

Touya released Syaoran with a grunt. "You're no fun. Besides, if you'll remember, I _didn't_ name him king. I named _Sakura_ queen in my place. He just happens to be her husband."

Syaoran and Sakura had long ago stopped listening to the banter of the priest and former ruler. Syaoran had settled himself next to Sakura on the bed and was holding her close once more.

"Sakura…it's so wonderful."

"I know. Children of our own…after all this time."

"There is one other thing, Majesties," Yukito said, hesitantly interrupting their tender embrace.

"Yes?" Sakura asked. Suddenly fearful, she placed a hand back upon her stomach.

"Surely, Queen Sakura, you know by now that you are beloved of the faerie folk. After so many months of bareness, these babies are surely a gift from the faerie king. You must be certain to thank the fey properly when the time comes."

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as she collapsed back into her husband's arms. She'd been afraid that something was amiss.

"We'll thank them a thousand times over," Syaoran whispered in her ear as they cuddled. "We'll invite the whole court to the naming if we must."

XxX

"A very kind sentiment, King Syaoran, but unnecessary," the faerie king, Clow Reed, commented as he surveyed the happy scene.

"Well, if you don't plan on sending the entire court to the naming ceremony, whom will you send? Do you…plan on going yourself?" his right hand faerie, Kimihiro Watanuki, asked, sounding more than a little surprised.

"Since you asked, Kimihiro, I believe I will send the three of you."

"Yay! A party!" Himawari Kunogi cheered from her place beside Watanuki. She quickly stood and began to dance in circles around the reflecting pool where they were all gathered. "Flowers, music, wine, cake, little baby humans! Won't it be so much fun, Kimihiro!" she sang as she swept Watanuki and their remaining companion, Shizuka Doumeki, into a big group hug. Watanuki had been grumbling about the prospect of having to attend a human celebration. He did not much care for humans. But the instant Himawari started dancing for joy, he gave her a reluctant smile. She was, after all, his adopted sister, and there was very little he could deny her. Doumeki, on the other hand, remained as stoic as ever.

"You sense something," he noted, phrasing it as a statement of fact rather than a question.

"I do," the king said sadly as he gazed down on the beautiful queen and her husband in the throes of their joy. "Queen Sakura is a wonderful woman, a friend to our people and a pure spirit. I imagine that's why Yuuko chose to hate her so much."

"What's Yuuko got to do with these babies?" Doumeki asked. Yuuko was a very powerful, very insane faerie who had been banished from Faerie many centuries ago for treason. Once, she had been Clow's wife, but now she was the queen of the Dark Court, the group of faeries who had followed her into exile.

"I believe Yuuko was jealous of the fact that I chose to bestow my favor upon the queen. So she cursed her womb with infertility. But Sakura is a good person. I couldn't stand to see her suffer any longer, so I intervened in Yuuko's curse and allowed King Syaoran's seed to take root, just this once. These children will always have a touch of fey magic in them."

"So…what is it you fear from Yuuko, Your Highness?" Doumeki continued to question.

"I'm afraid she might try something at the ceremony, when they've survived the first five months and are officially anointed royal children. Knowing her, she won't try to harm them until after they're born. She'll give Sakura a chance to see them first...to love them. When the time comes, I want the three of you to go to Valeria and do what you can to protect the babies."

"As you wish, Majesty," Watanuki said solemnly.

XxX

_Just as the high priest foretold, early in the spring, the queen brought forth twin babies, a girl and boy, named Yuui and Fai. A great holiday was proclaimed for all of Valeria on the day of their naming ceremony so that all of high or low estate might pay homage to the longed for infants. Among them were the rulers of the empire of Nihon, Ashura and Amaterasu. The two ruling families had been friends and allies for many generations and had fondly dreamed of the day when their two kingdoms could be united as one. And so, on this day, they would announce that Kurogane, Ashura's son and heir, to the eldest twin, Yuui, would be betrothed._

XxX

The babies lying in the cradle were both very pink and very chubby, neither of which was an attribute the three-year-old Prince Kurogane cared for. He really didn't understand why all the grownups were making such a big fuss over them. You couldn't play with them. They didn't talk or do anything interesting. They just…lay there. Occasionally, one would kick out a pudgy, useless limb or make an inane baby noise that the adults found oh so cute, but that the young prince just thought were annoying. Why were they paying attention to the twins? They _should_ be paying attention to _him_! _He_ could actually do things that were interesting. He could climb tall trees. He could lick his own elbow. He could jump out his bedroom window and land in the branches of the sakura tree just beyond it. When it struck his fancy, he could cover every inch of skin and clothing with mud. One point that was of particular pride to the boy was that he could yell loud enough to make the castle windows shake. He could even use his toy sword to do some of those tricks his father's guards had taught him. He was the _height_ of interesting! But the grownups would still rather coo and fuss over the twins. Seriously? What was wrong with them?

"Don't be shy, Kurogane," his father said, having noticed him staring into the cradle. "Give little Yuui-chan your gift."

The little boy just rolled his eyes. He wasn't standing here staring at these boring lumps of… _boring_ because he was shy. He was still standing here because he couldn't for the life of him figure out which one was Yuui and he wasn't about to ask for help. But, luckily for him, Queen Sakura seemed to realize what the problem was, so she knelt down beside him and whispered conspiratorially in his ear, "Yuui's the one on the right, the one farthest away from you."

Kurogane nodded his understanding and stretched his clenched fist toward the baby. He opened it and allowed the gift to dangle from his fingers over the little girl's head. It was a small pendant hanging from a silver chain. The pendant was in the shape of a crescent moon and it was set with deep blue sapphires. His mother had given it to him to give to Yuui. She'd told him it was his father's gift to her on their wedding night. He had always worn the pendant's twin: a golden sun pendant set with blazing red rubies. Kurogane had seen them place the two pendants together before. When joined the crescent moon fit perfectly into the embrace of the sun's rays. His father had told him he would give him the pendant "when the time was right"…whatever _that_ meant. His mother had said the necklaces would be good luck for him and Yuui. Good luck for what? Were they going to be playing on the same ball team someday?

The only problem with his parents' brilliant gift-giving plan was that the baby girl didn't seem particularly interested in his gift. She gave the silver and blue thing a passing glance, but immediately turned her attention back to her own feet, seeing if she could grasp them and put them in her mouth.

"Hey," he started, dangling it closer to her face. "Don'tcha want it?"

She clearly didn't - but someone else did. The other baby, whom Kurogane had completely forgotten about in his attempt to be rid of his present and get away from the crib, reached out and snatched the shining, dangling object and promptly began to suck on it.

"Hey!" he said angrily, snatching the necklace back. "Tha's not yours, you brat!"

Afraid of the harsh voice and distraught over the loss of his new toy, baby Fai's lower lip began to tremble and his big baby blue eyes began to fill with tears. He opened his mouth wide to scream…

"No! Don't! Shh!" Kurogane hissed urgently. Afraid the adults would spank him for making the baby cry, he quickly jammed the pendant back into Fai's open mouth. Fai looked surprised for a moment, but lacking the mental capacity to question his sudden good fortune, he seized the silver chain in his pudgy, sticky fingers and went back to contentedly sucking on the crescent moon.

"Fine!" Kurogane said, angrily turning to stomp away from the cradle. The boy was more than a little irked that he'd been outmatched by a baby. "Keep it, brat! I don't care!"

"Don't worry," Sakura whispered soothingly to him as he passed her. She had seen the whole thing. "I'll see that it gets to the right person."

Kurogane blushed slightly, feeling like a stupid little kid for losing his temper in front of the queen. He liked her. She was nice. The boy continued on toward his parents with a little less petulance in his step.

Sakura smiled warmly after the young prince. He was a good boy. He would make Yuui a fine husband. The queen was still basking in the glow of her joy when she began to notice an actual shimmering glow in the middle of the throne room. The people gathered in the room all began to chatter indistinctly as the light grew brighter. Before long, three figures could be seen in the ray of light. Two male and one female, they moved so lightly across the floor they almost seemed to float.

"Fey," Sakura whispered to her husband as he leaned curiously forward in his throne.

"Your Majesties," the three faeries said as one as they bowed before the royal couple. The shorter of the two males, who seemed to be the leader, quickly stepped forward. He was dressed all in red and garlands of new spring flowers were draped across his body. The scent of spring followed him wherever he went.

"Unfortunately, King Reed could not answer your invitation directly. He sends us in his stead to offer his gifts and blessings to your children. I am Kimihiro Watanuki. To my right is Himawari Kunogi. Allow her to present the first gifts."

The fey woman stepped forward, her movements even swifter and lighter than her two companions'. Her delicate frame was wrapped in green fabric and rabbit pelts. Her curly black hair hung unbound to her waist. The scent that wafted in the air around her was not quite so easily distinguished as Watanuki's was. The only thing that was certain was that it was the scent of something wild. In her arms, she held two…things. They were unlike anything the king and queen had ever seen. One was black and the other was white. They had long ears and feet like rabbits but that was where the similarities to any known animal ended. They had little round bodies like…cream puffs, really, and stubby paws.

"These are the Mokona Modoki," Himawari introduced cheerfully. "Faerie animals from King Reed. They will be companions and guardians to the prince and princess."

Syaoran nodded his agreement and Himawari quickly went to place the fey animals in the cradle. Yuui giggled happily and grabbed at the shimmering blue jewel in the black Mokona's forehead. Fai reached out curiously and grabbed the white Mokona's long ears. Then he pulled hard, just to see what would happen. The little white thing moaned in pain.

"Ears! Ears!" it squeaked in a voice so small that only Himawari and the babies could hear. Himawari smiled and gently removed Mokona's ears from the baby's strong grasp. Fai squealed with delight at the smile the Faerie woman was giving him. He reached his tiny hands up toward her, asking to be picked up. Himawari shook her head and smiled once more as she backed up.

"And now each of us the children may bless with our own gifts," Watanuki explained before making his own way toward the crib. As he gazed down at the babies, the faerie suddenly felt a change sweep through him. Before this moment, the proceedings had been just business as usual. But now, these children, looking at them…he felt a warmth he hadn't felt for a very long time. His own mother had been dead for many centuries. The only people he had that he considered family were Himawari, her father, and…okay, fine, that idiot, Doumeki, too. But these twins, seeing their innocent, helpless, smiling faces, he felt an immediate kinship with them.

"You sly trickster," he said of Reed as he reached down both hands to run gentle fingers over their chubby cheeks. The king had known this would happen. He knew his advisor too well to think he _wouldn't_ develop a soft spot for the little ones, human or not. He would certainly have no trouble honoring his vow to protect them.

Yuui suddenly seized one of his fingers with both her tiny hands and placed it in her mouth. Smiling her sweet baby smile, the little princess began to suck contentedly on the digit. Watanuki gave the baby girl a warm smile before reluctantly taking back his hand.

"Little babies, receive unto thee the gift of beauty," he whispered to the two of them. "Grace and gentleness, and skill with all things born from the Earth." Then he placed a gentle kiss on each of their foreheads before stepping back and allowing Himawari forward to give her own gifts.

"Sweet children," she said softly as she reached into the cradle and picked up little Yuui "I grant thee wisdom and the voice of the forest. Song, the voice to speak with all things wild." As Himawari gave the child in her arms a gentle nuzzle, the girl reached out with her pudgy fingers and seized a tendril of her glossy black hair. The faerie laughingly extricated her hair from Yuui's grip before laying her back down upon her bed of blue silk.

Last to approach the cradle was Doumeki. Syaoran and Sakura watched this faerie with more than a little apprehension. He had not spoken once since the trio's arrival and he was by far the most physically imposing of the three. He was dressed in shades of blue and gray and wind played about his crown of jet-black hair. A bow and quiver of arrows were slung over his shoulders. Lightning flashed in his amber eyes. The scent that accompanied his movements was unmistakable. It was the scent of ozone, of lightning, married together with the fresh breath of spring rain. He was as peaceful and volatile as the spring sky.

Doumeki said nothing as he gazed down at the twins. He could feel tension somewhere in this place - like the calm before the violence of the storm. It was building, getting louder, centering on these innocent children.

"Have a care," he whispered to them as he reached down into the cradle and lifted Fai from his resting place. He held the little boy close as he turned to face the center of the throne room, as if to protect him from what was to come.

Watanuki and Himawari both caught his gaze and allowed their own eyes to follow it. It was coming…what the king had feared. For a while, everything had seemed peaceful and Watanuki had hoped they wouldn't be needed, but he now saw he'd been foolish to hope Yuuko wouldn't make a move.

Syaoran, Sakura, Touya, Yukito, Ashura, and Amaterasu were all shocked to see an actual storm spring up from the place the three faeries watched. A scorching wind tore through the great hall, shredding banners and snuffing out torches. The gale crescendoed and came to its peak as a sickly yellow-green light appeared at its center. Out of the pale globe a figure appeared.

Yuuko was tall and achingly slender. Her skin was a sickly shade of white that came from living without sunlight for many years. Her vindictive eyes were like blood and her hair was the color of darkness. She wore a black gown that left little to the imagination. Twin ravens were perched on her shoulders and in her hands, she held a long golden staff that was topped by a glowing emerald orb. None of the humans could quite name the scent that followed her, but it was something sharp and distinctly metallic.

"Yuuko," Sakura whispered, her mouth going dry. Doumeki instinctively clutched the infant he held tighter.

"Well," Yuuko began derisively as she glanced around the great hall. "Quite an excellent gathering, Queen Sakura. Royalty, nobility, the gentry, th-" She paused briefly when her eyes fell on the three faeries. Then she laughed condescendingly. "How quaint. Even Reed's lackeys." Watanuki glared at the insult. Himawari, fearing that he meant to act on his anger, placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"I must say, I felt quite distressed at not receiving an invitation to the ceremony," she continued conversationally. "Am I so much less a ruler than Clow?"

"You wonder why? You weren't wanted!" Watanuki said angrily, his fear for the children clouding his better judgment.

"Not wan-" Yuuko's voice broke off. She played the part of astonishment to the hilt. The mortals didn't know what to make of her, but she and the other faeries were well aware of what was really going on here. "Oh, my. What an awkward situation. I was hoping it was merely due to an oversight. Well, in any case, I'd best be on my way," she said, turning as if she truly meant to leave.

"And…you're not offended, Yuuko-sama?" Sakura asked nervously, slowly moving to stand in front of the crib where her daughter still lay. Doumeki moved to stand beside her.

"Why _no_ , Sakura-sama. Of _course_ not," she said in a sickeningly sweet voice, turning back toward the royal dais. "And to show I bear you no ill will…I, too, shall bestow a gift on the children."

Watanuki and Himawari took up defensive positions in front of the crib, though they were well aware their own power didn't hold a candle to Yuuko's. Doumeki turned slightly to hide Fai from Yuuko's sight, as if that would actually help. The faerie's heart twisted painfully when he felt the infant's tiny hands grab at the blue fabric of his tunic, seeking comfort, for he had none to give.

"Listen well, all of you," Yuuko said with a grand sweep of her arms.

Sakura threw herself across the cradle. "Please, Yuuko-sama! Not my babies! My children!" she begged.

"Fine gifts the king's servants have granted these children. The twins shall indeed grow in grace and wisdom…beloved by all who know them," Yuuko narrated. "However…before the stroke of midnight on their eighteenth birthday, Princess Yuui shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel...and _die_!"

"NO!" Sakura screamed, seizing her baby daughter in her arms and holding her tightly against her chest.

"And of course, Prince Fai will perish from grief soon afterward. It shall all be as I have said!" the wicked faerie queen declared with a bout of cruel laughter.

"Seize her!" Syaoran commanded angrily.

"Stand back, you fools!" Yuuko snarled as green flames erupted from her very skin, terrifying the guards who had surrounded her.

"Take it back, witch!" a lone voice suddenly sounded above the tumult. The terrified guards parted ranks to clear a path between Yuuko and the owner of the voice…Emperor Ashura.

"And just what are you going to do about it, little man-thing?" Yuuko asked condescendingly, the green fire glowing brighter and hotter.

"I will _make_ you take it back!" he declared boldly as he moved toward her. Watanuki, Himawari, and Doumeki all looked on in shock. It was true that Nihon's emperor was not unschooled in magic but - to see a human standing up to Yuuko like this - they had never seen its like, and considering what would come of it, they were not likely to see its like ever again.

The emperor raised his hands and fired a bolt of magic at the dark faerie. Yuuko's eyes widened briefly as she watched the attack move toward her. Then she easily raised her staff and absorbed the bolt. The next instant, before anyone even realized what had happened, Yuuko sent the bolt of magic flying back at the emperor. There was nothing anyone could have done. Ashura didn't even see the attack, let alone have time to dodge it. It struck him head on, sending him crashing to the floor.

"ASHURA!" Amaterasu screamed as she raced toward her fallen husband. Kurogane was hot on her heels, brandishing his toy sword at the evil woman.

Yuuko laughed then. She laughed at the dying Nihon emperor and his grieving wife and bewildered child, at Queen Sakura, sobbing over her daughter's tiny body as if she were already dead, at the twins, howling at the pain her curse had caused, at King Syaoran, standing with his fists hanging at his sides in a helpless rage, at the anger and sadness on the faces of Watanuki and Himawari, at the impassive face of Doumeki, who still held the wailing Fai tightly in his arms. It was all so terribly delicious.

Finally, the green flames consumed the faerie entirely and she and her birds were gone as if they had never been, but her laughter echoed in the hall long after she was gone.

"Oh, Yuui! Fai! My babies! _My babies_!" Sakura cried helplessly. Syaoran moved to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to sooth her. Touya and Yukito rushed over to the fallen Ashura.

"Ashura!" Amaterasu cried softly as she cradled her husband's head in her lap. "Don't leave me."

"I'm sorry, Tera," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "It's my fault. I knew I couldn't defeat her. But…I had to try…"

"It's all right," Touya said gently as he knelt beside Amaterasu. "Rest easy, my friend. I _know_ Sakura appreciates what you tried to do…and the twins will know of your sacrifice."

Ashura laid his head back and closed his eyes, smiling gratefully. "Kurogane?" he called softly to his son. The boy quickly sidled up to his father. He didn't really understand what was happening. Why was his father lying down?

"Kurogane…I'm- sorry…sorry, I have to go."

"Go? Go where?"

Ashura didn't speak. Instead he reached shaking hands behind his neck and undid the clasp of his sun pendant. Then he clasped it around his son's neck.

"Remember- it's a symbol of great strength. But…strength without direction…is nothing. It is protection and love, too. Use your strength…to protect the ones you love." Then Ashura pulled his wife and son very close.

"I will always be with you." Then he spoke no more. His final breath passed his lips and his head fell back onto Amaterasu's lap. The bereft empress laid her head down on her husband's still chest and wept silently in an attempt to spare her son her grief.

"Tou-san?" Kurogane called out, shaking his father's shoulder to try and wake him. "Tou-san?"

Touya and Yukito both turned away from the horrible sight, wanting to give the little family even the tiniest bit of privacy. The priest and former king moved back toward their own family just in time to hear Watanuki attempt to console the young royal couple.

"You mustn't despair, Your Majesties. Doumeki still has his gift to give."

"Then…he can undo this terrible curse?" Syaoran asked, turning desperate eyes toward the stoic faerie.

"No, Sire," Doumeki answered, a small sigh escaping his mouth as he laid Fai back down in the cradle.

"Yuuko's powers are far too great," Watanuki said regretfully.

"But he can help," Himawari said, turning hopeful eyes toward her companion.

"Bring Yuui here," Doumeki said, patting the place next to Fai. There was a heaviness in his voice that his companions were painfully unused to hearing from the taller faerie.

Doumeki did not _do_ regret. Regret only made things harder for beings who lived for many thousands of years. So he couldn't for the nigh eternal life of him understand why he felt so guilty for being unable to protect these two small lives. By the time their bones were dust, he would look the exact same as he did on the day of their birth, but…if he could not save them…he knew it was something he would regret until the end of his days.

The Mokona glanced worriedly up at Doumeki as he placed his hands on the twins' foreheads. He closed his eyes and he prayed with all his might, calling down power as he spoke the words of his gift.

"Innocent children, these words of the spindle must come to pass, but all hope is not lost. You will not die, heirs of Valeria. You'll only fall asleep…a dark sleep, to appease the whispers of death. Only the sign of a lover's heart's pure yearning can end such a sleep. Only true love's kiss can break this curse."

Doumeki opened his eyes and gazed down at the twins again. Yuui had fallen asleep under the warm glow of his magic, but Fai remained awake, looking curiously up at him. The baby boy had placed his own small hands upon his larger one. It was probably just his addled conscience, but there was something…almost sad in the infant's stare. As if he had already failed them…

"I'm sorry," he whispered as he lifted the baby into his arms once more. "It's the best hope I can give you."

XxX

_But King Syaoran, still fearful of his children's lives, did then and there decree that every spinning wheel in the kingdom should on that very day be burned._

_And so, it was done._

XxX

"Ridiculous nonsense," Watanuki muttered to himself as he gazed down at the blazing pile of spinning wheels from his place at the window. He and his two companions were the only ones remaining in the great hall. The Nihon royals had been planning on staying about a week, but now they had to return much sooner. Amaterasu and her son had to escort Emperor Ashura's body home for burial. It had taken the empress several hours to pry the little boy away from his body. Syaoran had gone off to oversee the burning of the spinning wheels and Sakura had disappeared with the twins.

Watanuki's thoughtful glare remained on his face as he paced back toward his two friends, sitting on the steps of the royal dais. Himawari was daintily chowing down on a handful of tiny cakes and Doumeki was drinking directly from a bottle of red wine.

"A bonfire won't stop Yuuko, you know," the storm sprite said to him, offering him the bottle as he sat down beside him. Watanuki raised an eyebrow at this, but eventually accepted his friend's offer and took a swig from the bottle.

"Of course not," he agreed as he handed the bottle back to Doumeki. "But what _will_?"

"Well…perhaps if we were to reason with her-" Himawari started.

"Reason? With _Yuuko_?" Doumeki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She can't be _all_ bad," the younger faerie insisted.

"Oh, yes, she can!" Watanuki shot back vehemently. Himawari had not yet been born when Yuuko was banished. She didn't remember, didn't _know_ , what the insane faerie was capable of.

"But the king asked us to protect the babies. Yuuko could come and force her curse on them at any time. What can we do?" Himawari wondered hopelessly.

"I don't know," Watanuki replied with a sigh of exasperation. "Yuuko will be expecting us to do something crazy like turn them into trees or some such just to keep them from her."

"What _won't_ she expect?" Doumeki wondered, more to himself than the other two. "She knows everything."

"Oh, but she doesn't, Doumeki," Himawari said with a small smile. "Yuuko doesn't know anything about love, or kindness, or the joy of helping others. You know, sometimes I don't see how she can be very happy."

Watanuki snatched the wine bottle from Doumeki and took another swig as he mulled over Himawari's words. Love…kindness…helping others? Maybe…they could…

"Of course!" the nature sprite shouted as he leapt up from the steps and turned to face the other two. "You're brilliant, Himawari! It's the only thing she _can't_ understand and _won't_ expect! Now, let's see. We have to plan it carefully," Watanuki said to himself as he began to pace the hall. Himawari drifted to her feet and followed after him, confused as to what he was talking about.

"The woodcutter's cottage, yes…the abandoned one…of course, the king and queen will object. But when we explain it's the only way-"

"Explain what?" Doumeki asked, remaining in his spot.

"About the three peasants raising two foundling children deep in the forest," Watanuki said, looking rather pleased with himself.

"That's…very nice of them," Himawari began slowly, still confused. "Who are they?"

Watanuki snapped his fingers and was instantly dressed in peasant garb. Himawari and Doumeki glanced down at their own clothing and found that they, too, were suddenly dressed as peasants.

"Oh! It's _us_!" Himawari squealed in delighted realization as she spun in circles, her skirt twirling around her.

" _We_ us?" Doumeki asked, sounding more than a little surprised as he stood up to inspect his own clothing.

"Take care of the babies?" Himawari asked gleefully.

"Why not?"

"Are you sure you're up to it, idiot? We'll have to feed them-"

"And wash them and dress them and rock them to sleep," Himawari sang. "Oh, I'd love it!"

"You realize we'll have to do this without magic, don't you? If we want to keep them hidden, we can't be drawing attention to ourselves. If we can help it, we probably shouldn't even let Yuui and Fai know we're fey. Can you live without magic for eighteen years?" Doumeki asked the shorter faerie, tilting his head curiously to one side.

Watanuki sighed resignedly and squared his shoulders. He wasn't going to delude himself into thinking this would be easy, but he had sworn to protect these children, sworn to his king…and sworn to himself. He would do what was necessary.

"If humans can do it, so can we. And my name's not 'idiot'. It's Kimihiro Watanuki to you! I _am_ the king's chief advisor after all."

"Doesn't make you any less of an idiot," Doumeki mumbled to himself as he shoved his fingers into his ears to spare himself Watanuki's further ranting, though he couldn't quite manage to keep a faint smirk from tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Hey! Are you listening to me?" Watanuki shouted as he pulled Doumeki's fingers out of his ears. "Do you _want_ to get left behind? If you do, that's fine with me, but Himawari and I are going to see the king and queen." Having said so, Watanuki spun on his heels and stalked out of the throne room with Himawari close behind. Doumeki allowed another slight smirk to grace his normally unreadable face as he rose to join them. This wouldn't be so bad. Goddess knew he could use an eighteen-year vacation from the court, raising two human children who would know him for him and not for his reputation. Selfish as he felt for taking these babies away from their parents, he relished the thought of being a guardian to them.

XxX

_And so, King Syaoran and Queen Sakura watched with heavy hearts as their most precious possessions, their own children, disappeared into the night._

XxX

The forest of Celes lay between the kingdoms of Valeria and Nihon. Neither kingdom had ever claimed the large piece of territory - neither dared to. It was a place where the lines between light and darkness blurred beyond recognition. One was either very brave or very foolish to enter its boundaries. Things both beautiful and harrowing lived within its depths. It was the bridge between the human realms and the land of Faerie.

It was this place that Watanuki, Doumeki, and Himawari sought. They had all been somewhat relieved to be out from under the saddened eyes of the king and queen as they stole away from the palace under cover of darkness. It hadn't been easy to convince them, but in the end they had all agreed it would be best for the twins if the three faeries fostered them within the relative safety of Celes Forest, where Yuuko could not get to them. They had been moving silently through the forest for what felt like hours now. The two Mokona were perched lightly on Watanuki's shoulders. Himawari held a sleeping Yuui, wrapped tightly in a pink blanket. Doumeki carried Fai, swaddled in a blue blanket. He, too, was sleeping, but not quite as peacefully as his sister. Doumeki just hoped he would at least stay asleep until they reached the safety of the cottage.

Almost as if he'd heard Doumeki's thoughts, Watanuki stopped in his tracks and pointed up ahead.

"There. Just beyond that grove."

At first, the other two didn't see anything. But as they moved closer, something manmade began to take shape in the darkness. The small, two-story cottage had been almost completely swallowed up by the forest. It had originally been built by a woodcutter who thought he could make a decent business by selling off the supposedly magic wood of the trees. However, it hadn't taken long for the forest to let him know that his lucrative ideas weren't welcome there. His cottage had been empty for years.

"Looks like we've got a lot of work ahead of us," Watanuki said as he wrenched the door open. From what they could see in the darkness, the house was just as thickly covered with foliage on the inside as it was on the outside.

"Well, we've got eighteen years to clean up," Himawari said cheerfully. "But we've been walking for a while and I think we're all tired. Let's leave it 'til morning."

The other two silently agreed and they all spread out through the cottage, searching for suitable pieces of foliage to make a rough bed for the twins. Once they had gathered a decent pile of leaves, Doumeki and Himawari laid their new foster children down on the makeshift pallet. Then the three faeries all lay down in a protective circle around them. The Mokona quickly moved in and snuggled up with the babies. However, even in this warm, safe atmosphere, one must not forget the fact that Fai and Yuui were both newborns. Fai was the first to wake up crying for his mother. At the sound of her twin's tears, Yuui was soon awake and yowling as well. Their new guardians quickly sat up but Himawari motioned for her two friends to lie back down as she gathered both babies in her arms.

"Shh, little ones. It's all right. I'm here. Everything's all right," she soothed, holding both of them close and gently rocking them. Then, ever so softly, she began to sing to them.

_Come, stop your crying._

_It'll be all right._

_Just take my hands_

_Hold them tight._

_I will protect you_

_From all around you._

_I will be here._

_Don't you cry._

Himawari didn't even need magic. The sound of her voice alone was enough to sooth the crying children. Slowly, they began to drift back to sleep. Even Watanuki and Doumeki found themselves being swept away by her sweet lullaby.

_For ones so small_

_You seem so strong._

_My arms will hold you,_

_Keep you safe and warm._

_This bond between us_

_Can't be broken._

_I will be here._

_Don't you cry._

Himawari laid Yuui and Fai back down inside the circle they'd made for them and the Mokona cuddled back up with them. As she lay back down herself, she rested a hand in between the twins. Yuui took her thumb and began sucking on it. Fai contented himself with simply holding onto her pinky finger. The young faerie smiled warmly, filled with a maternal peace she had never known before. As her own eyes drifted shut, she sang the last words of the song

' _Coz you'll be in my heart._

_Yes, you'll be in my heart._

_From this day on,_

_Now and forever more._

_You'll be in my heart,_

_No matter what they say._

_You'll be here in my heart_

_Always._

"Always," the three whispered together, too tired to even be aware of each other's voices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So of course "You'll Be in My Heart" is from Tarzan. You'll see a lot of those throughout the story, as my intent when I first wrote it was to have at least one lullaby in each chapter. I'll always let you know where each one comes from. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed and are looking forward to next week's update.


	2. One Gift

"Oi!" Watanuki called down into the house. "Toss up some more hay!"

The little family had been in the cottage almost a week and had thoroughly cleaned out its interior. They had decided it would be best to leave the exterior covered. It would help to hide the small dwelling. But there were several small holes in the thatched roof that needed to be repaired. Watanuki was sitting on the roof now doing just that. Doumeki and Himawari were in the living room below, feeding Fai and Yuui goat's milk from bottles.

"We should probably think about setting wards up around this place," Doumeki commented, completely ignoring Watanuki.

"Won't Yuuko be able to sense that?"

"Not this deep in the forest. There's too much magic here for her to pick out one little warding. Besides, once she's searched all of Valeria, she'll automatically assume we've taken the twins to Faerie."

"But…Yuuko can't get into Faerie."

"Maybe _she_ can't. But she has ways of seeing inside the court. And when she figures out that they aren't there, I'd personally like a little more standing in between them and her legions than a few trees."

"That wasn't a suggestion!" Watanuki snarled. "Unless you want the twins to get rained on and catch cold, you'll get me the rest of that hay!"

Doumeki rolled his eyes and laid Fai down in the rough cradle he'd cobbled together for the babies. Fai whimpered a little at the loss of contact, but soon contented himself with his favorite chew toy…the moon pendant the young prince had "given" him. Sakura had never gotten around to giving it to Yuui and Doumeki didn't have the heart to take it from him; the little boy loved it so much. Plus, it kept him quiet when he wasn't being held. No such luck with Yuui. She had to be held constantly.

As Doumeki moved to help Watanuki with the last hole, Himawari moved to sit beside the cradle to watch Fai suck on the sapphire moon as his sister continued to suck greedily on her bottle of milk.

"Who's a cute little baby?" she cooed down at him. Fai left off sucking on the pendant and smiled shyly up at Himawari. She wasn't his mother. He could tell that just by the scent of her whenever she held him. But she still made him feel safe and warm. He liked her. He also liked the other two who would hold him and his sister. They were nice.

When Yuui finally decided that she'd had enough milk, she glanced toward her brother and saw him smiling. The little girl giggled with delight and reached her small hand out toward him. Yuui liked it when her brother smiled. Fai, in turn, saw his sister's happy face and reached his own fingers up toward her. Himawari gasped and an enchanted smile spread across her face. She leaned closer to the cradle, allowing their hands to touch. Identical looks of surprise blossomed upon the children's faces at the new sensation. But the surprise soon melted into joy and wonder.

"Watanuki! Doumeki! Come and see!" the animal sprite squealed ecstatically. Doumeki was by her side in an instant, fearing trouble. His approach was followed by an exceedingly loud _thump_ from outside. Watanuki stormed through the door mere moments later, reeking of some foul odor and rubbing his sore backside.

"Not that I don't just _love_ falling off a roof and landing in a pile of horse leavings, but when…you…" the angry faerie's voice faded off into nothing when he saw the twins' fingers twined together. His hands, which had been gesticulating wildly only moments before, dropped uselessly to his sides and a warm, enraptured smile washed away the anger in his eyes. A small smile even tugged at the corner of Doumeki's mouth.

The spell was broken when Himawari laid Yuui down in the cradle next to Fai and the twins fell fast asleep, full, happy, and still holding hands.

"You were saying something?" Doumeki suddenly asked.

"Oh…er…yeah," Watanuki said slowly, trying to remember what it was. "The…uh…roof's finished."

"Good thing, too, because you need a bath and it's about noon. The twins are fed but the rest of us are getting hungry."

Watanuki was about to go off on a screaming tirade when Himawari gracefully leapt to her feet and placed a finger against her lips, pointing toward the cradle to remind him that the babies were asleep. Watanuki cringed slightly, happy that she'd reminded him in time. But he would not let Doumeki have the last word. He turned back to him and started hissing.

"I am _not_ your slave! Make your own damn lunch! And I will take a bath when I'm good and ready!"

Doumeki said nothing. He simply held up three fingers in front of Watanuki's face.

"What the hell?!"

Two fingers.

"What are you doing?!"

One finger.

"I don't-"

Zero fingers.

"Oh, Watanuki, why won't you make lunch? No one can cook like you can," Himawari implored with another oh-so-charming smile.

"Coming right up, Himawari."

XxX

Watanuki grumbled to himself as he trudged through the thick forest.

"Stupid Doumeki. Wanting to set the warding so far away from the house! But still," he mumbled, glancing over his shoulder, "if it's for you…"

Yuui was strapped to his back in a sling made of white rabbit fur. Himawari had made it and one identical to it for Doumeki to carry Fai in. It would take all three of them to set up a descent barrier and none of them felt comfortable leaving the children at home yet. Not even with the Mokona around. Now they were all placed in a circle around the glen where their little cottage was. Yuui with him, Fai with Doumeki, the Mokona with Himawari.

 _Ready?_ He asked in his head.

 _Ready_ , the other two responded immediately. As one, the three raised their arms and began to chant.

" _Oh, things possessing will, gather together with me to twirl the shadows that flicker to create this shape. For the true form of the ultimate one can achieve strength within. Let there be light in that which forms the cornerstone!_ "

A thin circle of light was drawn in the earth, linking their raised hands. A shimmering wall of light was called into existence for a brief moment. Then it was gone…and their defenses were in place.

XxX

"Mm, how long has it been since we had any sugar?" Himawari sighed dreamily as she hung the washing on a clothesline outside the cottage.

"Probably three months ago…at the naming ceremony," Doumeki commented, not taking his eyes from the task of making new arrows for his bow. He was the only one of them who knew how to shoot. As such, it had become his job to keep the little family supplied with fresh meat. So he had to keep himself supplied with new arrows. It would be more accurate to say that he kept one eye on this particular task. The other eye rested on the twins, laid out on a soft blue quilt. Yuui was dozing peacefully, snuggled up next to the black Mokona, whom they had affectionately dubbed Larg. Fai was lying on his stomach, chewing on his necklace and playing with the white Mokona, whom they'd named Soel.

"If you want, I can take Leval into Shirasagi tomorrow and buy you some," Watanuki said cheerfully as he strolled around from behind the cottage carrying the load of laundry he'd just finished washing. Leval was the family's horse and the beautiful creature had a coat as white as new snow. They had all decided that it wasn't safe for them to be seen in Valeria. So whenever they needed to do any shopping, one of them would take Leval into Shirasagi, the capital of Nihon.

As Watanuki and Himawari continued to make plans for the sugar, Doumeki turned his full attention to the babies. Soel had grown tired of having its ears pulled and struck back at Fai by snatching the moon necklace from him. Instead of crying, as was his normal wont for an outrage like this, the baby boy's face turned red with anger and he started pounding his tiny fists against the quilt. He wailed, "Mo-mo! Mo-mo!" over and over again. Ah, yes, the twins were speaking now. Yuui had been the first to do so. One morning, when the idiot had been a bit slow taking his turn to feed her, the little princess had proudly screamed, "WATA!" to get his attention. Of course, he and Himawari had gone all to pieces over this and a tuneful cry of, "Himi! Himi!" had followed soon after. Doumeki had been surprised that the two hadn't died of happiness on the spot. And, not long after, he himself had been swept into the happy whirl of speech with Fai's first word.

"Douma!" the princeling had called out, covering his own mouth and giggling, looking rather pleased with himself. Doumeki had picked him up and hugged him, hiding his own smile from the beaming Watanuki and Himawari.

"Good job, little boy," he'd whispered to him, his voice betraying none of the pride he felt. That emotion was reserved for Fai alone and it was conveyed through his amber eyes rather than his voice.

As of this very moment, the boy had added Mo-mo to his vocabulary, an obvious reference to Mokona. His face was practically purple with rage and, fearing that he would start sobbing, Doumeki made a move to take the jewelry from Soel. However, Fai's next move stopped him dead in his tracks. The baby raised himself up on all fours, wobbling uncertainly. Then, very slowly, he started to move forward, hand by hand, knee by knee.

"Come and get it! Come and get it!" Soel teased in a singsong voice, bouncing a few paces further from the quilt. Fai continued his slow trek toward the fuzz ball, determined to have his treasure back.

"Watanuki. Kunogi," he called softly. "You might want to see this."

His two companions turned toward him and saw Soel at their feet…with Fai crawling toward them.

"Oh!" Himawari gasped joyfully. They waited breathlessly for the little one to reach them.

"Come on," Watanuki whispered under his breath. "Just a little farther."

At long last, Fai reached them and Soel placed the pendant back around his neck. Himawari swept him up in her arms and danced around in circles.

"We're so proud of you, Fai-chan!" she sang gleefully.

"You're a vicious sneak thief, aren't you, Soel," Watanuki said with a shake of his head.

"It worked, didn't it?" the Mokona said deviously.

XxX

"Himawari, would you mind passing me another knife?" Watanuki asked as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was the twins' first birthday and he was in the process of putting the icing on a large chocolate cake.

"Of course," Himawari said, complying, and then quickly moving back to her previous task of setting gifts out on the table.

Somewhere in all of this last minute hustle and bustle, the twins themselves had been forgotten. The two of them were sitting under the table. More accurately, Yuui was sitting, watching Fai try to hold himself up by one of the table legs. The little boy released his grip on the wood and, for a moment, he stood on his own, but then, just like all the times before, his little legs buckled under him and he went sprawling to the floor.

Yuui crawled over to her brother, half-expecting him to start crying. But Fai did no such thing. He got back on all fours, looking more determined than ever. Once again, he used the table leg to pull himself up and, yet again, released his hold on his crutch. This time, he remained on his feet.

For a moment, the child looked surprised, as if he'd just discovered a vast pirate treasure. The only one more surprised than Fai was Doumeki, who happened to be walking through the front door at the time. When he saw the little boy standing, unsupported, he silently closed the door behind him and dropped to his knees. He held out his arms for Fai and waited patiently.

"Come on, Fai," he whispered under his breath. He did not alert Watanuki and Himawari for fear that the slightest noise would break the young one's concentration. Fai looked straight at him, zeroing in on his eyes as he took his first step.

Another soon followed…and another and another, until Fai was bowling forward at full speed, carried by his own momentum.

"Watanuki! Look!" Himawari shouted as Fai collapsed into Doumeki's waiting arms.

"Moron!" Watanuki scolded, flinging a dishtowel at the other. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Doumeki easily dodged the projectile as he bounced a beaming Fai up and down in his arms. "Didn't want to distract him," he answered simply.

"Oh, Fai-chan's so smart," Himawari cooed, moving over to Doumeki and placing a kiss on the child's small forehead. Not to be left out, Yuui crawled over to Himawari and began tugging incessantly on her skirt, the beginnings of tears in her eyes.

"Don't fret, Yuui-chan," she soothed as she lifted her into her arms and pressed her slight nose lightly against the girl's button one. "You know I love you, too."

"Fai's walking! Fai's walking!" the Mokona cheered together as they bounded around the flower-decorated room.

"Cake's done!" Watanuki said cheerily as he placed his chocolate masterpiece on the table. A single blue candle was set into it. 'Happy Birthday Yuui & Fai' was written intricately across the chocolaty surface in blue icing.

"Happy birthday, twins!" everyone said together as Doumeki and Himawari set the two down on the table in front of their cake.

"Blow out the candle!" Soel instructed excitedly. Watanuki and Himawari both made blowing motions with their faces. Neither child really understood what was going on, but it looked fun, so they decided to copy their guardians. Finally the candle was blown out to thunderous applause. Watanuki began to cut and serve up slices of the confection. Yuui stared curiously at the cake for a few moments…then stuck her hand straight into it and pulled out a fistful.

"Yuui-chan!" Watanuki scolded half-heartedly as the little girl smeared the chocolate cake across her face. Her eyes lit up with delight as her tongue ventured out to taste the sugary treat. Instantly, her hand shot out to grab more cake. Then she reached over and smeared it across her brother's face.

"Yuui-chan, that wasn't nice!" Himawari started to scold. But then she noticed the transcendent look on Fai's face - as if someone had just handed him the keys to paradise. He started rolling around on the table, giggling at the silliness of everything and babbling excitedly at the glorious new taste in his mouth. Yuui started clapping, squealing and giggling just as loudly as her enraptured twin.

"I take it you like chocolate, Fai-chan," Watanuki said, trying to suppress a giggle of his own.

Fai lay completely still for a moment, staring up at the ceiling.

"Chalkit?" he said to himself, licking more of his new god off of his face. Instantly, the contemplative look morphed back into a joyful smile.

"Chalkit!" he shouted, placing his hands over his mouth and shaking with silent laughter. "Chalkit!"

Soel and Larg joined in his merriment, bouncing up and down, yelling, "Chocolate! Chocolate!"

"Chalkit! Chalkit! Chalkit! Chalkit! Chaaaaaaaaalkit!"

However, somewhere in the middle of it all, Soel's eyes grew very large and the red jewel on its forehead started to glow.

"A message from King Reed," Soel announced.

"Really? Then put him through," Watanuki said, quickly removing his apron and attempting to pat down some flyaway hairs. The red gem flashed and an image of Clow Reed appeared in the air.

"Greetings, Kimihiro, Shizuka, Himawari. How are things?"

"Things are well. No problems so far," Watanuki said.

"I called in to wish the twins a happy birthday. I see they enjoy your cooking," he said with a grandfatherly smile, nodding toward Fai. When the twins heard the new voice, they both stilled and turned to see the shimmering image of the faerie king. Fai tilted his head curiously and Yuui pointed and smiled at the new face. "I figured I should see them while I still can. When they're old enough to remember, I won't be able to show my face anymore. So I thought I'd send you these while I still have the opportunity."

Suddenly Soel's mouth opened wide and several things came flying out to land smoothly on the table. Two plush toy bunnies, one white and one silver, and two baskets filled with bottles.

"Oooh, faerie wine!" Himawari squealed excitedly. "It's been too long."

"Yes. I thought you all could use it. The toys are for the twins, obviously."

"Really? I was thinking they were for Watanuki," Doumeki said with a completely straight face. Watanuki started to seethe, but he dared not lose it in front of the king.

"How are things at court?" Watanuki asked, suddenly becoming serious. The king's face fell instantly.

"Things have been boiling quite a bit since you all left. Kamui is stirring up trouble again."

"What does he want now?" Doumeki asked.

"The same as always. Fighting for Seishiro's right to be named as my heir."

"I've never understood that. Kamui doesn't even _like_ Seishiro," Watanuki said angrily.

"You _know_ why," Reed said, fixing him with a piercing stare.

"It's because of Subaru," Himawari said meekly. "Kamui may hate Seishiro, but he'll do anything for his brother."

"But…Majesty, what _do_ you plan on doing about Seishiro? No one else can legitimately challenge his claim to your throne," Watanuki said worriedly.

"You know that isn't true. Fuuma could challenge him for the blood right. He _is_ my nephew, after all."

"But Fuuma would never challenge _anyone_ for the throne!" Himawari insisted. "He doesn't want power. He's loyal to you, Majesty."

"If it came down to it, Fuuma might challenge Seishiro to single combat just to prevent him from challenging you for the crown," Doumeki said matter-of-factly.

"Fuuma wouldn't kill his own cousin!" Himawari said shrilly. At the sound of the panic in her voice, Yuui immediately started to cry. The young sprite quickly stifled a gasp and swept the girl up in her arms, dandling her up and down to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, Yuui-chan. Please, don't cry." Doumeki gave Himawari a slightly sympathetic look as he passed her the silver rabbit to give to Yuui. The little girl left off crying the moment she was cuddled up with the soft toy.

"He may not have a choice," Doumeki said quietly.

"Either way, let us hope that we won't have to cross that bridge for some time yet. I've lived for many millennia already and I don't expect to die anytime soon," Reed said, giving the little family a sad smile. "Enjoy the wine," he said before vanishing.

"You know," Himawari began absently as she continued to comfort her foster daughter. "I'm almost happy to be away from all that. I like living here with the two of you and Soel and Larg and the twins."

"Me, too, Himawari," Watanuki said as he continued to serve the cake. The same sad smile that King Reed had given them was on his face. Doumeki was the only one to see it.

Yuui was babbling contentedly away in Himawari's arms when she happened to look up and see the distracted, almost sad look in her eyes. Something was wrong with Himi! She hadn't the faintest idea what, but she did know that it wasn't okay. Yuui didn't like it when Himawari wasn't smiling. Maybe…the nice, soft toy would work? It had certainly cheered _her_ up.

The warm, motherly smile returned to Himawari's face when she saw Yuui holding up her new toy with an almost pleading look in her eyes.

"Himi-wa?"

"Oh, Yuui-chan is wonderful! Someday soon she'll be able to say my whole name," Himawari said, snuggling fondly with the little girl and her bunny as she seated herself beside Watanuki. Fai saw this, crawled across the table toward Doumeki, and held out his arms, asking to be picked up. The barest hint of a smile tugged at the corner of the weather sprite's mouth as he picked the boy up and set him in his lap. He grabbed the white rabbit and began to dangle it above Fai's head. When he couldn't reach it, he started to pound his small fists against Doumeki's legs.

"Doum-ki! Doum-ki!" he cried incessantly. The tall faerie finally relented and handed Fai his present. When Watanuki got around to passing him a slice of cake, he started feeding tiny bites of it to Fai.

"Not too much, you idiot! You'll rot his teeth!"

Doumeki raised an eyebrow at the nature sprite. "Teeth? What teeth? He has four."

"Maybe so!" Watanuki fumed. "But the rest will start coming in before too long!"

Doumeki just rolled his eyes. He knew that Watanuki didn't _really_ hate him, but for some reason yelling at Doumeki seemed to make him feel better…so he let him. He could see that Watanuki needed to feel better right now. He didn't know why, but the king's visit had saddened him. He would have to ask the shorter faerie about it sometime.

_I like it here, too, Kunogi…Kimihiro. I like that Fai and Yuui aren't afraid of me. I like that I can be something more to them than just the Darkness._

Doumeki felt warm…warm as he had not felt since becoming the Darkness all those years ago…Faerie's chief assassin. Fai and Yuui, Watanuki and Kunogi, even Soel and Larg…none of them saw him as the bringer of death. He felt that…with them…he was truly alive.

_What will I do…when it all comes to an end?_

XxX

Kurogane winced as he listened to his mother's screams echo from her chamber. His caretaker, Kusanagi Shiyu, was impressed by even that slight display of emotion. Ever since the emperor's death, the prince had been a solemn child. The boy was already throwing himself wholeheartedly into the rigors of learning swordsmanship and he wasn't quite five years old yet. Kusanagi had already graduated him from his toy wooden sword to a short training sword. The sword master had to admit that he had never had such an apt or intense pupil. The boy would move on to true blades before too long.

Kusanagi glanced down at the young prince when he felt him tugging on his sleeve. His normally intense red eyes were filled with unshed tears of worry.

"Is…is Kaa-san going to die?" he asked, barely managing to keep his lower lip from trembling. Kusanagi pulled his charge into a tight hug as another tortured scream tore down the corridor.

"Of course not, Kurogane-sama. The empress is strong. It's just difficult to bring a new life into the world. It was just like this the night you came to us."

_Though, if memory serves, it was a bit more difficult with you. You wouldn't leave the womb without a fight, Prince._

Mere weeks after Emperor Ashura's death, Amaterasu had started to sicken and the court physicians had pronounced that the empress' stomach would soon swell with her husband's last child. The pregnancy had been hard on the grieving empress, but she was determined to see her baby into the world.

One last cry of pain echoed from the empress' chamber - and was soon followed by the shrill cries of a newborn. Several breathless minutes passed before two scribes came barreling through the door.

"Send word throughout the land!" one shouted.

"A princess is born!" cried the other.

Kusanagi stared after the frantic men a moment before taking Kurogane's hand and sidling over to the open door. He took a step inside and when no one shooed him away, he decided that it was safe to enter and led the prince toward his mother's massive futon. The woman looked thoroughly drained, but there was a bright smile on her pale face. Kusanagi was fairly certain he hadn't seen such a smile since before the emperor's death.

Kurogane crawled up on the futon beside his mother. Kusanagi made a move to pull him back but Amaterasu waved him off. She reached out weakly to give her son a hug.

"Kaa-san?"

"I'm fine, Kurogane-chan. Your baby sister's fine, too," she said, her smile growing even warmer as one of the physicians approached them, carrying a tiny pink bundle. The woman placed the bundle in the empress' arms, bowed, and backed away. The baby was yowling her little lungs out. Kurogane found this noise extremely annoying and he was afraid that it would prevent his poor, tired mother from getting some well-deserved rest. So he did the only thing he could think of. He placed a finger against the baby girl's lips

"Shh!"

The baby immediately left off crying and stared curiously at the face above her. She placed her tiny hands on Kurogane's and began to suck on his finger. The boy's first impulse was to be disgusted, but then he saw the peaceful expression on his sister's face.

The first and most vital instinct of an infant, apart from breathing, is to suckle. Even though her brother's finger wasn't providing the baby girl with nourishment as her instincts told her the action would, it was still comforting to her. Out of the womb barely twenty minutes, the outside world can be scary to a newborn, and this one was willing to take any form of comfort she could get. So she clung to Kurogane's hand and sucked on that digit for all she was worth. For some reason, the four-year-old was struck by the aura of perfect peace that surrounded the little girl.

"Would you like to hold her?" Amaterasu asked, seeing the look of awe on her son's face. Kurogane just nodded and sat down cross-legged beside his mother. Then she carefully passed the newborn to the awestruck boy. His finger never left her mouth. The moment the young prince felt his baby sister's weight in his arms, he knew that she was special. She was a person who knew nothing of the world or the pain and evil in it. Kurogane wanted it to stay that way. He knew that he wanted to be someone who could protect her. Heaven help the poor fool who tried to harm…

"Um…Kaa-san?" he started, glancing up at her, feeling a bit sheepish.

"Hmm?"

"What's her name?"

"Tomoyo."

XxX

Clow Reed roughly massaged his temples, attempting to stave off a growing headache. Kamui and Fuuma were at it again and they just would not let up. Kamui hadn't even requested a formal audience this time. The king and Lord Subaru Shiro had merely been passing in a corridor and Fuuma, his advisor in Watanuki's absence, and Kamui, captain of his little brother's guards, had started going for each other's throats.

"Tell me, Kamui, why is it that you always manage to conveniently forget that Seishiro forfeited his claim to the throne of Faerie when he was exiled with his mother?" Fuuma reasoned level-headedly.

"Don't be so free with _me_ , Fuuma! I may have chosen the position of guard but I still have noble blood in me!" Kamui said angrily. "Besides, Seishiro is His Majesty's own son! How could another heir even be considered?"

"Would it bother you to stop talking about me like I'm not here?" the king asked. As expected, neither combatant paid him any attention. Reed rolled his eyes.

"Seishiro is out of the question. He may be our prince, but he's also Yuuko's son. Giving him the throne would be like handing all of Faerie to Yuuko on a silver platter," Fuuma pointed out.

"What would you have us do instead? Name _you_ heir apparent? Do you know what I see, Fuuma? I see you making a power play. You certainly aren't leaving us much choice!"

 _But there_ _ **is**_ _another choice_ , both the king and his nephew/advisor thought as one. But instead of foolishly revealing this, the next words to come out of Fuuma's mouth were, "I would never do such a thing. My place is _beside_ the throne, not _on_ it!"

"A likely sentiment."

"Why do you speak of this as if you expect the king to drop dead any moment? For all we know, we won't need to be having this conversation for another millennium."

"Personally, I would rather not have our future in doubt."

"In doubt? I should think our future would be even more in doubt with Seishiro on the throne than if we had no ruler at all. You don't even trust Seishiro yourself, do you?"

"I don't deny it," Kamui said calmly. "But Subaru trusts him…and I trust Subaru."

"And of course we all _know_ why Subaru trusts him."

"Stop right there."

"Come off it. Everyone knows who your brother is fucking when he leaves court. That could be construed as treason, you know?"

Faster than the eye could track, Kamui was on Fuuma. He seized him by the throat and slammed him into the wall of the corridor. Reed's four guards instantly moved to surround them.

"What my brother does outside of Faerie is no one's business but his own!" the captain hissed in his face. Fuuma, however, remained calm throughout.

"Careful, Kamui. You go too far."

"No. _You_ go too far!"

"Kamui, stop this," Subaru interfered, his face still a bright shade of red from Fuuma's earlier comment.

"He insulted you," Kamui said angrily, never once breaking eye contact with his intended victim.

"Kamui, release him," Clow ordered. The younger faerie glanced sideways at his king. For a moment, it seemed that he meant to defy him; but then he relinquished his grip on Fuuma's neck and backed away.

"As you wish, my king."

"And Fuuma, I am forced to agree with Kamui. That comment was out of line."

"Of course, Uncle. My apologies, Subaru."

"Subaru, Kamui, I will see you both tonight," Reed said with a nod of his head, letting all involved know that the conversation was over. Subaru and his guards swept down the corridor in the direction that Clow and company had come from.

"And if the five of you don't mind, I will retire now," Clow said as he moved away toward his chambers. Fuuma and the four guards simply bowed and went their own way.

Once the king was safe inside his own quarters, he leaned against the door, placed a hand against his throbbing forehead, and addressed the real reason for his headache.

"What do you want from me, Yuuko?"

_Ah. Finally alone, I see. Where are they? Where did you put them?_

"I assure you, I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," the ancient faerie said to the voice in his head.

_Don't play games with me, Clow. I'm not a patient faerie. My spies have turned Valeria upside down. You're hiding those children from me. What better place to spirit the twins away to than Faerie - the one place where I cannot touch them?_

"Regardless of what you may think, dear Yuuko, I am not a fool. You and I both know that you have ways of sliding your slender, murdering hands into Faerie. What makes you think I know where those babies are?"

 _Who else in Faerie_ _ **would**_ _care for the children of that half-human bitch!?_ Yuuko's voice snarled. _You hid them! I know it!_

"Even if I did somehow manage to hide them from your sight, what makes you so arrogant as to think you could pull their location from me?"

_My minions have failed me. I have failed...but there is one who will not fail. If you do not hand them over freely…I will send Seishiro after them. The Sakurazukamori will stalk the night once more. If he should find them…well…he could do much worse to your precious servants than my other minions ever could. Would you risk the safety of your loyal servants for the sake of a pair of mortal bratlings?_

Reed slid weakly to the floor. He was happy that Yuuko couldn't see him like this. Her power was affecting him more than it should have. Liquid pain was coursing through his very veins, but he continued to speak in a clear, strong voice.

"Yuuko…this is between you and I. I beg you…leave them out of this. Sakura, Fai, Yuui…all of them! Leave them be!"

_What will you do? Send the Darkness after me? I've heard the gossip. The Darkness is no longer at your beck and call. You've sent him off into hiding with those despicable humans. Seishiro will kill him, too…and Watanuki…and Kunogi…and they will suffer hell at his hands. Our son will make them beg for death before the end. Can you picture it, Clow? Their wasted corpses lying in growing pools of their own blood…the little children weeping over their slain guardians…then screaming in terror as the murderer slowly walks toward them? Can you imagine the way their helpless bodies will break as he forces them through the same hell before my curse finally wraps itself around their throats and destroys them? Can you hear them screaming?_

He could. He could hear those defenseless babes crying in pain and terror. He could hear Sakura keening over the bodies of her murdered children. Seishiro could make everything end exactly as Yuuko had dictated. He had no doubt that he had it in him…his own child.

 _But it doesn't have to end like that, darling Clow_ , Yuuko continued mockingly. _Not if you give them to me now. Hand over the children and I will spare your three servants. Yuui and Fai don't have to suffer before the end. The siblings can slip peacefully into an eternal slumber without any light or pain. I will bury them together. They can spend an eternity sleeping within the depths of my realm, watching time pass through eyes made of dust._

"Never," the king hissed. He would not consign Sakura's children to such a dreadful fate. "Why do you hate them so much?"

 _You_ _ **know**_ _why, Clow_ , she whispered as her power drifted apart like the dust she promised to make of Fai and Yuui. Her fading magic left the faintest, most heated of kisses on his lips.

_It's because you betrayed me._

XxX

"Yuui-chan! Fai-chan!" Himawari called worriedly as she traced diligent search paths through the forest. The little family had gone out beyond the wards on a berry-picking expedition because Himawari had found a "wonderful new patch of strawberries". Unfortunately, somewhere during all the fun, the twins had managed to slip away from the three faeries.

"Fai!" Soel shouted.

"Yuui!" Larg called.

"Where could they be?" Himawari wondered aloud, clearly on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry, Himawari," Watanuki attempted to console her. "They were only out of our sight for a minute. They couldn't have gotten far."

Doumeki had not spoken once since the children's disappearance. He didn't say anything to his companions, but he feared for the safety of the three-year-olds…and not from any danger the forest could show them. He had been moving in ever widening circles around their home when he left to hunt and, as he had expected, he had begun to see signs of Yuuko's minions in the forest.

"There," the assassin said suddenly, pointing calmly into the trees ahead. The twins were playing in a clearing not ten feet away. The anxious family immediately moved toward its lost members, but no sooner had they moved two feet than Himawari threw her arms wide.

"Don't move," she ordered softly. She could see what none of them had been able to see from a distance. Fai and Yuui were playing with a black bear cub. And, as everyone knows, where there is a bear cub, the mother bear is not far behind.

"But…they might be-" Watanuki started to speak, but his words were interrupted by a snarling, rampaging mass of muscle, black fur, and rage. The mother bear came charging into the clearing, straight toward the twins and their new playmate. Watanuki started to move forward, but Himawari held him back.

"Shoot it!" he shouted frantically at the ever-stoic Doumeki.

"She's just protecting her baby," Himawari said calmly.

"What do you think _I'm_ doing?!"

"Wait," Himawari ordered with more calm than she actually felt. "Just wait."

The mother bear stopped just short of the three young ones. Instead of immediately tearing the intruders limb from limb, she quickly nuzzled her own cub and turned to inspect the new ones. She sniffed at their blonde hair. Fai immediately began to giggle. He didn't see the mouthful of sharp teeth above him. He knew only that a soft bear maw was tickling him and he liked it. He reached up and grabbed handfuls of the bear's luscious black fur. The mother bear seemed more surprised than angry. She gave the children gentle nuzzles and scooted their tiny bodies closer to her own little one. It was in this moment that Himawari moved into the clearing, making no more sound than a lone mother wolf on the prowl. Moving very slowly, she came to kneel before the great bear.

 _Please, Great Mother_ , the young sprite said with her eyes. _These children are mine. Allow me to take them from your embrace and back into my own arms._

The black bear growled low in her throat…and backed away into the forest, taking her cub with her. Yuui was still waving goodbye to the baby bear as Himawari swept the wayward twins into her arms.

"How did you do it?!" Watanuki shouted as the others ran toward them.

"It wasn't me, really. She never would have harmed them. Do you remember my gift? The voice of the forest? Your gift called for the earth to recognize Yuui and Fai as its own. Mine calls for all things wild to recognize them as their own. Between our gifts, the forest will never harm them."

"Himawari, that's-"

"Shh!" Doumeki suddenly hushed the two, raising a finger to his lips.

"Wha-" Watanuki started, but Doumeki simply held his hand up, cutting him off. Before another confused word could be exchanged, the Darkness seized his companions by the shoulders and steered them out of the clearing. The Mokona siblings followed close behind as he forced them all into hiding beneath the thick foliage. Himawari remained silent, but Watanuki continued to bluster. Doumeki seized his gaze with his own.

_Someone is coming._

Watanuki immediately clammed up and hunkered down with the rest of the family. Several tense moments passed before a figure cloaked in black stepped into the clearing. Yuui immediately started squirming. Himawari tried to hold her down, but she underestimated the girl's strength and she escaped her grip. All three felt their hearts leap into their throats as Yuui ran toward the cloaked figure. It knelt and held out its arms as the child came forward. Doumeki immediately leapt to his feet, trusting the others to keep Fai hidden. The moment the little princess was in the stranger's arms, Doumeki had an arrow notched in his bow and pointed directly into the recesses of the dark hood.

"Release the girl and no harm will come to you."

The stranger did not acknowledge him. A full-bodied, masculine laugh echoed from the hood as he jiggled the little girl.

"Well met, little princess," the man said, holding his free hand in front of the girl's face.

"Put her down now!" Doumeki ordered, keeping his slowly building rage in check.

The man holding Yuui prisoner snapped his fingers and a blue rose appeared in his hand. Yuui clapped excitedly as he handed her the delicate bloom.

"Do i' again! Do i' again!" she cheered. Her captor quickly obliged. He waved his hand and an orange toy cat appeared before the princess.

"This is the last time I am going to tell you. Let. Her. Go." The bowstring stretched audibly as the assassin drew the arrow further back, ready to shoot.

"Darkness, I'm surprised at you. You would slay your friend for a human child? Don't you know me?"

The arrow did not lower even a little bit. "I know who I _think_ you should be. But I also know that the senses are easily deceived. If you don't want an arrow between your eyes, then show me your face."

"You won't shoot me…not while I hold the princess. Would you wager her life?"

"You know as well as I that I cannot miss." The archer said this, not out of pride, but as a simple statement of fact. If he had a target in mind, Doumeki truly could not miss a shot.

"An arrow won't kill me," the stranger warned.

"Mine will."

Yuui's captor laughed yet again. "Well…perhaps you're right." He handed the smiling child the stuffed cat and pulled back his hood. Doumeki tilted his head curiously to one side. Himawari's first instinct was to jump up and run to them, but Watanuki placed a hand on her shoulder, silently telling her to wait.

"How do I know you're really Fuuma?"

The faerie lord tilted his head to one side in imitation of Doumeki and grinned at him.

"I am."

The Darkness stood motionless for about ten seconds before lowering his bow.

"Okay."

Watanuki suddenly leapt up from his hiding place.

"Okay? Okay?! That's all you're going to say to him?!"

"He's very persuasive," Doumeki answered matter-of-factly.

"PERSUASIVE? PERSUASIVE, MY ASS! MAYBE YOU'VE FORGOTTEN, BUT HE'S STILL GOT YUUI!"

"Shut up, idiot. I was just coming to that," he said before turning his attention back to Fuuma. "You do realize that I'm going to be forced to kill you if you don't put her down? So do it."

"Mm…no. I don't think I will," Fuuma said thoughtfully.

"Why not?"

"I should think that was obvious. I've come to take her away. Little Yuui will be going back to Faerie with me."

"That's where you're wrong, Fuuma," Doumeki began calmly. "Yuui is staying right here with us…with her family."

"I thought your task was to protect the twins. Well, this is the best way to do it. The twins will be safer if they are split up."

"We'll be the judge of that," Watanuki hissed dangerously.

"The decision is no longer yours."

"Does King Reed know about this?" the nature sprite asked, suddenly fearful that the noble had the king's approval to take Yuui away from them. Why would he do such a thing without telling them? Did he not trust them?

"No," Fuuma said, his face suddenly growing pensive. "My uncle is not conscious to know _anything_ right now."

Himawari gasped as she, too, crawled out of the foliage, hugging Fai tightly against her chest.

"Fuuma…what happened?"

"We're not certain. Shougo found him passed out in his chamber two nights ago. We've managed to keep it secret from the rest of the court, but we have reason to believe that Yuuko was involved. I think she may have mentally assaulted him in an attempt to pull the twins' location from his mind."

"Will he be all right?" Himawari asked worriedly.

"He should be fine, but I'm still worried. Yuuko's magic shouldn't be able to affect him so much. The king is not as strong as he once was. If that insane bitch should…manage to break him…I want at least one child under the protection of Faerie."

"But their magic is stronger when they're together," Watanuki tried to reason.

"Precisely the problem," Fuuma shot back. ""Such powerful magic makes them that much easier to detect."

"Fuuma, please…don't take Yuui-chan away from us," Himawari begged quietly. The hard determination Fuuma used with Doumeki and Watanuki melted away when he turned to face Himawari. It was replaced with sympathy and concern. Fuuma had been present at Himawari's birth more than a thousand years ago. He had watched her grow. Of the few in Faerie he could truly consider his friends, Himawari was first among them. He couldn't stand to see her unhappy…but he was honor-bound to guard Faerie's best interests.

"Himawari, don't try to make me the villain here. Don't you want what's best for the children?"

"This _is_ what's best for them," Himawari said as she rested her head against Fai's blond hair. "Growing up together in a normal family. How would Yuui-chan be raised at court?"

"Like the princess she is," Fuuma promised. "We would honor her and protect her."

The sadness that radiated off of Himawari let her friend know that he had said very much the wrong thing. She nuzzled Fai as a mother wolf would her cub, imbedding the image of the protective mother in Fuuma's mind.

"There is no worse fate for a child," Himawari began, sounding far more serious than any of the others had ever heard her. "She'll be all alone. She won't ever know her brother. She'll be trapped in a glass cage, never to be loved again. Yuui-chan is like my own daughter. Best friends we may be, Fuuma, but do not ask me to stand aside and let you do that to her."

The challenge was clear. Himawari set Fai down and Soel and Larg came to cuddle with the distraught little boy. The dark-haired sprite took a decidedly offensive stance. There was something vaguely predatory in her usually gentle gaze, like some caged wild thing trying to break free of its bonds. Fuuma noted the change in her with a tech of alarm. He had seen Himawari lose control only once before - when her grandmother, General Hikaru, had been killed in the last great war to unite the warring courts of Faerie into a single nation. She had been very young then, nigh twenty years old. Himawari had a kind heart, but her animal nature, the very magic that she was possessed of, tempered all of the love that was in her with just as much savagery. It was something the young faerie had to work very hard to control. When she'd received news of Hikaru's death, well…the slayer had not come to a particularly pleasant end. Fuuma did not want to think about his odds against such primal rage. He was a spirit of air and light. He had no illusions about who would win in an all out fight between the two of them.

Doumeki, as always, remained completely impassive when he began to feel Himawari's magic fill the air.

"Himawari?" Watanuki whispered uncertainly.

Fuuma held her cat-like gaze. "Don't do this, Himawari," he whispered under his breath.

It would most certainly have come to blows if the twins hadn't chosen that moment to unwittingly work their own brand of magic.

Yuui had liked the dark-haired man at first. He had a nice smile and he'd given her a new toy. But she was starting to be afraid of the tension she was feeling between him and the others. The little girl started to fuss. She wanted the man to put her down. She wanted her brother!

Fai saw his sister start to panic. Instead of giving into his own fear, he jumped into action. He moved toward the man on shaky legs. The Mokona tried to stop him but he kept moving. He sat himself at the man's feet and wrapped his arms around one of his legs.

"Please," the little boy began tearfully, using the new word Watanuki had taught him. "Pu' Yuui down. Don' take my sistew away!"

Fuuma glanced down at the little prince clinging to his leg and suddenly saw himself. His gaze shifted back to Yuui and he found himself looking at his own little sister, Kotori. The two thousand-year-old faerie felt an immediate kinship with Fai. He, too, would give anything to see his baby sister smile. In that moment of weakness, Fuuma backed down. He placed Yuui on the ground next to Fai and took a step back from them. The twins hugged each other tightly, crushing the toy cat between them.

The glint disappeared from Himawari's eyes as she moved toward the children. She swept them up in her arms and hugged them close. She remained kneeling, burying her face in their fair hair to keep the others from seeing her tears. They were not just tears of relief. They were tears of confusion and fear. In her thousand years of life, Himawari had never known the pains of a mother. These little ones were not of her body. She was stealing their love away from their true mother. She had no right to claim herself as their mother; and yet…she was the only mother they knew. And they…the only children she had ever known. They were not hers, and yet…the thought of losing them had almost sent her over the edge. She feared that edge and the terrible things it could make her do, but…if it could help her protect Fai and Yuui…she would use it. That willingness to slay, even for them…scared her.

Suddenly the distraught faerie felt arms around her shoulders.

"Himawari," Watanuki began, holding her and the twins close. "It's all right."

"I think you've done enough damage for one day, Fuuma," Doumeki said, the hint of a glare lighting up his amber eyes.

Fuuma glanced ashamedly away from his friends. He had hurt them…he knew, but…they had to understand.

"I'm sorry, Himawari. You have to understand. I was only doing what was best for our people."

"Our people?" Himawari said bitterly, not looking at him. "What does the safety of our babies have to do with our people?

Fuuma stared curiously at her, then back at Watanuki.

"You mean you haven't-" He was cut off by the warning look in Watanuki's eyes. Doumeki noticed the look but remained silent as always. Himawari had eyes only for the children. Fuuma, meanwhile, locked eyes with Doumeki.

"Darkness, I will leave the prince and princess in your care for now, but you had _better_ keep them safe," he warned before disappearing into the forest. Doumeki glanced down at Watanuki and was about to ask him what he and Fuuma had been talking about when the former advisor gave him a look that plainly said, _not now_.

"Will you be okay, Himawari?"

"Can…can we go home now?" she asked softly.

"Sure," Watanuki answered, helping her to her feet. "I can take Fai-chan."

But when he reached for the boy, Fai shied away from him. He and Yuui clung desperately to their surrogate mother. They didn't understand everything that had just occurred, but they did know that something very bad had almost happened. They wanted the comfort of Himawari's embrace, the knowledge that they were together and that nothing could separate them so long as they held onto each other. As the small family moved back toward their home, the twins fell asleep like that, holding hands and clinging to Himawari.

"Watanuki?" Larg whispered to the faerie from his place on his shoulder. "Will Himawari be all right?"

"I hope so."

XxX

_Red eyes stare steadily into his. Something about them makes him feel like their owner will devour him whole._

" _Dear child," a serpent-like voice whispers to him. He's being held in a woman's lap. She's holding him close with her cold hands. She seizes his face and presses her mouth right up against his ear._

" _Did you know that everything you are…is a lie?"_

" _What do you mean?" he asks, his lower lip trembling. This lady is scary. He's never met anything scarier, but he is trying his hardest not to cry. Only babies cry. He isn't a baby!_

" _Watanuki, Himawari, Doumeki? Those people you call family? They stole you and your sister from your real parents."_

" _You're lying!" the little boy yells, beating his fists against the woman in order to make her let him go, but she just squeezes him tighter._

" _You're going to die, you and your sister. You won't live to see your eighteenth birthday."_

" _NO!" he shrieks, struggling even harder to escape, but in vain. The woman wraps her slender hands around his throat…and squeezes. He fights, but he can't get away. He can't move. He can't breathe!_

_The hands leave his throat, but he still can't move. He suddenly finds himself lying spread eagle on cold, hard ground._

" _Let me go," he pleads, hot tears streaming down his face. He can't help it. He's terrified. "I wanna go home!"_

" _You can never go home again. You belong to me. You belong to the darkness."_

" _DOUMEKI!" he screams into the darkness, fighting tooth and nail against the mysterious force that holds him down. "SAVE ME!"_

" _No one can save you. No one_ _ **wants**_ _you. You're going to die!"_

_The darkness around him erupts in flames and a hideous black dragon bursts through the fire. It has the same glowing red eyes as the woman._

" _I DON'T WANNA DIE!" the stricken child sobs. The dragon is circling overhead,_

" _Good night, sweet prince," the creature hisses. Then its mouth opens wide and a jet of flame comes streaking toward him._

Fai awoke screaming. His small body was covered with sweat and his face was streaked with salty tears. Moonlight was spilling across the bed he shared with Yuui, Soel, and Larg. The next moment, his sister and the Mokonas were awakened by his cries.

"Fai! What's'matter?!" Yuui asked, starting to panic herself. Fai was still crying hysterically when Himawari, Doumeki, and Watanuki burst into the room.

"What happened?!" Watanuki demanded, on the verge of hysterics himself.

"Mokona doesn't know," Soel started, clearly frightened. "Fai just woke up crying."

Himawari rushed forward and sat down on the bed in front of Fai.

"Fai-chan? Sweetie? What's wrong? Are you hurt? Did you have a bad dream?"

Fai didn't answer her. He just threw himself into her arms and sobbed as if his little heart were breaking. Himawari didn't press him. She simply held the five-year-old close, whispering comfortingly to him and gently rubbing his back.

"It's all right, baby. You're safe now. Nothing's going to hurt you," she continued to soothe, but his next words caused her to stiffen.

"I s-saw…I saw…a l-lady. A r-really m-mean lady with r-red eyes," the boy whimpered. Himawari did not let him see her reaction. She held him tighter and tried to keep him talking.

"Did…the lady say anything to you?"

Fai hiccupped twice before answering. "She s-said…that…Y-Yuui and me…th-that we're…g-gonna…gonna…"

"Gonna what, pumpkin?"

"DIE!" he screamed as a fresh wave of tears came pouring down his face. He buried his face in Himawari's chest. _"I don't wanna die! I don't want Yuui to die!"_

Himawari held the boy closer, running tender fingers through his hair. "Hush, my little Fai-bear. You're both safe. No one's going to die."

Fai clung to her like a lifeline and cried harder. Yuui cuddled with Soel and Larg, trembling as her brother's muffled sobs filled her ears.

As Himawari tried to keep the atmosphere calm, Doumeki pulled Watanuki out into the hallway.

"She's coming after them," he noted calmly.

"I noticed," Watanuki responded in exasperation.

"If she can get enough of a lock to invade their dreams, she knows they're in the forest. She can't come herself. You know who she'll send."

" _Seishiro_ , I imagine!" Watanuki hissed right back. "But it…it'll be fine. Maybe you are a brutish, brainless oaf, but Seishiro's no match for _you_."

"You think so?" Doumeki asked, the hint of an edge in his voice.

_I'm not so sure._

A heavy silence stretched between them as they listened to Himawari soothe the distraught twins. It was an uncomfortable silence filled with painful secrets and half-formed thoughts.

"You know," Doumeki started, finally ready to give voice to the thoughts and suspicions that had been boiling in his head for the past five years. "You never did explain."

He couldn't see Watanuki, but he didn't need to. Darkness was his element. Darkness was like his third eye. Words spoken in the darkness reached his ears. Actions hidden by the dark of night were laid bare before his senses. He could _feel_ Watanuki stiffen in the air next to him.

"Explain what?"

"Kunogi said it two years ago, though I imagine she didn't realize the implications because she was so upset. Fai and Yuui…what does their safety have to do with Faerie?"

Watanuki smiled bitterly. Doumeki could feel the twist of his lips through the darkness between them.

"You've got a pretty good memory for an idiot," he said wryly, trying to dodge the issue.

"Don't play the fool with me right now," the assassin warned him. _No matter how good you are at it._ "I asked you a question. I expect an answer."

"Doumeki," the nature sprite sighed, finally coming clean. "I _wish_ I could tell you. I'd love to tell both you and Himawari _everything,_ but…you aren't the only one in Faerie to whom the darkness offers up its secrets. Some things are best left unsaid. No one knows, except the king, Fuuma, and I. You will know someday…but not now."

"I'll wait," the archer said. Watanuki breathed a sigh of relief and was about to step back into the twins' bedroom when Doumeki seized his wrist.

"As long as you need me to, I'll wait…and when you're ready to talk, I'll be right here."

The taller faerie could feel the unsaid words hanging in the space between them. The darkness told him that Watanuki's words were there, but it could not tell him what those words were. He knew what his own words were. Watanuki knew what they were, too, though he had never spoken them…and he would not, not until Watanuki was truly ready to hear them. Nearly eighteen hundred years had passed since they'd first locked eyes and still, neither was ready to hear the words they could both feel suspended between them.

They stood like that for a few moments, but Watanuki finally extricated his wrist from Doumeki's strong grip and the two of them moved back into the twins' room as if nothing had happened. Himawari had managed to get Fai to stop crying. The twins were hugging each other tightly and Himawari was holding them both, rocking them gently. Larg sat perched atop her head and Soel was sitting on her shoulder.

"Fai-chan? Yuui-chan? Do you know what you should do whenever you feel scared or alone?" she asked them quietly.

"What?" Fai sniffled, still not quite over Yuuko's nightmare. Soel and Larg bounced off of Himawari as she leaned down close to the children.

"You sing a song," she whispered to them, as if imparting some great piece of wisdom.

"But…we don't know that many," Yuui said despairingly.

"Don't worry about that, Yuui-chan. I'll teach you all the songs I know," Himawari said with a small giggle. The twins gazed adoringly up at her.

"Himiwari? Will you sing us one right now?" Yuui asked shyly. Himawari answered by starting to sing.

_Under the snow,_

_Beneath the frozen stream,_

_There is life._

_You have to know_

_When nature sleeps she dreams._

_There is life._

_And the colder the winter,_

_The warmer the spring._

_The deeper the sorrow,_

_The more our hearts sing._

_Even when you can't see it,_

_Inside everything_

_There is life._

_After the rain,_

_The sun will reappear._

_There is life._

_After the pain,_

_The joy will still be here._

_There is life._

_For it's out of the darkness_

_That we learn to see._

_And out of the silence_

_That songs come to be._

_And all that we dream of_

_Awaits patiently._

_There is life._

_There is life._

During her song, Doumeki and Watanuki had sat down on either side of Himawari and Soel and Larg had snuggled up with them. The small bed could barely contain the whole family.

"Feel better?" Himawari asked.

"Y-yeah," Fai said, wiping away a stray tear. "But…can…can we sleep with you tonight?"

Himawari laughed and smiled warmly down at the siblings.

"Yes, you can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "There is Life" is from the movie Bambi ll, which just so happens to be a good movie, in my humble opinion. I should also warn you that while I did succeed in getting at least one lullaby into each chapter the first time around, things may fall differently this time. I'll be dividing the chapters up into slightly smaller, more manageable sections, as that did seem to be an issue before. The story will also be undergoing some edits in preparation for its new home, filling plot holes and catching mistakes and the like. Other than that, very happy to see that people still remember the ol' sleeping beauty in the wood. Hope you enjoyed and are looking forward to the next installment.


	3. Gold of Sunshine

_Blue…blue so rich and cool the world has no right to it. The boy feels that he could drown in that vast blue…in the eyes that contain it. Yes. He would willingly drown in the whirlpool of those shimmering eyes and he would never once scream for help._

" _You have nice eyes."_

" _Thank you, Prince-sama."_

" _What's your name?" he asks the pale, mysterious boy._

" _I can't tell you that," he says with a wink._

" _Why not?" he asks, wanting to be irritated with the other boy, but somehow unable to be._

" _Because we haven't met yet, silly."_

" _What are you talking about? We're meeting right now!"_

" _No, we're not," the blond child says in a singsong voice. "We're four years from meeting, you and I, Kuro-chan."_

_This time he can't help but be a little angry. "What did you call me?!"_

" _Tsk, tsk, tsk. Kuro-puppy is funny," the blue-eyed boy says before pouncing on him and giving him a big hug. For a moment, he could almost swear the other boy has cat ears. "Fai-kitty wants Kuro-puppy to be its friend!"_

_Now he's just confused. "Okay! Sheesh! I'll be your friend if you get off me!"_

" _Yay! A new friend!" the boy cheers, finally releasing his hold on him._

" _No more of those dumb nicknames though."_

"NII-SAMA! HELP ME!"

Kurogane was torn violently from his sleep by the sounds of his baby sister screaming. Instantly, the haze of the dream was gone and the eight-year-old was tearing out of his room, down the corridor. He beat her guards and caregivers by a mile.

" _Tomoyo_ _!_ " the concerned prince shouted as he burst into his sister's chamber. Her futon was empty. For a moment, he felt sick to his stomach, thinking she'd been kidnapped. But then he noticed a trail of rumpled sheets leading to the far corner of the young princess' chamber. There he found his little sister, curled up in the fetal position, clutching her favorite purple blanket, and sobbing in terror.

"Tomoyo?" he said softly, not wanting to startle her. The four-year-old's head snapped up and the second she saw her big brother, she rushed into his arms.

"What happened?" he asked, holding her and letting her cry. Instinctively, his embrace tightened when he heard her guards pour into the room.

"Nii-sama," she whimpered as Kurogane carried her back to her futon. "I was so scared."

"What was it, Tomoyo? Another bad dream?" he asked, still holding her close as he sat down on her futon. Tomoyo just nodded weakly, clinging desperately to her brother.

"What did you see, my Princess?" a voice suddenly sounded above the hushed murmurings of the guards. An elderly man dressed in red robes emerged from the sea of black-clad warriors. Kurogane glared angrily at the high priest.

"Leave her alone, Chang Ang. She doesn't need your stupid rambling right now! Can't you see she's scared?"

"But my Prince, we must know the dream that the princess had. I have long suspected that her Highness might have…special powers. If I might be allowed to interpret-"

"That's why I want you to leave her alone!" Kurogane snapped. "I don't like you scaring her!"

"Kurogane, stop it," his mother ordered as she entered her daughter's room.

"But we can't just-"

"I don't like it anymore than you do," she interrupted. "But if Tomoyo has the gift of dream sight like Chang Ang-sama suspects, then she must be properly trained to her gifts."

Kurogane bowed his head in defeat. Then he looked down at his sister. "Don't be scared, Tomoyo. I'm right here. Chang Ang wants to know about your bad dream, but don't worry. It can't hurt you. I'm here for you."

Tomoyo nodded her consent and the high priest took his cue to come forward. He glanced at Kurogane for approval but the young prince just grunted in response. The priest slowly placed a hand on Tomoyo's forehead. Both pairs of eyes closed as Chang Ang reached into the child's sub conscience. Tomoyo trembled like a leaf about to be plucked from its branch by the wind and sweat started to pour down Chang Ang's face.

Suddenly, Tomoyo gave a terrified shriek and Chang Ang fell back. Several of the guards moved forward to catch him as he fell. Tomoyo clung to her brother and began to cry again. The guards, meanwhile, lowered Chang Ang to the floor and he sat there, dumbfounded. Only three people were brave enough to approach the entranced priest: Amaterasu, Kusanagi, and Tomoyo's own nurse, Chitose.

"What did you see?" Amaterasu asked anxiously.

"Tsukuyomi," the stricken priest whispered. "The miko with the power of the moon is born to us once again." Slowly, reverently, Chang Ang moved to his knees, kneeling before the princess. "My Lady," he whispered. Spiritually, this little girl was far above him.

Tomoyo did not acknowledge him. She simply held tight to Kurogane.

"Are you certain?" Chitose asked.

"On this, the fifth anniversary of Emperor Ashura's death, Tomoyo-hime dreams of the witch-queen, Yuuko. I saw a forest burned to ashes…a great kingdom in ruins. The only living things were twin children."

A hush fell over the assembled crowd. Everyone knew of the vanished twins of Valeria. The only ones present who did not know of Kurogane's engagement to the elder twin were Tomoyo and Kurogane himself. And again, the only ones present who knew that the twins still lived were Amaterasu and Chang Ang. As the priest continued his narration of the vision, Amaterasu quietly signaled the guards to leave. The only ones remaining were herself, Chang Ang, the two royal siblings, Kusanagi, and Chitose.

"They were all alone…surrounded by death and destruction...and then _she_ came - the creature with the eyes of blood. She came as a dragon to devour the helpless children!"

"And?" Kusanagi hissed.

"No more. I sincerely doubt the child could have handled much more of the vision. It is the future she's seen. Or at least, a possible future. The princess was born to be a miko. She can never escape the sight."

Kurogane glared helplessly at the high priest as he spoke. What was wrong with all of them? Didn't they understand that these dreams frightened Tomoyo? Now they were going to make her deal with them all the time? He had promised that he would protect his little sister, but…this was something he could not protect her from.

"We will discuss this further in the morning. For now, I think it best that we all get back to sleep," Amaterasu interrupted Chang Ang's monologue, noting her seething son and her whimpering daughter.

"As my Empress wishes," Chang Ang said before bowing and leaving. Kusanagi and Chitose followed suit. Tomoyo glanced up at her brother, her lower lip trembling.

"Can…can you stay in here tonight?"

Kurogane glanced at their mother to make sure it was okay. She smiled, nodding her consent before turning to leave herself. Her two children had a bond that she had never shared with anyone, being an only child. Kurogane had always been able to comfort Tomoyo after her nightmares as she never could. Sometimes she envied them their closeness. She had not been so close to anyone since Ashura's death. But at the same time, she was glad of it. On their own, her babies were both lonely children. Kurogane was serious and stoic. He threw himself into his sword and martial arts training heart and soul, mind and body. Sometimes she was afraid that he had taken his father's dying words a little too much to heart. There were only two, maybe three people who could make him smile. Tomoyo, Kusanagi, and his only other friend, a noble's daughter about three years younger than him named Souma. Tomoyo was a brilliant child. Even at her young age, her intelligence was already apparent. She was far more perceptive than any child of four had a right to be. But that scared her age mates. It even scared many of the adults in the palace. She had so much light, so much love to give…but people were just too afraid to get close to her. However, no matter how alone they were apart, they at least had each other.

Kurogane had quite a time extricating himself from Tomoyo's grip, but he finally managed to calm her enough so that he could go and gather the scattered bedding.

"I tried to warn 'em," she mumbled as he tucked the blankets back around her.

"What do you mean?" Kurogane asked, finally crawling under the blankets with his little sister and hugging her tight.

"Those other kids...the ones I saw in my dream. I tried to warn 'em 'bout the dragon but…but I couldn' – talk. I couldn' even scream," she whimpered against his chest, snuggling deeper into his protective embrace. "It was gonna-"

"Shh," he hushed her. "It was only a dream. No one got hurt."

"But…Chang Ang-sama said that…that it _migh'_ happen."

"Don't worry about that now. You should worry about getting to sleep. Sleeping is actually kinda fun. I was doing it a few minutes ago. I was having a good dream." Well…scratch that. It had started off as a nice dream. Then it just got weird.

Tomoyo suddenly glanced up at him, all traces of her tears gone. He could just barely make out the glint of her violet eyes in the darkness.

"You saw 'em, too, didn' you?"

"Well…not exactly. I saw someone. I saw a boy: a crazy kid with blonde hair and blue eyes...and I think he thought he was a cat."

Unlike Kusanagi, or Souma, even, Tomoyo seemed to make perfect sense of his half-remembered dream and didn't look at him funny like they would have. Instead, she smiled. "He's the one. He was one a' the kids in my dream. 'Cept in my dream, there was a girl with him, too. I think they mighta been brother and sister…jus' like us."

"You think?"

"Maybe…if it _is_ the future…do you think we migh' meet 'em someday, Nii-sama?" Tomoyo asked sleepily as her eyes drifted shut.

"Who knows?" he yawned, barely clinging to consciousness. Kurogane didn't relish the thought of crossing paths with a crazy cat boy who couldn't say his name properly. But he actually wouldn't have minded seeing those eyes again.

They made him feel…happy.

XxX

"Ready or not, here I come!" Himawari shouted as she uncovered her eyes. She, the twins, and the Mokona were out on a picnic for the day and Soel had decided that they should all play hide and seek. By merit of being the eldest of them, Himawari was "it" first. She could already see a small foot sticking out from underneath a nearby bush. She could also make out a few wisps of blonde hair against the bark of a tree as the wind caught them.

"I don't see _anyone_ ," she said despairingly. "Where could my little Fai-chan and Yuui-chan _be_?" She flailed around the clearing, searching everywhere but where she actually knew them to be, letting the twins think themselves so clever, as one did when playing games with children. As Himawari danced about the glen, she found herself thinking about how much Watanuki would enjoy this game. She could just picture him beside her, pretending not to know where the children were. She could see Doumeki standing a little ways off, watching over the proceedings with a not-quite-smile on his face. Unfortunately, they couldn't all be here today. There was work that needed doing. Watanuki was in Shirasagi for the day, gathering some much needed supplies, and Doumeki was off on a hunting trip. He never spoke of it but both she and Watanuki knew he also scouted the woods for Yuuko's spies whenever he went out hunting. Himawari liked to think that they could trust him enough to tell them if he ever found anything but…he _was_ the Darkness. He knew how to keep his silence if he saw fit.

Finally deciding that enough time had passed, Himawari snatched at the foot she saw and pulled, producing a giggling Fai.

"Found you," she teased, giving his nose a gentle nuzzle with her own. "Will you help me find the others?"

Fai shook his head as he got to his feet. "No. _You_ have to find them. I'm not gonna squeal."

Himawari laughingly shook her head as she, too, rose to her feet. She took another look around the clearing and decided to let Yuui be for a little while longer. This was partially due to the fact that she had spotted the sudden glimmer of Larg's blue forehead jewel. She reached into the tightly packed branches of a young evergreen tree and easily plucked out the black Mokona.

"That tickles!" Larg protested, kicking its feet and wriggling its small body. After giving it another quick tickle on its small tummy, she released the black fuzz ball and continued her search. Soel was nowhere to be found, so she finally decided to go after Yuui. Himawari crept around the tree where she'd seen her before and found the little girl peeking around the other side of the tree, trying to see if the enemy was still around. Just as Yuui was starting to breathe a sigh of relief, Himawari pounced. Yuui gave a delighted shriek of surprise as Himawari snatched her up and spun her around. Fai ran toward them and Yuui squealed, "Put me down! Put me down!" Himawari did so and the three began to dance in a circle. Larg bounded into the middle of the circle and bounced up and down, singing, "Soel won! Soel won!" Before long, the four collapsed on the forest floor in a fit of giggles.

"You two are getting so big," Himawari said as she pulled the six-year-olds close to her. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to grow up so fast?"

Himawari's lamentation was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Soel. The little white thing came bounding up to them, clearly upset.

"What's wrong, Soel?" the young faerie asked as she sat up.

"Himawari!" the tiny creature moaned, clearly out of breath. "Someone's in the forest!"

Himawari instantly felt her heart turn to ice in her chest. "Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh. Mokona saw him. He's not far away. He heard you all laughing. He's coming here!"

"Seishiro," Himawari whispered, her eyes going wide in terror. "It has to be." She quickly gathered the twins to her and moved back to the tree where Yuui had been hiding. She lay down against the tree and pulled Fai and Yuui right up against her breast. Soel and Larg curled up on either side of her head, trembling in fright. If she attempted to teleport away, their was a chance Seishiro would be able to track her back to the cottage. She couldn't lead him there. She had no choice. She had to use glamour; a cloaking magic that would cause her and those near her to take on the appearance of something else. In this case, the tree trunk they were lying against. As she drew the shield in around them, she also tried to weave the magic web as tightly as she possibly could, so that the spell would not leave a signature for Seishiro to trace.

"Himawari?" Yuui asked, fear starting to build in her own voice as she felt her guardian's fear grow. "Would it help if we sang a song?"

"No, pumpkin," Himawari whispered, almost wanting to laugh at the child's wide-eyed innocence. "This is one time where it will not help anything. No matter what you might see or hear, you must be _very_ quiet. Hold tight to me," she whispered, holding the shivering children tighter. She was fairly certain that they could feel her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest, but she still tried to reassure them through the strength of her embrace.

What seemed like hours, but what were really only minutes, ticked away while Himawari waited for something to happen. Her heart leapt into her throat when she finally saw a figure cloaked in black appear through the trees. The voluminous hood was thrown back to reveal the sharp, pale face of the former prince of Faerie, Seishiro.

Seishiro had but one grey eye. Rather than heal it or use a glass one, he proudly left the socket empty as a reminder to all that he had faced and killed Lord Yasha in single combat. Among the beings that dwelt in Faerie, Seishiro had a rare ability. His touch could bring death, even to the immortal fey. His single eye was sharp and held nothing but terror for his enemies. Not even his own father could claim that he had ever seen his boy smile truly. Himawari had once liked to believe that he smiled for Subaru, but now, suddenly becoming the prey to his predator, she could only believe the worst of him.

"I know you're here," he said in a voice no louder than the drop of a pin, but that still somehow managed to send thrills of terror down Himawari's spine. "Why don't we stop playing these little games, Himawari? I'll let you go…if you hand over those children."

He waited a few moments for an answer, allowing his gaze to sweep the forest.

"No?" he asked, almost playfully. "I suppose we'll have to do this the hard way." A ball of fire formed in his hand and he lobbed it at the tree right next to their hiding place. The poor thing quickly went up in flames. Yuui started to scream, but Himawari managed to muffle the sound by pressing the child's face firmly against her breast.

"I'll just smoke you out," he said as he incinerated yet another tree. She could feel Fai shaking like a leaf, trying his best not to cry. Yuui's tears were already starting to soak her skin. As the heat rose around them, Seishiro suddenly walked right up to their tree and placed a hand against its bark. Instantly, the green, living tree withered and died. Himawari only just managed to change the glamour in time. Then the dark prince stared directly at the spot where they lay.

"Fine. Be that way. I rather like this little game. We should play again sometime." Without another word, the fallen prince vanished into thin air.

Himawari hadn't realized just how tense she was until she allowed herself to collapse against the dead tree, drawing several shaky breaths to try and calm herself. Soel and Larg snuggled up against her in an attempt to comfort her. She lessened her death grip on the twins, but only enough so as not to suffocate them. She still held them tightly against her, and they had no objections. Fai and Yuui clung just as tightly to her. Yuui was still crying softly and Fai had given into his terror and let a few tears slide down his face.

"Who was that man?" Fai sniffled.

"A very _bad_ man," Himawari whispered, kissing the tops of their heads. Though Seishiro was gone, she did not trust him to stay that way. She did not release the glamour for quite a while. After both sets of twins had left off crying and shivering, they all fell asleep on top of her, exhausted. Though she was exhausted herself, she took comfort in their closeness. She was still fighting off her own case of the chills as she finally released the glamour. She lay like that for a while longer, trying to regain the shattered pieces of her composure.

"KUNOGI!" a voice suddenly sounded through the trees. Himawari stiffened in fear and began to hyperventilate before realizing that it was Doumeki's voice calling her. He appeared out of almost nowhere, running toward her with his bow drawn. He saw her collapsed against the dead tree, holding the sleeping twins…and automatically assumed the worst.

"What happened? They're not-"

"No. They're fine," Himawari mumbled. "But…Sei…Seishiro…" She couldn't hold it in anymore. Himawari burst into tears. Doumeki laid his bow down and placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her.

"What about Seishiro?"

"He was here. He killed all these trees. He was looking for them," she cried softly. Distraught as she was, she didn't want the twins to wake and see her like this.

"I was afraid of that. I felt the wards shake and I came looking for you. For a moment there…I thought I was too late."

"Well, no worse for wear," Himawari said, trying to smile through her tears. "No one was hurt today."

"Maybe not today, but I still think we need to be more watchful from now on. I think maybe it would be best if we stayed inside for a few days. Let's get them home," Doumeki said gently as he lifted Fai and Soel into his own arms. Himawari nodded, climbing to her feet with Yuui and Larg in tow. As Doumeki led the way back through the forest, Himawari was able to ponder what she hadn't been able to before in her worry for the twins.

_He knew where we were the whole time. He was just toying with us! But…if that's the case…if he knew…why didn't he take Fai and Yuui? Why did he let us go?_

XxX

In the early, pre-dawn light, Queen Sakura stood, forlornly staring out a window at the beautiful spring day that was about to be born. The air was warm and smelled faintly of apples.

"Your Highness?" she suddenly heard a voice call her. She glanced down the corridor and saw Yukito appear out of the darkness. He was holding a baby boy in his arms. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I just wanted to watch the sun rise," she said, turning back to gaze at the ever lightening horizon. "They'll be seven years old today."

"I know," the high priest said as he came to stand beside her. "It's hard to believe it's already been seven years."

"What about you? Why are you up so early?"

"Eri-chan was being fussy, and as Touya says, 'Yuki, before sunrise, he's _your_ son'."

Eriol was Touya and Yukito's adopted son. His village and everyone in it had been destroyed by fire. He had survived because someone had thrown a wet towel across his cradle. Rescuers from the castle had discovered the screaming child in the smoldering remnants of the cottage two days later. Yukito had taken an immediate liking to the boy and talked Touya into adopting him, giving him the name Eriol. Yukito had guessed him to be about six months old when he came to them, so he didn't need to suckle from the breast anymore. Eriol seemed content with goat's milk from a bottle. Since they had no idea when his birthday was, they had decided that he would share a birthday with their niece and nephew. So today, April 1st, Eriol was a year old.

"You're so lucky, Yukito," Sakura said softly, tickling Eriol under the chin. The little boy giggled and snuggled shyly into his adoptive father's embrace.

"Sakura-chi," he said softly, using the name he'd not used for her since they were all children. "We all agreed that it was for the best."

"I know," Sakura sighed. "But I still miss them…so much. They were in my life…such a short while." Ever since her babies had vanished into the forest all those years ago, she felt as if she had been missing a piece of herself. And when they emerged from the forest in eleven years, it would be far too late to truly be a part of their lives. They were gone from her as surely as if Yuuko had slain them anyway.

"Yukito…could I please…hold Eri-chan?"

"Of course, my queen," he said, happy to do whatever he could to cheer her up. She always got like this around the twins' birthday. Yukito smiled warmly as he passed his son to his aunt. Sakura took the boy and held him close. Eriol had grey eyes and black hair, but somehow, he still reminded her so much of her own son. What was he like now? Was he a good boy? What was his favorite food? Did he get along well with his sister? She didn't know. But she wanted to…so badly.

_She was lying on her bed with both babies lying on her stomach, nursing. It was difficult to feed them both at once, but she sometimes had to and she had learned that this was the best way to do it. She didn't really mind, though. She loved holding the two of them close like this, feeling their tiny heartbeats flutter against her stomach. She had waited so long for this. Fai and Yuui were her miracle._

_Yuui suddenly stopped nursing and glanced up at her, a bright smile lighting up her round baby face. She released her grip on her source of food and waved up at her mother._ But, as the first light of dawn peeked over the horizon, her daughter's beautiful face twisted into smoke and faded away. Before she could stop them, tears began to slide down Sakura's face and onto Eriol's cheeks.

"Five months," she whispered into the little boy's dark hair. "Five months of memories…and Fai and Yuui won't even have _those_. I thought Syaoran and I were finally going to have a family."

"But you _do_ have a family, Sakura. You have Touya, and me, and now Eri-chan. You and the king have each other, and Yuui-chan and Fai-chan will come back to us someday."

Sakura nodded, hugging Eriol tighter in an attempt to stave off her sorrow. She would never have the chance to be a mother…not really. She had known that when she she'd seen the warmth in Himawari's face as she held Yuui. It was enough to know that her children were safe.

It would _have_ to be enough.

XxX

Fai sat worriedly beside Doumeki as he spoon-fed Yuui a bowl of chicken soup. The little girl was sweating and shaking and her skin was much paler than usual. She had been confined to bed for about a week now and Fai had had to share a bed with Doumeki because they didn't want him to get sick, too. Yuui had come down with a case of influenza. At first the three faeries had been worried, but Watanuki had mixed in a few charmed herbs with the broth they'd been feeding her. The worst was over now, but the poor girl was still very weak.

"Is Yuui gonna die?" Fai asked, finally voicing the question that had been plaguing his heart all week. This was the first time they'd let him in to see his sister since she'd gotten sick. No one would tell him what was wrong with her...and now, to see her like this…

Doumeki shook his head wearily at the sound of the tears in the seven-year-old's voice. "No, Fai. She's just very sick."

"What's a'matter with her?"

"It's called influenza."

"In-flu-en-za," Fai repeated slowly. "When will she get better?"

"Soon," Doumeki answered firmly. Fai nodded, taking comfort from the conviction in his guardian's voice. As Doumeki fed Yuui the last of the soup, Fai crawled up beside her on their large bed. He took her hand in his and she opened her eyes, smiling tiredly up at him.

"Hey, Fai," she greeted, sounding happy despite her scratchy voice.

"Hey, sis," he returned as he lay down beside her. "How do ya feel?"

"Sorta hot and cold…and funny all over," she mumbled.

"You should probably get some more sleep," Doumeki advised as he prepared another cool, wet rag for her forehead.

"But I wanna talk to Fai," the sick child said, trying to sound indignant through her sickness. "I haven't seen him in forever."

"Did they tell you that Larg got into the flour?"

"No!"

"Well, he did. He was bouncing all over the place and leaving prints everywhere and Watanuki got really mad," Fai giggled.

"I can't believe I missed it," Yuui whined softly. Then a yawn escaped her lips.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Fai asked, immediately getting worried again. "Do you need to sleep some more?"

"Maybe," she sighed.

"Oh, okay," Fai said, sounding slightly disappointed. "I'll go."

Yuui's grip on his hand tightened. "No. Don't go. Stay with me."

Fai nodded happily and snuggled in closer to his sister.

"Doumeki?" Yuui asked sleepily. "Will you sing us a song?"

Doumeki tensed up slightly at this. This was usually Himawari's area…maybe even Watanuki's. For some reason, the twins really loved being sung to. But…

"I don't sing," he said as he switched out the now-dry cloth on Yuui's forehead.

"Please," the twins begged in unison.

Doumeki smiled sardonically. The very thought of _him_ , Faerie's chief assassin, singing to a pair of children was almost laughable. No enemy would ever fear him again. But Fai and Yuui were, in some ways, worse than any enemy he had ever faced. They could break him with a simple look. There was nothing he could deny them.

"Well, if it will make you feel better…I do remember one song…" he trailed off as he recalled the singer of the song: his mother…Oruha. It had been so long ago…

The twins said nothing. They encouraged him simply by giving him their undivided attention. So, in a deep, baritone voice, the Darkness began to sing the lullaby from his distant childhood.

_Once upon a time_

_And long ago,_

_I heard someone singing_

_Soft and low._

_Now when day is done_

_And night is near,_

_I recall this song_

_I used to hear._

_My child, my very own,_

_Don't be afraid. You're not alone._

_Sleep until the dawn,_

_For all is well._

What none of them realized was that while Doumeki had been singing, Himawari and Watanuki had crept up to the door to listen. At first, they had been concerned at hearing such an unfamiliar voice coming from the twins' room. But then, almost simultaneously, they'd realized that it was Doumeki singing. Truth be told, neither of them was really surprised by it. Yuui and Fai had this effect on all of them. They brought out everything in them that was good.

_Long ago this song_

_Was sung to me._

_Now it's just a distant_

_Melody._

_Somewhere from the past_

_I used to know._

_Once upon a time_

_And long ago._

XxX

Sweat dripped down the boy's face and into his eyes, but he ignored the sting of salt as he pressed forward with his training sword.

Kurogane and his sensei, Kusanagi, were locked in a fierce battle. Much to Kurogane's anger, Kusanagi had told him that he still wasn't ready for a real sword, so they battled with blunted training swords.

"You're letting your anger get the best of you, Prince," Kusanagi said, not showing any signs of fatigue himself.

"Of course I'm angry!" the eleven-year-old shot back. "You won't let me use a real sword! Why are we still fooling around with these kids' toys?"

"Because you're not ready," Kusanagi returned calmly, easily blocking the enraged swings of his pupil. "When you can overcome your anger and understand _why_ you aren't ready…only then will you be ready for a blade." Truth be told, he was disappointed. He had expected much better of the prince. He hadn't expected him to have so much anger.

"Why am I not ready?!"

"The fact that you need to ask is proof enough that you are not. If you let your anger control you like this, it will cloud your judgment to the point where you won't be able to see what's right in front of you. If you lose control like that with a real blade, you can cut what you don't mean to cut…destroy what you mean to protect. Right now, your anger is making you sloppy. You might be the best among your age mates, even a few older than you, but I can read your every move like an open scroll."

The young prince gave a cry like an enraged bull and leapt high into the air. Employing a move that should have been a good three years above his skill level, he brought his sword crashing down, half-meaning to bash his master's skull in. Both swords shattered on impact and Kurogane collapsed to his knees before the sword master, panting in exhaustion. Kusanagi stood over him, calm as ever.

"That's enough for today," he admonished as he picked up the broken pieces of sword and moved off of the training ground. Kurogane couldn't even draw enough breath to get in an angry last word. The boy leaned over and pounded an angry fist against the ground.

"Smooth, Kurogane." He suddenly heard an extremely annoying female voice drop into the training arena.

"Bite me, Souma!" he said angrily as he glanced up at the intruder. The eight-year-old noble was dressed in a dark green yukata and her black hair hung unbound to her waist. "Aren't you supposed to be at lessons right now?"

"Meh, I didn't feel like it today. A girl can only take so much 'always walk with your head up, never raise your voice, and always hold your chopsticks just so'," she said daintily, openly mocking her nurse, Sonomi. "I wish I could train with you, but Father won't let me."

Kurogane smirked, his anger alleviating slightly. Souma was anything but a proper noble's daughter. Her mother, the Lady Hokuto, had died giving birth to her. Kurogane barely remembered the event, but he did remember Hokuto as a bright smile and a warm lap. Apparently, she and Souma were very much alike. Hokuto hated ceremony, but ever since her death, Souma's father, Lord Kakyo Kuzuki, clung desperately to ceremony. He forced Souma to be the most perfect little lady she could be. Of course, that just made her more desperate to rebel against him. She hated the role she was being forced into. From what she heard, her mother would never have stood for it. Some of the servants even had the audacity to whisper behind her back that Kakyo kept Souma on such a tight leash because he didn't want to be reminded of Hokuto…that he blamed his daughter for her death. Souma heard the whispers, but Kurogane knew that she didn't need to. She had always blamed herself.

"Kusanagi-san's right, you know. You really shouldn't lose your temper like that," the young girl reprimanded him.

"What? Like you're so much better?" Kurogane hissed nastily as he moved back toward the palace. Souma followed quickly after him, taking two steps for every one of his.

"Maybe not, but at least _I_ know when to keep my mouth shut," she returned primly. Kurogane was about to respond when he heard a sound that he didn't like coming from the shrines.

"Hime, you must try harder," the voice of Chang Ang insisted.

"I _am_ trying!" his little sister's distraught voice echoed to him across the grounds. "But I can't see anything. I can't choose what I see."

"Well, that's what we're here for."

If it had been any other day, Kurogane might have been able to bear it, but right now he was extremely pissed off and the stuffy high priest was about to bear the brunt of his anger. Kurogane marched purposefully toward the shrine where he heard the voices, Souma right on his heels.

Kurogane swung the thin paper door open with so much force that he very nearly broke it. There was Chang Ang, standing behind his sister. Tomoyo herself was leaning over a large black bowl filled with water, staring resolutely into its depths, but she couldn't hide the beginning signs of tears from her big brother. Kurogane moved in on the aged priest as Souma moved toward Tomoyo. The enraged prince spun the man around and grabbed the collar of his robes.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"She's tired. Let her have a break," Kurogane hissed dangerously, keeping his hold on Chang Ang as Souma hustled Tomoyo out of the room.

"But she needs to practice other means of divining. We can't stop for little things like breaks right now."

"She's six years old. She's taking a break," he said firmly before turning and following Souma and Tomoyo out of the shrine. When they were safely away, Kurogane picked up his baby sister and slung her over his shoulder.

"'Nii-sama, you brute! Where are you taking me?" she asked, half-heartedly beating a fist against his back. Kurogane always carried her like this because he knew she enjoyed it. Plus, it was easier for him. Tomoyo was getting heavy.

"To your room. You're taking a nap."

Tomoyo suddenly became serious again. "But…I don't wanna go to sleep. Chang Ang-sama will make me tell him what I see."

Kurogane sighed. He knew his sister didn't sleep much anymore for that very reason. She was a growing girl. She _needed_ her rest, but she didn't like Chang Ang pressuring her to interpret what she saw. She would gladly share any dreams she had with Kurogane, but the high priest was another matter. He would put her on the spot and pick her to pieces...and now he was making her learn divining methods that were well above her age level.

"Don't worry, Tomoyo-chan. We'll make sure you have a nice, long nap. No big-mouthed priests to interrupt," Souma assured her as the three friends entered the little girl's room. Souma slid the door closed behind them and went to sit on Tomoyo's futon. Kurogane laid Tomoyo down and she rested her head on Souma's lap. Kurogane sat down beside them and his sister snuggled up comfortably between the two of them. The boy started massaging her back comfortingly and Souma started to hum a soft melody.

"Mm, that's a nice song, Souma-chan," Tomoyo said sleepily. "What're the words?"

Souma blushed lightly at the compliment. "I don't remember all of them. It's a song Sonomi used to sing…when she was just my nurse and not my tutor."

"Sing what you do remember. Please," Tomoyo begged, pulling her best puppy face.

Souma giggled. "All right. Anything for you, Tomoyo-chan."

_Two little princesses_

_Dancing in a road,_

_Spinning fast and freely_

_On their little toes._

_Where the light will take them,_

_No one ever knows._

_Two little princesses_

_Dancing in a road._

_Two little princesses_

_Dancing in a road,_

_Spinning fast and freely_

_On their little toes._

_Where the light will take them,_

_There's only one way to know._

_Two little princesses_

_Dancing in a road._

Souma kept singing, humming the parts she couldn't remember. Before long, Tomoyo was fast asleep, cuddled between the two of them like a little bunny rabbit.

"You're really good with her," Kurogane said quietly.

Souma gave him an incredulous look. "So are you. I mean, you're her brother."

"Yeah. I'm just saying, Tomoyo really likes you."

The young noble suddenly got a very contemplative look on her face. "Do you think…maybe this is what Kusanagi-san was talking about?"

Kurogane raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

"About…destroying what you mean to protect. What if…you accidentally hurt Tomoyo-chan?"

Kurogane was about to violently protest, but then he remembered how he'd felt not half an hour ago when he'd wanted to run Kusanagi through. Kusanagi…the only one who had known him longer was his own mother. If he was capable of thinking such violence against his own master, what was to stop him from losing control in front of Tomoyo?

"Sonomi says that most people have to mess something up before they really learn. I don't think this is something you wanna mess up."

Kurogane sat, frozen, unable to say anything. The thought of actually…losing control…hurting Tomoyo…

 _I think…maybe I understand_ …

He turned to say something more to Souma, but found that she had dozed off herself, her head resting lightly against his shoulder. The boy rolled his eyes, realizing that he was in for a long wait. He would have to apologize to Kusanagi sometime today. He couldn't do that with the snoozing girls draped all over him. But at the same time, he found he didn't mind so much as all that.

XxX

"You have to pull the string back further," Doumeki coached. He, Fai, and Yuui were all in a clearing not too far from their home practicing archery. After the incident with Seishiro, they had all decided it would be best for the twins to learn how to use some kind of weapon…when they were old enough, of course. Now that they had reached their ninth birthday, Doumeki had decided that they were old enough to learn archery. So he had set up several targets away from the cottage and fashioned his adopted children toy bows and blunted arrow shafts to shoot with. He wouldn't risk them using real arrows yet and he knew neither of them was strong enough to string a good bow, but he figured that now was as good a time as any for them to start working on their aim. He was currently working with Fai while Yuui waited her turn in the shade of a nearby tree. She was humming to herself and linking several wild flowers together into some kind of chain.

"But it won't _go_ any further!" Fai insisted pitifully.

"It will," Doumeki said calmly as he knelt next to Fai, placing his hands on his to help guide him. "It wants to. But _you_ must find the strength to help it reach its full potential. That bow is capable of making your arrow fly further than your eyes can see, but it can't do it without you."

Fai closed his eyes, breathing steadily as he focused on Doumeki's words. He'd already failed so many times to make the arrow fly. He didn't want to fail again. He gripped the bow tightly and felt the earth beneath his feet, firmly grounding him. Doumeki held his hands in place and, somehow, he managed to draw the arrow back those last few inches. Triumph shone in his eyes as they popped open.

"Don't let your guard down just yet," Doumeki advised as he relinquished his hold on the boy. "It's not over until you make the shot."

Fai stood absolutely still for a moment, remembering Doumeki's warning not to be too hasty and fire off a shot before he was ready. He took that extra moment to aim the blunted arrow. Then…he released it.

The arrow flew true…and hit home with a resounding _thunk_. Not the very center of the target, of course, but at least he'd hit it this time. The next moment, Fai felt arms around his body.

"Fai! You did it!" Yuui cheered. Her twin was slightly taken aback at first. He hadn't even realized his sister was behind him. But he soon got over it and glanced happily at Yuui and Doumeki.

"Yeah! I really did, didn't I?" he said, not quite certain if he was dreaming or not.

"Yeah, you did," Doumeki said, reaching down and affectionately rumpling the little boy's blond hair. "Good job. I knew you could make it fly. And now…it's Yuui's turn."

The little blonde angel growled just a little as Fai removed his wrist guards and handed them to her.

XxX

Kurogane was bored. And when a thirteen-year-old prince with mad ninja skills is bored, all the world knows there will be hell to pay.

Earlier that morning, Kurogane had had a picnic lunch prepared and he'd saddled up his horse, Suwa. The prince had never been very good with horses and no one had expected him to form the bond that he had with the black stallion. But for some reason, Kurogane had been determined to tame him. It had taken some doing, but the proud creature had eventually tamed its wild heart to Kurogane's hand. Boy and horse had become the best of friends and, as per his training, the only people who could ride Suwa were himself, Tomoyo, and Souma. Today, the four of them would have been going on their greatest adventure to date, but Souma had gotten herself in trouble again. Something about putting blue dye in Sonomi's hair care items. She was under strict house arrest by order of her father. There was no way he'd be able to break her out. So it would just be him, Tomoyo, and Suwa…assuming he successfully managed to kidnap Tomoyo, that is.

Kurogane was listening intently outside the door to the shrine where Chang Ang and his sister were working. Occasionally, he would peek through the door, which was cracked open just slightly to allow the morning breeze into the shrine. Chang Ang was drilling his sister in the proper methods of bone casting. Kurogane was well aware he would get in trouble for this. He had yet to hear the end of it from their mother the last time he had stolen Tomoyo away from her studies. But he really didn't care. No kid could be about their studies every hour of every day. So he was treating himself and his sister to a day off. He would have to remember to bring Souma back something cool.

When Chang Ang finally moved away from Tomoyo to help another miko with something, Kurogane silently slid the door open and crept inside. He placed a hand over Tomoyo's mouth. Her eyes widened briefly, but then she felt a familiar arm around her torso and realized it was Kurogane. She quickly relaxed, allowing her brother to quietly drag her out of the shrine.

Once they were free, they scrambled to their feet and Kurogane started running toward the stables, leading Tomoyo.

"'Nii-sama, what's going on?" the eight-year-old princess asked excitedly.

"We're going exploring," he answered.

"Ohohoho! Another one of your adventures. Yay!" she cheered as they burst into Suwa's stall. Her brother's little outings were always so much fun. Sometimes they would explore the marketplace in Shirasagi. Other times they would visit some of the smaller villages that surrounded the capital. Once or twice they had even ventured into Celes Forest.

Kurogane easily helped Tomoyo climb onto Suwa's saddle. Then he led the stallion out of his stall and climbed up behind her. That was when he heard the most horrifying sound in all of Nihon.

"TOMOYO! KUROGANE!" Chang Ang bellowed angrily as he stomped into the stable. His face was red with anger and effort. "Enough of this foolishness!"

Tomoyo glanced sadly back at her brother, as if to apologize for getting them caught. But Kurogane had a look of steely determination in his eyes. He was not about to give way to this sour old man. He would be king here someday after all. He gave Suwa a good dig with his heels, and the powerful animal surged forward on a collision course with the high priest.

The man stood his ground for a moment. A fierce glee flared up in Kurogane's chest when he saw the realization in his eyes. The moment Chang Ang realized that Kurogane was not going to stop, he threw himself out of the way. As the royal siblings flew by on the black arrow of rippling muscle, the high priest landed in a pile of soiled hay with an undignified yelp.

Kurogane gave a wild whoop of joy as Suwa shot away from the castle and down through the streets of Shirasagi. It was too early in the morning for there to be crowds out. Shopkeepers and street vendors were just beginning to set up shop as the two flew by on Suwa. The prince had warned one of his guard friends, Sorata, that he and Tomoyo would be coming through, so there wouldn't be any problems with the city gates. In fact, he could see the open gates just ahead. Sorata had kept his word. Kurogane caught a glimpse of him waving as he and Tomoyo breezed by.

"Thanks, Sorata!" he called over his shoulder. Tomoyo giggled.

"You thought of everything, didn't you?"

"Have fun, you two!" Sorata called after them.

XxX

"I can't believe we actually talked them into letting us go out by ourselves," Yuui said excitedly. She and Fai were riding Leval through the forest. Soel and Larg were perched atop their heads.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Fai started teasingly. "They let us go out alone because Doumeki finally decided that I can shoot good enough to protect you."

"I can shoot just as good as you!" Yuui shot back indignantly. "Besides, if we really got in trouble, it wouldn't matter how good we could shoot because Doumeki won't let us use real arrows yet. All the arrows in your quiver are blunted."

"Wanna bet?" the ten-year-old said mischievously as he pulled an arrow from his quiver. The point was sharp and deadly.

"Where did you get that? Doumeki didn't give it to you, did he?" Yuui asked angrily. If Doumeki trusted Fai with a real arrow and not her…

"Of course not. I lifted it from his quiver before we left. I figured we might need it."

"Ooooh, Fai's a bad boy!" Soel reprimanded.

"But you won't tell, will you, Soel?" Fai asked with a disarming smile. "This is self-defense we're talking about, after all."

"Mm, okay. Fai has convinced Mokona," the little white thing said cheerfully. It did love a good game. Besides, Soel knew that it and Larg could handle anything that might happen. The real reason Doumeki, Himawari, and Watanuki had let the twins take Leval out by themselves was because Soel and Larg were with them.

"Hey, did you see that?" Fai asked, suddenly whispering.

"What?" Yuui whispered back.

"I saw something up ahead, through the trees. Something black."

Yuui followed her brother's gaze. After awhile, she managed to spot what he was looking at.

"It's a horse," she announced quietly, "and he's got two riders. But…who would come this far into the forest? Watanuki said that no one lives here but us."

"Let's have some fun," Fai said giddily as he slithered silently off of Leval's back.

"Wait, Fai!" Yuui hissed, grabbing onto her twin's shoulder. "They might be dangerous. Himawari told us never to talk to strangers."

"It's fine, Yuui. Even if they are dangerous, no one can catch me," he said, grinning roguishly before vanishing into the foliage. He circled around the overgrown path that the horse was on and easily climbed up a tall tree. Its branches grew out over the old trail, right over the spot where the horse and its riders had come to a stop. The riders were a boy and a girl. If Fai had to guess, he would say that the boy was older than him and the girl was younger. The boy's intense red gaze swept the forest suspiciously. Fai grinned wickedly to himself as he selected an arrow from his quiver and notched it to his bow.

XxX

"We've never been this far into the forest before," Tomoyo said, her voice hushed with awe. Kurogane would have joined in her wonder were it not for the fact that he knew they were being watched. Kusanagi had taught him well. He could feel the prick of a pair of eyes on the back of his neck. Someone was near. He knew it. He said nothing, so as not to alarm his sister. His gaze swept the forest several times as he fingered the hilt of the sword strapped to his belt. On his twelfth birthday, Kusanagi had finally presented him with his own sword, a beautiful piece of craftsmanship called Sohi. He worked with it so much the blade was practically an extension of his arm.

Suddenly, something white swung down from the tree branches above. In the same instant, Kurogane drew Sohi, raising it just above his head. The thing stopped several inches from the young prince's face. It was a boy, a boy with blond hair hanging upside down from the tree branch. A boy who happened to be aiming an arrow right between his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" the boy asked, a dangerous, teasing smile working its way onto his face. "Celes Forest is no place for humans."

"You're a human," Kurogane pointed out.

"Am I?"

"Are you one of the faerie people?" Tomoyo asked excitedly, as if she had expected the boy to drop from the sky the whole time.

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. Put away your sword and you might find out," he said to Kurogane, that oh so annoying smile still in place.

"No way!" the prince shot back. "Not unless you drop your bow!"

"The guest should disarm first."

"Guest? What guest? Do you _know_ who I am?!"

"Enlighten me."

"I am Prince Kurogane Youou, heir to the throne of Nihon! I'm no guest of yours!"

"A fine title, to be sure, Prince-sama. But did you know that you're not in Nihon anymore? Celes belongs to no kingdom. This is _my_ home. Therefore, you are my guest."

"What kind of host threatens to shoot their guests between the eyes?"

"I could just as easily consider you a trespasser."

"That isn't even a real arrow," Kurogane said angrily.

"Maybe not," the boy conceded. "But I _do_ have the high ground."

"Oh, Kurogane! Please put Sohi down. I like him," Tomoyo begged. Kurogane sighed. It never failed. Tomoyo pulled that sweet, innocent voice on him and he was helpless. She was a real snake, his sister.

"Fine. But only if you drop your bow, too."

"I can do that."

Never once taking his eyes from the boy, Kurogane slowly lowered Sohi to his side. At the same time, the mystery boy loosened his arrow from the bow. As Sohi fell to the earth, the boy flung his bow and arrow away. Then he dropped to the ground beside Suwa. The horse panicked slightly but Kurogane managed to rein him in.

"So are you a faerie?" Tomoyo asked as she hopped off of Suwa with Kurogane close behind her.

"I wasn't kidding when I said maybe I am and maybe I'm not. I'm not really sure."

"I'm Tomoyo," the little princess introduced herself enthusiastically. "What's your name?"

The boy didn't answer right away. He turned to glance back into the forest and called loudly. Before long, a white horse came riding out of the trees. A beautiful young girl sat astride the horse. Her eyes were blue and her blonde hair hung unbound to about the middle of her back. Kurogane glanced back at the boy and noticed that he had the same rare, sapphire blue eyes. For a moment, he could have sworn that he recognized the boy, but the feeling was gone the next instant when he started talking again.

"I'm Fai, and this is my twin sister, Yuui. Welcome to our forest."


	4. Beauty Fair

"How can you not know whether or not you're a faerie?" Kurogane asked suspiciously.

"We don't have any parents," Fai answered casually.

"Do you live here all alone?" Tomoyo asked, wide-eyed.

"No. We live with Himawari, Watanuki, and Doumeki," Yuui explained.

"And you're sure that none of _them_ are your parents?" Kurogane suggested.

"Pretty sure," Fai said, tilting his head ponderously to one side as he continued to speak. "We don't look anything like them. Plus, they told us that they found us sleeping in a hollow tree when we were just little babies. They waited for someone to come for us, but no one ever did, so they took us home with them. For all we know, we _could_ be faeries. We don't even know which one of us is older."

"Well, if you're _not_ faeries, then what are those _things_ with you?" Kurogane asked, inclining his head toward the Mokona, sitting contentedly atop Leval's head.

"Not things!" Soel insisted. "Soel is Soel!"

"And Larg is Larg!"

"Mokona is Mokona!" they cheered in unison. Then Soel bounced right from Leval's head to Kurogane's face, latching on.

"Mokona is so happy to see Kurogane!" Soel said excitedly, clinging to the enraged prince's face, though he was trying desperately to shake it off.

"Get the hell off me!" Kurogane's muffled voice shouted as he attempted to claw the white thing from his face.

"Aww, Kuro-tan needs to lighten up," Fai teased as he plucked Soel from the teenager's face. Kurogane froze.

"What was that?"

"What? The bit about lightening u-"

"No! Just now? What did you call me?"

"Oh. Kuro-tan. It's so much less scary than Kurogane."

"Idiot! I am royalty! You will call me my _name_!"

"Tomoyo-hime? Why is your nii-chan so grumpy?" Fai asked, completely ignoring said nii-chan. Kurogane just growled. Nii- _chan_? And of course his baby sister would get a proper title. What would this blond moron come up with next?

"Ohohoho! Please, no hime," Tomoyo giggled. "Call me Tomoyo-chan."

"Only if you'll call me Fai-kun."

"Okay, Fai-kun. Don't mind Nii-sama. He just doesn't like being teased. He's _so_ serious."

Fai grinned wickedly upon hearing this. A sourpuss, eh?

"Well then, allow us to be your guides for the day."

"And why would we want to do that?" Kurogane asked with a sneer.

"Because we know all the best places in the forest," Yuui answered matter-of-factly. "You don't want to get lost, do you?" she asked as she hopped off of Leval. She led the mare toward the group and Suwa took an immediate interest in her. He sniffed at her white mane and neighed in approval. Leval shyly turned her head away. Kurogane just rolled his eyes.

_Honestly, Suwa. Have you no shame? I thought I trained you better._

"Why doesn't your horse have a saddle?" Tomoyo asked Yuui. The older girl gave her a befuddled expression.

"What's a saddle?"

Kurogane glanced sideways at her. "Are you…serious?"

"Completely. What's a saddle?"

"This," he answered, patting the one on Suwa's back. "Your horse doesn't have any reins either. How do you control her?"

Both twins stared curiously at the prince.

"Control?" Fai wondered aloud, testing the word in his mouth as if he had never spoken it before.

"Why would we want to control Leval? She's our friend," Yuui said, resting her head against the white mare's expansive neck.

"I can understand riding bareback, but no reins? I don't get it."

"It's not hard," Fai said with a shrug. "We just tell her where we want to go."

" _Tell_ her?" Kurogane asked skeptically. "Good one. How do you _really_ do it?"

"That's really it. We'll show you. Get back on your horse and follow us to the river," Yuui said. Then Fai gave her a boost onto Leval and she helped him climb up behind her.

"I don't take orders from you!"

"Please, Nii-sama, let's go with them. I want to see the river."

Kurogane rolled his eyes as he helped his snake of a sister climb back onto Suwa. "It's not like you've never seen the Yume River before."

"Yeah, but not from this deep in the forest."

"Fine," he sighed, climbing onto Suwa himself and riding after the twins on Leval. As he stared suspiciously at their backs, he saw Yuui lean forward and whisper something to Leval. The mare immediately headed off the old path and into the forest. Suwa followed close behind. Fai had his arms loosely draped around Yuui to keep himself from falling and Yuui kept her fingers gently twined in Leval's mane.

"I don't get it," Kurogane muttered. "How's she doing it?"

"Maybe she really is talking to Leval," Tomoyo whispered excitedly.

"Oh, come on!" Kurogane hissed back. "Do you actually believe that?"

"Secret secrets are no fun unless you share with everyone," Fai called over his shoulder in a singsong voice.

"Idiot," Kurogane mumbled, finally falling silent and allowing the twins on the white horse to lead them through the forest. Before long, the sound of running water could be heard through the trees. Then, almost before the young prince realized what was going on, Leval was stopping, Suwa was pulling up beside her, and the two horses were lowering their heads as one to drink from the Yume River. Yuui and Fai easily leapt down off of Leval and moved forward to drink from the river themselves. Tomoyo quickly scrambled down beside them to splash some water on her face.

"Ooh, Nii-sama, come try this. The water is so much cooler and cleaner here."

"It's the same water."

"Don't be such a sourpuss, Kuro-wan wan," Fai teased.

"I told you not to call me that!" Kurogane said threateningly as he swung himself off of Suwa.

"Ne, Kuro-rin!" Fai sang, splashing the grumpy prince with some freezing water.

"Aargh!" he yelped as the river water soaked him. His eyes lit up with a demon fire as he drew Sohi. "All right! That's it! You're dead meat, kid!"

"Uh-oh! Run!" Fai shouted excitedly, leaping up and darting into the trees. Kurogane raced off after him.

"Kuro-rin's mad!" Soel cried, clinging to Fai's hair to keep from falling off his head.

"Get back here!"

"You can't catch me! You can't catch me! Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah!"

"Come back and fight like a man, freak!" Kurogane shouted angrily. Frustrated at his inability to catch the maniac, he started to lash out at the trees with Sohi. Fai instantly stopped in his tracks and Yuui shot to her feet. Fai spun around to face Kurogane, who was still bearing down on him.

"What are you doing?!" Fai cried out, more shocked than angry. It was the abject hurt and desperation on the boy's face that stopped Kurogane.

"Uh…trying to kill you?" he said uncertainly.

"Not that. I meant the trees. If it was me you wanted, why would you go after them?"

"I…uh…"

"You mustn't do that," Fai insisted. He seized Kurogane's hand and placed it against the bark of one of the trees he'd slashed. "Can't you feel its pain?"

Kurogane shook his head slowly, staring at Fai as if seeing him for the first time. Fai just shook his head.

"If you want to attack me, then attack me. Just leave the forest out of it."

"Maybe you two really are faeries."

"Mm, maybe. Or maybe it just comes from living in Celes so long," Fai smiled, already back to his bubbly, cheerful self.

"You guys are fun. We should all eat lunch together!" Tomoyo suggested eagerly.

"I don't think so," Kurogane said, himself slipping back into the role of gruff, suspicious older brother. He was eager to forget the whole incident. "I only packed lunch for the two of us."

"That's no problem," Yuui said, patting a knapsack she'd been carrying. Watanuki made a lunch for me and Fai."

"If we go up the river a little, there's a place where it widens and there's a small island that we can go to," Fai said, going to the river one last time and dunking his head in.

"Yay!" Yuui cheered. "Let's go! Let's go!" Wasting no more words, the girl took Tomoyo by the hand and started off along the riverbank.

"Hey! Wait up!" Kurogane shouted after them, grabbing Suwa by the reins and leading him after the fleeing girls. Fai whispered to Leval and the two started off after the ragtag band. As they moved, the river got wider and wider and the trees got thinner and thinner. After a while, the group burst out of the forest and into an open meadow. The river was very wide here and, just as Fai had said, there was an island at its center.

"All right," Yuui started assertively, plucking Larg off of her head and placing it on Leval's back next to Soel. "This is where we cross."

"But there isn't a bridge here," Kurogane said indignantly.

"What? Afraid to get wet, Kuro-chuu?" Fai teased mercilessly.

"No!" Kurogane protested hotly. "It's just that…Tomoyo and I…can't swim," he admitted.

"Can't…swim?" Fai repeated slowly, uncomprehending.

"Why not?" Yuui asked.

"It's just…not done in Nihon," the prince explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "It's not…proper for royalty to be swimming."

Tomoyo tilted her head curiously. "Since when did _you_ care about what was proper, Nii-sama?"

Kurogane flushed red briefly. "I don't," he insisted, "but it's not like there's anyone around to teach us."

"Doumeki taught us how to swim," Fai said proudly. " _We_ could teach you."

"And why would you do that?" Kurogane asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because it's fun to swim," Fai answered. "We don't want our new friends to be left out, now do we?"

"Friends?"

Fai raised his own eyebrow at the confusion in the prince's voice. "Yes. We're all friends here, aren't we?"

Before Kurogane could say anything, Tomoyo enthusiastically hugged Yuui. "Of course we're friends!"

Yuui returned the embrace just as enthusiastically and Kurogane rolled his eyes.

"Whatever."

"Best friends! Best friends!" Soel sang.

"Best friends forever!" Larg joined in.

"Would you two talking manjuu buns just shut up?" Kurogane raged.

"Manjuu buns!" Larg shouted in terror.

"Kuro-prince is mean! He's going to eat Soel and Larg!" Soel moaned, pretending to pass out and fall off of Leval into Fai's open arms.

"Nii-sama, play nice," the eight-year-old princess scolded her brother.

"Play?" he returned deviously. "The only kind of game I can see playing with _these_ two is a good game of catch…and they get to be the balls."

Both creatures moaned pitifully.

"No need to play so rough," Fai intervened, petting Soel's white fur. "On the subject of swimming, we don't have to worry about that now. Let's just eat. I'm hungry."

Yuui heartily agreed and began to set out the lunch their guardian had made for them. As Kurogane moved to take his and Tomoyo's own lunch out of Suwa's saddlebag, he couldn't help glancing at Fai, marveling at how easily he had defused the situation. From what he knew of the boy so far, he'd half-expected him to make it worse somehow. This kid seemed to have a talent for bringing out the worst in him, but he also clearly had a talent for subterfuge. He would have to keep an eye on this one.

"When will you teach us how to swim?" Tomoyo asked excitedly, her tone of voice completely at odds with the delicate way she ate her rice.

"Next time you come here. You don't want to get those fancy riding clothes of yours dirty, now do you?" Yuui teased lightly as she chowed down on an egg. "Besides, that heavy cloth would just drag you down."

"We'll bring you some swim clothes," Fai added, biting into a brownie.

"What makes you think we need anything from you?" Kurogane asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Well, you're royalty, aren't you? Am I right thinking you don't have everyday clothes lying around? Besides, Kuro-tan's already admitted that he needs me for _something_. Swimming lessons?"

The closest the boy came to admitting that he'd been outmatched was the light blush that spread across his face. He piped down and went back to eating his sushi, all the while glaring at his newfound adversary. Yuui and Tomoyo continued to talk animatedly together as they ate, but Fai fell oddly silent. The ten-year-old was well aware of the older boy's eyes on him and he couldn't help but grin at his apparent bafflement. Something about the prince and his reactions to everything made him want to tease him.

"What are you staring at, Kuro-pin?" he asked after a while.

"How can you eat that sugary crap?" he asked. After finishing his brownie, Fai had started on some other chocolaty pastry that Kurogane couldn't identify. He hadn't eaten one bit of real food the entire meal.

"Oh! Kuro-pippi doesn't like chocolate fondant?" Fai whined despairingly. "But Watanuki makes such good chocolate. You should try some," he said, holding out the dripping chocolate pastry. Kurogane cringed at the mere sight of it.

"No way! I hate sugar!"

Fai tilted his head curiously to one side. "Don't…like…sugar?" Then he flung himself at his twin, buried his face in her lap, and began to sob melodramatically.

"Quit that fake crying!" Kurogane shouted indignantly.

"Poor Kuro-tan! No wonder he's so grumpy! He's never had a nice cupcake to cheer him up!

"Enough!" the enraged teen snarled.

Tomoyo moved to pat the distraught Fai on the shoulder and gave her brother a sharp look. "Don't be mean to Fai-kun."

"Don't be mean to _him_? What about me? I'd say I've suffered the most today, putting up with _this_ crazy lot!"

"Waaah!" Fai sobbed even louder. "Kuro-prince doesn't like me anymore!"

"Anymore?! I never liked you to begin with, you moron!"

"How _dare_ you insult my brother?" Yuui challenged, rising from the ground in the same melodramatic fashion said brother was using. "I challenge you to a duel for his honor!" she cried, slapping him across the face. Kurogane rolled with the blow, falling to the ground in a tangle of limbs. The strength of the slap really had nothing to do with it. He was just so shocked that someone would dare to strike _him_.

"Speechless?" Yuui said, her whimsical smile immediately falling back into place. "Guess that means I win."

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Kurogane protested, leaping to his feet and reaching for his sword.

"Aww, come on, Kurogane-kun. We were just messing with you," Yuui said as she helped Fai to his feet.

"Therein lies the problem," he hissed. He was about to draw his sword when he suddenly felt Tomoyo's small hands on his own.

"Please, Nii-sama," she begged gently. "Not here. I like them."

Kurogane just rolled his eyes. "Are you done eating yet?"

"Yes. Why?"

"It's getting late. We need to get home."

"Okay," Fai started, hopping back over to Leval. "We'll take you back to the spot where we found you."

Kurogane said nothing. He could at least admit that he didn't know his way back through the forest. On the way back, the two horses walked side by side.

"When will we see you again?" Tomoyo asked uncertainly.

"The next time you come back here," Fai said cheerfully.

"But…how will we find you?"

"Don't worry. We'll find you. We'll be watching. All you need to do is come to the forest. Celes will tell us when you come back."

Kurogane was about to say something, but Fai interrupted before he could speak, without even looking at him.

"Come now, Kuro-wan wan. Are you still surprised by the things I say? Why don't we just say that we'll know and leave it at that if it bothers you so much?"

"Crazy kid," Kurogane muttered to himself. Almost before the prince knew it, they had arrived back at the path they'd left several hours ago.

"How did we get back here so fast?"

"Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure we just might know Celes a bit better than you do. We know the fastest ways through the forest," Yuui explained.

"Plus, Celes can mess with your mind, mess up your sense of time and things like that."

"What?!"

"Well, it _is_ a magic forest," Fai said with another mischievous grin. "But don't worry. Celes won't hurt you."

"How do you know?" Kurogane asked.

"You wouldn't have been able to get as far as you did if the forest didn't like you. Maybe you were supposed to come here today."

Kurogane rolled his eyes before turning Suwa back the way they'd come. Supposed to come here? Ridiculous. The reason they'd come here today was because he had decided they would. That was all there was to it.

"Goodbye, Fai-kun! Yuui-chan! Moko-chan! See you soon!" Tomoyo called back to the twins. But, just before they vanished back into the forest on their snow white horse, Fai called out to them.

"One more thing! You can't tell anyone about us."

"Why not?" Kurogane queried, clearly agitated.

"Because Watanuki, Doumeki, and Himawari say we're not allowed to talk to strangers. If you tell anyone else, they might find out and we won't be able to see you anymore."

Kurogane considered this for a moment, then asked, "Can we tell one other person?"

"Who?"

"A friend of mine. A girl your age named Souma. Can we bring her next time?"

Fai traded glances with Yuui, the two of them seeming to deliberate without words. Then he called back, "Okay, but just her. No one else. Besides, how would _your_ parents react if they found out you'd met two strange kids in the forest?"

Before Kurogane could say anything, the twins had already disappeared. It wasn't like a response was needed. Fai was right, after all.

As the two rode back through the forest, Tomoyo glanced over her shoulder at her brother. "We _are_ coming back, right?"

"Sure. Why not?" he answered with a shrug. It was something different to look forward to, a secret adventure they could keep from the adults…something just for them. He could escape the pressures of being the crown prince. Tomoyo could get away from Chang Ang and Souma could escape the overbearing control of Sonomi and her father. While it was true that that Fai kid made him angry as all hell, at the same time there was something about him that the young prince found oddly intriguing.

XxX

"Stand aside," Kurogane ordered the two ninja standing guard outside of Souma's quarters.

"We have orders not to, my Prince. My Lady Souma is under house arrest. You will have to take it up with Lord Kakyo."

The prince just sighed, then drew Sohi almost faster than the eye could track and placed the blade against the ninja's throat.

"Your Highness –" the ninja started nervously through dry lips.

"I don't have time for your games. This is important. Who will be emperor here after my okaa-san? Me…or Kakyo?"

"I'd do what he says," Souma's voice sounded through the thin scrim of a door. "You don't want to see Kurogane when he gets angry."

"A- all right," the ninja stuttered. "Just be quick about it."

Kurogane nodded briefly, sheathing his sword and sliding the door open.

"And you couldn't have done that to get me out this morning?" Souma asked indignantly from her place on her futon.

"Nope," he answered glibly, seating himself in front of her. "I can get in here, but if you try to walk out with me, we're finished. How do you feel about swimming lessons?"

"Well, you could at least – what was that last bit?"

"I'm pretty sure I didn't stutter. Listen good this time because I'm not going to repeat myself again. How do you feel about swimming lessons?"

"Sounds like fun. Why? You don't know someone who can swim, do you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Tomoyo and I met two people who can."

"But I thought you two went to Celes Forest today. Who would you meet in the middle of a forest?"

"Two kids about your age. Fai and Yuui. They said they live there."

"Kurogane! Do you know how dangerous that is? They could have been faeries! They could have taken you and Tomoyo back to Faerie with them!"

"Not so loud," Kurogane hushed her. "That doesn't sound like the fun-loving Souma I know. If that was really what they wanted, then they would have done it. Besides, I can take that Fai kid. They said they'd teach us how to swim the next time we came back to the forest and that we can bring you, but we're not supposed to tell anyone else."

"Why not?" Souma asked suspiciously.

"Because they have paranoid guardians, same as us."

Souma considered his words for a moment, and after a while, seemed to warm to the idea. Who was more paranoid than Sonomi, after all?

"So…what are they like, these forest kids?"

"Well, they're twins. I think they have three guardians. They have a white horse that they ride with no saddle or reins."

"That's odd."

"Tell me something I don't know," Kurogane bristled. "They're both crazy and annoying as hell, especially Fai."

Souma looked confused for a moment. "Then…why do you want to go back?"

Kurogane pondered the question for a moment. Of course there was the part about being free…but that could just as easily be attained anywhere outside of Shirasagi. Why go back?

"Tomoyo likes them. Plus, I want the pleasure of shutting Fai up myself," he sneered. No sooner had the words left the prince's mouth than he felt a strange heat upon his chest. It wasn't an all-consuming blaze he felt against his skin, more like the pleasant warmth of a fire crackling in a hearth…or the warmth of an embrace. A tiny shiver traveled down the length of his spine. He reached up to finger the source of the heat…his father's sun pendant. He could barely remember his father, but he always wore the ruby charm as a reminder.

"Something wrong?"

"They're different," he said suddenly, realizing what it was the pendant's spark had reminded him of. "They didn't care…that Tomoyo and I were royalty. They treated us like regular kids…like they really wanted to be friends with us." It was such a strange revelation…such a mysterious encounter…and he had never even thought to question it. He had been too caught up in being annoyed with Fai to even notice how well everything just…clicked.

Souma watched the change on her friend's face with a barely disguised amount of curiosity. Kurogane was much more soft-hearted than he would ever admit. What person, other than Tomoyo, could draw that side out of him so unexpectedly? She would have to meet these twins.

"How exactly do you plan on getting out to see them again? I'll bet the empress gave you a pretty nasty tongue lashing for kidnapping Tomoyo-chan again."

"You bet right," he said, quickly slipping back to his usual, gruff manner. "But it doesn't matter. We're going back to Celes whether my kaa-san likes it or not."

"Speaking of which, where is Tomoyo-chan?"

"Asleep. She was exhausted."

XxX

"Is it okay for Fai and Yuui to see Kurogane and Tomoyo?" Larg wondered. The house was dark. Everyone was asleep except for the two Mokona. The family had enjoyed a hearty dinner while the twins had regaled their guardians with their adventures in the forest…omitting the part about meeting Kurogane and Tomoyo, of course.

"Kurogane and Tomoyo are good. Soel thinks it's safe."

"But…what if they're not really _them_?" Larg and Soel were well acquainted with the reason why the three faeries told the twins to steer clear of strangers at all costs. A stranger could just as easily be one of Yuuko's minions in disguise, and if Yuui and Fai were captured…that would be the end of everything. That possibility had suddenly become a thousand times more real now that the faeries were allowing the twins to venture beyond the safety of their wards on their own. Yuuko could not touch them within the confines of the wards, but outside was another matter. However, the guardians also knew that they could not keep the twins locked up their whole lives. They couldn't keep the door closed forever just because there was a chance they might get hurt. So they allowed the twins to think they were giving them more freedom, but they would at least never be out of sight of the Mokona twins.

"If they weren't really them, something would have already happened. Plus…didn't Larg feel it?" Soel asked uncertainly, scrunching up its little face. Larg hesitated a moment before answering.

"Larg felt it. But is it okay? Larg doesn't think it was supposed to happen like that. What about the king's plans?" it asked nervously.

"It can't be stopped. They were supposed to meet. Soel thinks the king will be okay with it. Soel thinks it will make him happy."

"But he doesn't _know_ yet."

"Neither do they," Soel insisted. The two fey creatures knew fate when they saw it. They could see the fates of living things flow forth from them like the strings on a harp. But would Clow Reed and his advisors recognize this strand of fate for what it was?

"But what happens when they figure it out? Kurogane was supposed to marry Yuui. He can't marry someone he doesn't love."

"Well, Soel and Larg will just have to do Soel and Larg's best and make sure everything works out."

"Doumeki, Watanuki, and Himawari will be angry with Soel and Larg for not telling them everything," Larg warned as the two bounded up the stairs to the twins' room.

"They can't know. Not if Soel and Larg are going to help fate out. Besides, Kuro-prince can help Soel and Larg protect the twins."

"That's true," Larg whispered, waddling into the silent bedroom behind Soel. "But Larg still doesn't like keeping secrets."

"Soel knows," the white thing said as it hopped into bed beside the sleeping Fai, "but it's for the best. It's the only way Fai and Yuui can be happy."

"Larg knows," the black thing said sadly, snuggling up next to Yuui. "Larg knows." Of course it wanted the little girl it was protecting to be happy, but it hated lying…and it wasn't entirely sure that this particular strand of fate included her happiness. Maybe…the only happiness it could give her was the assurance of happiness for her brother?

With its sad thoughts still swirling in its tiny head, Larg snuggled even closer against Yuui, who wasn't sleeping quite so soundly as her brother. Her breathing was uneven and her face was covered with a delicate sheen of sweat.

"I don't understand. _I don't understand!_ " she mumbled despairingly in her sleep.

XxX

_Tomoyo had long ago forgotten the meaning of sleep. She was just as aware when she walked in dreams as she was when she walked the earth in daylight. Sleep was not restful to her. Certainly it restored her body, but her mind could not find peace anywhere. Even at such a tender age, now that her mind was open to the paths that linked all people through dreams, she could never close it again._

_Tonight, she was living a dream she had not had for many years. The land was devastated. Fires burned sporadically across the empty plain. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew everyone was dead._

_Suddenly, the princess saw something she had not seen before, not in this dream. A lone tree had appeared on the ashy plain. The tree was dead, but it was not on fire…and up in the tree's spindly branches, there was a girl. Tomoyo walked closer, peering up into the tree. The girl was huddled up in the fetal position, clinging as closely to the dead bark as she possibly could. Tomoyo easily recognized the shock of blonde hair._

" _Yuui-chan," she breathed. Though she hadn't exactly called her, the frightened girl seemed to hear her name just the same and glanced down._

" _T-Tomoyo-chan?"_

_Tomoyo's eyes widened. "You can see me?"_

" _Yeah," she said hesitantly. "Why wouldn't I be able to?"_

" _Because we're dreaming."_

" _Really?"_

" _Yes...and if you can see me and I can see you, it must mean…that we're having the same dream! You must be a dreamseer, too!"_

" _What's a dreamseer?" Yuui asked as she climbed down from the tree, a little less afraid now that she'd seen a familiar face._

" _You and me can see things in dreams. We can see other people's dreams. We can even see the future. I guess you wouldn't know that since you didn't have anyone to train you."_

" _See other people's dreams? How?"_

" _I'll show you," the little princess said excitedly, taking her friend's hand. Reaching out with her heart, she felt for her brother's heart. Images immediately began flashing through her mind._

" _Blue," Yuui said, seeing the same things as Tomoyo. "And…kittens?"_

" _Looks like it."_

" _White kittens playing with chopsticks in a puddle of blue paint," Yuui giggled. "Can we see what Fai's dreaming about?"_

" _Sure. It's easy. Just reach out for his heart and you'll find him."_

_Yuui did as she was asked and the two girls immediately started seeing new images._

" _It's a little black dog," Tomoyo started._

" _Running with a sword in its mouth," Yuui continued._

" _But the sword's too big!"_

" _Oh!" Yuui cried out. "The poor little puppy! It fell over and cut itself!"_

" _I didn't know a puppy could bleed so much," Tomoyo said soberly._

_An image of Fai suddenly appeared in the dream. He tossed the sword away and hugged the little animal to his chest. The blood dripped down his white shirt as the boy sobbed broken-heartedly._

" _Fai!" Yuui shouted, trying to break away from Tomoyo. "Let me go! He's having a nightmare! I have to wake him up!"_

" _You can't," Tomoyo said sadly. She had tried to wake Kurogane and Souma from nightmares many times, but she couldn't. "There's a way to talk to people through dreams, but I don't know how to do it yet. Maybe I can teach you when I learn, but now, all we can do is watch."_

_The nightmare had only gotten worse. Fai's entire front was covered in blood. He whispered words neither of them could hear into the puppy's floppy ear. A large, blue crescent moon appeared over them and shone blue light down on them. Instantly, the blood vanished and the puppy leapt up and started licking Fai's face. Both girls smiled brightly._

" _See? It turned out okay."_

" _Yeah. I guess you're right."_

" _But…how could you have not known all this time that you were a dreamseer?" Tomoyo wondered out loud._

" _I dunno. I remember being awake in my dreams sometimes, but I didn't know I could see the future."_

" _Maybe it's because you didn't have a teacher?" Tomoyo suddenly got a very solemn look on her face. "Yuui-chan, you probably shouldn't tell anyone about this."_

" _Why not?"_

" _They'll make you train to develop the gift. They'll make you hate sleeping. It's no fun if grownups know about it."_

" _Well…can I tell Fai?"_

" _Yeah. I think that would be okay."_

" _Hey?" Yuui started, suddenly remembering something from earlier. "If we're having the same dream, what are we dreaming about?"_

" _Chang Ang-sama told me it's a dream of the future. I've had it a few times. Sometimes I try and stop it but…if I don't finish the dream, I can't wake up."_

" _That's awful!" Yuui gasped. "But…how do we finish the dream?"_

_Tomoyo pointed off in the direction where the fire blazed hottest. "We go that way."_

_The two dreamseers instinctively joined hands and began to walk toward the blazing fire, all the while keeping quiet. As they drew closer, Tomoyo began to see the familiar scene. A ruined castle could be seen in the distance on the edge of a burning forest. Twin children stood in the middle of the ruin, clutching each other and crying._

"My God _," Tomoyo whispered breathlessly, suddenly realizing who the twins were._

" _What is it?"_

" _It's…you. You and Fai-kun! You're the ones I saw in my dream!"_

_Tomoyo felt Yuui stiffen as she stared at the young children._

" _It_ _ **is**_ _us. When we were a lot younger…before I had long hair. This is…our future?" she whispered, terrified._

" _But…" Tomoyo started, confused, "…it can't be. You're too old for this to be your future. It doesn't make any sense."_

" _Maybe it's just…a symbol of us, or something like that," Yuui said slowly, not even really sure of what she meant herself._

_That was when the dragon appeared._

_The black creature came swooping down from the dark sky, its eyes blazing red, its mouth spitting fire. The twins screamed. A wordless shriek of terror left Yuui's mouth. Tomoyo stood passively by._

" _This is it," she whispered to the distraught Yuui, squeezing her hand to comfort her. "This is where we wake up."_

_But they didn't. Something changed as the dark creature swept down upon the helpless twins. A new figure appeared…a tall, dark figure wielding a long sword. With a mighty cry of rage, the man threw himself in front of the children, blocking the fires of hell with his sword._

" _Who-" Tomoyo started, but suddenly got a good look at the stranger's face through the smoke. Nii-sama? But…he was so much older._

" _It's…Kurogane-kun?" Yuui whispered, coming to the same conclusion moments after Tomoyo. "He's…protecting us."_

" _I've never seen this before."_

_Tomoyo was about to say something more when_ she suddenly found herself sitting up on her futon. "Yuui-chan?!" she called into the darkness of her room.

No answer. What a surprise.

Tomoyo climbed out of her futon and glided toward her open window. Beneath the full moon, the window offered her a view of the fields, stretching off into the distance toward Celes Forest…where Yuui and Fai waited.

"The dream was different," she mumbled to herself. "Did we…change the future…just by meeting today?"

XxX

"Eriol-chan!" Chi's melodic voice echoed through the garden. "Where is Eri-chan hiding?"

Sakura smiled warmly as she watched the blonde girl search for her little nephew. Chi was about fourteen and she was Eriol's nurse. Her brother was always insisting that Yukito spent more time with their son than with him, so in order to pacify him, the priest had hired one of the serving girls to be the boy's fulltime nursemaid. At four years old, Eriol was quite a handful. He was always underfoot, getting into things and testing the nerves of the castle staff. And after every new escapade, he would give the most innocent little smile…like nothing was wrong…and Yukito, Sakura, and Syaoran loved every minute of it.

"You know," Touya started, "if he's out of Chi's sight, I think we can expect the apocalypse any minute now."

"Oh, Touya, don't be so gloomy," Yukito chided as he raised his cup of tea to his lips. The former king, the priest, the king, and the queen were all taking a moment out of their daily duties for a small tea party in the garden. Chi and Eriol were supposed to be joining them, but by the time they had all arrived, Eriol had already managed to slip away from Chi.

"Eri-chan's just playing," Sakura added, taking a bite out of a petit four pastry.

"Playing? Heh, more like plotting my downfall."

Sakura was about to respond to this when she happened to glance up into the tree behind her brother and see a small head of black hair poking out of it. Touya noticed the looks on his sister and brother-in-law's faces, already resigned to his fate.

"He's right behind me, isn't he?"

"You could say that."

Almost before the words had left Syaoran's mouth, a bowl of water came pouring down all over Touya. No reaction at all. He just sat there, soaking wet and completely straight-faced. A few moments later, the little ball of mischief came flying out of the tree, landing right in between his parents. Yukito gave him a pretend stern look.

"Eri-chan, what did I tell you about dumping water on Tou-san?"

Eriol just gave that 'see how cute and innocent I am' smile. "I don't remember."

"Could it be… _that you're not supposed to do it?!_ " Touya shouted, leaping from his seat and seizing his son, tackling him to the ground and tickling him without mercy.

"Tou-san!" Eriol shrieked wildly. "Lemme go! You're getting me all wet!"

"Whose fault is that?" the former ruler teased, continuing with his onslaught.

"Help me, Kaa-san!" Eriol shouted, finally managing to wriggle away from Touya. "Tou-san's being mean!"

"Oh, you aren't getting away that easily," Touya sneered. He jumped up and seized his surprised husband in a tight bear hug, thoroughly soaking him. "Where're you going to go now, Eri? Kaa-san's all wet, too."

Eriol immediately dashed under the table where the tea things were set and came up beside Sakura.

"You'll protect me from the Tou monster, won't you, Aunt Sakura?"

"Of course, Eri-chan," she said, affectionately tousling the boy's dark hair. "I'll protect you."

Chi, of course, had heard all of the commotion and was already running over with towels.

"I'm so sorry, Majesties!" she apologized profusely as she handed Touya and Yukito towels. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't let him get away-"

"-then he would have found another way to escape ten minutes later," Touya finished for her as he rubbed himself down. "It's all right, Chi-san. We all know Eriol."

"Still, Chi should have been more careful," she said, more to herself than to the others. Chi talked to herself a lot, and when she did, she would usually start referring to herself in the third person.

"Really, Chi-chan, it's fine. No harm done," Yukito said brightly. "I think the only things that suffered any real damage were a few of Chef Ueda's petit fours."

"Chi will ask him to make more," she said determinedly. She was about to dash off when Touya's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"No need. Yuki could stand to lose a few pounds."

"Nii-san, that was an awful thing to say!" Sakura scolded her older brother as she pulled Eriol onto her lap.

"Oh, you know he doesn't mean it," Yukito said. In an attempt to avoid a confrontation between the royal siblings, he turned the conversation back to Chi.

"I really must thank you again for being Eri-chan's nurse, Chi-chan. I know he can be a bit of a handful, but you dedicate all of your time to him, just the same. A beautiful young lady like you should be chasing after boys your own age, not four-year-old ones who track mud into the castle."

Chi blushed deeply at that. She bowed her head and her next words were so soft that the two couples barely caught them.

"I…there will be plenty of time for that when Chi has finished her obligations to Prince Eriol."

"The lady doth protest too much," Yukito said teasingly. "Could it be that our Chi-chan has found someone already?"

Chi remained silent.

"I think I know who it is," Sakura said suddenly, glancing over at the blushing girl. "That young ninja who was in with the delegation from Nihon a few weeks ago. What was his name?"

"Hideki-kun," Chi mumbled softly.

"Him?" Touya asked, raising an eyebrow. "I remember that one. Couldn't seem to stop ogling the serving maids."

"But he wasn't like that with me!" Chi immediately jumped to the boy's defense. "Hideki-kun was nice to me."

"Hmm," Sakura murmured to herself. She liked to see her servants happy. Perhaps she would have to speak with Amaterasu about sending the boy with all of her delegations from now on?

"Chi-san's in lo-ove! Chi-san's in lo-ove!" Eriol sang delightedly.

"What do you think, Eri-chan?" she whispered to her little nephew as Syaoran turned the conversation in a more military direction. Some of the outcast fey, Yuuko's minions, had been encroaching on their borders lately. "Should we play matchmaker for Chi-chan and Hideki-kun?"

Eriol turned that same smile up toward her and the queen suddenly felt a chord striking in her heart. It never failed. Whenever she held Eriol, or played with him, or watched him sleep, or any number of things…she always wondered what her own children had been like at his age…what they were like now, at ten. What would it have been like to watch her baby son speak his first words, take his first steps? What would it have been like to see her little girl learn to feed herself? Did her little Fai love sweets just as much as she did? Had Yuui been afraid of the dark? What would it have been like to watch Syaoran lie beside his little daughter at night and…maybe sing to her, or tell her a story to make her fear go away? Was Fai brave like his father? Had Yuui…had her first blood yet? She had missed it. She had missed it _all_. Sometimes she tried to live it with Eriol but, strangely enough…he seemed to realize that. Whenever thoughts of Yuui and Fai entered her head around him, he would look at her with the same smile as always, but his eyes said, _I know. Aunt, I know, that in your heart, I am a replacement for someone. No matter what, you will never see just me when you look at me._

And of course, whenever those dark eyes spoke those words, guilt would pierce her chest as sharp as a spear. He never said anything, but he was right. She would never be able to see Eriol as just Eriol. She would always try to see her own children in him.

But as soon as the guilt entered her heart, his eyes would say something else.

_It's okay. I can be what you need me to be. No one can ever truly take their place in your heart. Maybe I cannot have my own place in your heart, but at least I can be there at all. It's okay._

Sakura sighed and hugged Eriol close, barely listening to her husband's talk of forming more patrols to police the borders.

How was it that a child's eyes could bare her soul so completely…see to the heart of her and bare her sorrow and shame before her own startled eyes?


	5. Walk in Springtime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay in getting chapters out. Unfortunately, I've had a shit ton of computer issues these last few weeks, but my baby is back home now and seems to be in top working order. So today I will be giving you three chapters! Enjoy.

Yuui awoke to the early morning sun spilling into their room. She slipped quietly out of bed so as not to wake Fai, Soel, and Larg and crept across the room to the large window. She opened it wide and let the warm sunshine fill her up. She was about to get dressed for the day when she happened to notice a whisper carried on the wind…a message the green leaves on the trees seemed to spell out just for her.

_New smiles abound in the forest today. We know you've been waiting. They've come at last._

Yuui smiled brightly, realizing what the trees were telling her. Tomoyo and Kurogane had come back to the forest! She immediately ran back to the bed and leapt on top of Fai. The boy awoke with a loud "Oomph!"

"Fai! Fai! Wake up! Wake up right now!"

"Mm," Fai groaned, trying to bat his sister away. "Ten more minutes."

"No! You have to get up now! They're back! Hurry up and get ready!"

Fai was sitting up in an instant with a devious grin spreading across his face. "Oh? Kuro-rin's finally come back, has he?" He quickly leapt out of bed and made a beeline for the door. "Get ready!" He called over his shoulder. "I'll go ask Watanuki if we can go out."

Fai found Watanuki where he usually was early in the morning, "slaving over a hot fire", as he put it.

"Watanuuuuuki?" Fai started. "Can Yuui and I go swimming today?"

"Only if Soel and Larg go with you. Doumeki left about an hour ago to go hunting and Himawari and I were planning on going into Shirasagi today, so none of us can go with you."

"No problem!" Fai said excitedly before running back upstairs to get dressed. He and Yuui were ready inside of five minutes and were bounding down the stairs.

"Hold everything!" Watanuki shouted before the two could make it to the door. "You two aren't going anywhere until you have some breakfast," he said as he set two plates of hotcakes down on the table.

"Do we _have_ to?" Yuui whined as the pair trudged back to the table. The food smelled so good, but they were anxious to be away.

"Of course you have to. What kind of parent would I be if I let you go off without breakfast? Besides, it will give me enough time to make your lunches."

Fai and Yuui both shoveled the hotcakes into their mouths as fast as they could without choking. Fortunately, Watanuki had learned to match their pace and two lunches were waiting for them by the time they finished. They grabbed them and were just heading out the door when Himawari entered the living room, nullifying any chance they had of escaping in a timely fashion.

"Do you have your cloaks? You might get cold."

"Himawari," Fai moaned. "It's the middle of the summer!"

"Maybe so," she said as she brought them their cloaks. "But you'll want them after you've finished swimming, won't you?"

"I guess. Can we go now?"

"Where will you go?"

"Probably up to Spirit Lake."

"And Soel and Larg will be with you, right?"

"Check!" the two bouncing balls of fluff shouted as they flew down the stairs.

"Well, if that's all, then-" Yuui started, backing up and opening the door.

"Not so fast. Make sure to be home by nightfall. No exceptions," she said, employing her rarely used stern tone.

"Okay. Okay. We get it."

"What else?" she pressed.

The twins glanced at each other and rolled their eyes.

"If we see any strangers, don't talk to them," Fai started.

"Come straight home," Yuui finished. "We know. Can we go?"

"All right. You can go," Himawari finally consented. The twins raced out the door with Soel and Larg on their trail. Himawari stared after them.

"You know," she started. "Sometimes it seems like it was only yesterday they couldn't even eat without our help. Now they're so anxious to be off and away by themselves."

"I know," Watanuki said as he joined her by the door. "They grow up so fast."

"And yet…when they're old and gray, we'll look no older than twenty," she lamented. Watanuki said nothing to this. Himawari didn't seem to notice.

"We should hurry," he finally said, grabbing the lunches he'd already made for the two of them. "If we want to get all the shopping done and be back by night. I don't want to think about what'll happen if that moron is the only one around to cook dinner. He couldn't cook to save his life."

XxX

"So is there a spot where we need to meet them?" Souma asked. They had only been in the forest for about ten minutes. Tomoyo and Kurogane were riding Suwa and she was riding her own horse, Kendappa. They had had to wait a week before she was released from house arrest so they could go back to Celes Forest at last. They were all dressed in simple peasant clothing that Kurogane had managed to secure through Sorata.

"No," Kurogane grunted in response. "They just said that the forest would tell them when we came back."

Souma raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure they're not faeries?"

"They said not, but I suppose they could just as easily have been lying."

"Oh!" a voice suddenly whined from high overhead. "Kuro-pin doesn't trust us."

The next moment, a pair of twin blonde nutcases dropped from the trees right in front of them. Kendappa reared slightly in panic but Suwa was already used to the twins.

"Fai-kun! Yuui-chan!" Tomoyo cheered.

"Hello, Tomoyo-chan," Yuui greeted warmly. "What took you so long?"

"We had to wait for Souma-chan to be released from house arrest."

Souma suddenly found herself being scrutinized by twin sets of blue eyes. The two moved calmly toward Kendappa, gazing unashamedly up at the chestnut horse and its rider.

"So this is Souma-chan?" Fai questioned.

"Yes. I'm Souma," she said, nodding politely.

"I'm Fai."

"And I'm Yuui."

Then the two clasped hands and proudly thrust out their chests.

"And they call us Fai and Yuui!" they proclaimed melodramatically.

"And they call _us_ …SOEL AND LARG!" Two black and white fuzz balls suddenly bounced right into Souma's face. The poor noble's daughter was so shocked she slipped sideways out of her saddle. Thankfully, Fai and Yuui were right there to catch her.

"What are these things?!" Souma asked as she proceeded to claw them from her face.

"Mokona-" Soel began.

"-is Mokona!" Larg finished.

"Riiiight," she said slowly, shrugging herself free of the twins and handing the twin marshmallows back to them.

"Where's Leval?" Tomoyo asked.

"We don't have her. Watanuki and Himawari needed her today," Yuui explained.

"So, Souma-chan, would you mind if Yuui hitched a ride with you? Where we're going is kind of a long way off."

"That's fine with me," Souma said as she climbed back on Kendappa.

"Where _are_ we going?" Kurogane asked as Fai helped Yuui climb on behind Souma.

"To Spirit Lake," Fai answered mysteriously. "Deep in the heart of the forest."

"Spirit Lake? The source of the Yume River?" Tomoyo whispered in awe. She had only ever heard stories of the magic lake. She'd never actually expected to see it.

"That's the one," Fai said cheerfully.

"What about you? Don't you need a ride?" Souma asked.

"Nope," Fai started, easily leaping up into the branches of a nearby tree. "I'm leading the way." Then, with cat-like grace, the boy leapt to the next tree…and the next…and the next. "Get moving, slow pokes!" he called over his shoulder. Souma glanced curiously at Kurogane, who just shrugged his shoulders and spurred Suwa on after Fai. Kendappa easily fell into step behind them.

"Is it true that Spirit Lake is enchanted?" Souma asked Yuui. The girl remained silent for a moment, pondering the question.

"I don't know. Maybe. Watanuki, Doumeki, and Himawari take us swimming there a lot. It feels really nice there."

"They say that Spirit Lake is the gateway that leads to Faerie. You never saw anything like that when you were there?"

"Who says that?"

"Everyone."

"Has 'everyone' ever been to Spirit Lake?"

"Well…no."

After that, the two girls fell silent for a while, listening to Kurogane argue with Yuui's monkey of a twin brother.

"I think…" the blonde started after what felt like an hour of silence. "…that maybe we have different ideas of what magic is."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Have you ever seen magic?"

Souma instantly thought of Tomoyo…of the things she saw, of her mere presence.

"Yeah," she said softly. "I think so."

"What's it like?"

Souma had to think about that for a minute. She had grown up listening to the stories of the great faerie wars of old. She had heard tales of the great and terrible powers the Fey possessed. But those were all just stories. The magic she thought she saw in Tomoyo was different.

"Light," she finally answered. "It was like…the sun…and the moon…all at the same time. Like…cold and warmth. Like-"

"Life," she and Yuui said at the same time. Souma glanced back over her shoulder in surprise. Yuui was smiling brightly.

"Living here is kind of like that. You can feel it all around you. It isn't always light, like you said, but you can feel it breathing. I suppose it _is_ stronger at Spirit Lake, but the whole forest is enchanted…just maybe not in the way you've been told magic is supposed to be."

Oddly enough, Souma found herself feeling…jealous, jealous of the conviction she heard in Yuui's voice. She had never felt anything so strongly in her entire life. The only thing she had ever felt even a fraction of that passion for…was her desire to train to become a ninja. Maybe she would have gotten somewhere if she had the same determination.

"Hey, monkey freak!" Kurogane tried to get Fai's attention. "Why do we need to go all the way to Spirit Lake? We have a perfectly good river right here."

"Because it's easier to learn in still water, Kuro-pippi."

"I told you to stop with those names! We don't have time to waste just _getting_ there."

"Well, then I suppose it's a good thing we're here."

"What the flying f-"

"Nii-sama," Tomoyo warned her older brother before things could get out of hand, though she was just as surprised as him by the sight of the trees suddenly thinning and a crystal blue lake appearing beyond them.

"But…how?"

"I guess Spirit Lake was feeling nice today," Fai said as he hopped down from the last tree.

"Meaning?" Kurogane asked.

"We all really wanted to be here…well, most of us, anyway. So Celes brought us here."

"But…how could it…without us even noticing it?" Souma asked.

"Magic forest!" Fai and Yuui sang together.

"Magic forest! Magic forest!" Soel and Larg echoed the twins.

"Come on!" Yuui shouted excitedly, jumping down from Kendappa and racing into the clearing that contained the vast lake. Not too far offshore, there was an island floating peacefully on the surface of the water. Fai followed quickly after his sister, stripping down to his breeches as he went. The three nobles hesitated a moment, then climbed down from their horses. Tomoyo ran after the twins and Kurogane and Souma tied Suwa and Kendappa to the branches of nearby trees before following.

"Fai, you can take Kurogane-kun. I'll handle Souma-chan and Tomoyo-chan," Yuui said, taking her first delicate steps into the cold water.

"Sounds like a plan," Fai responded as he folded his clothes and laid them beside Yuui's shoes and their knapsacks and bows and arrows. As little Tomoyo came dashing into the water, Fai also removed his sapphire moon pendant and tucked it safely into his shirt. He had had the beautiful trinket for as long as he could remember. Sometimes he and Yuui liked to imagine that their real parents had given it to him. Perhaps Yuui had once owned a matching one before they had become lost in the forest? He never liked to take it off, but he had to whenever he went swimming or bathing. Watanuki had warned him never to let the pendant touch water. Himawari said it was because water would tarnish the silver in the necklace, but he was starting to suspect that there might be another reason for it.

"It's so cold!" Tomoyo shrieked with delight, though she was only in as far as her knees. Yuui had already swum out deeper than she could touch. As the other two approached the shore, Souma was already removing her shoes and any other unnecessary articles of clothing. When she was down to her rough cloth shirt and a pair of breeches, she stepped into the water beside Tomoyo. Kurogane hesitated a moment longer before removing his shoes and shirt, un-girding his sword, and setting all of them down beside the other piles of clothing. Then he, too, took his first steps into the water, trying his best not to show any reaction to the temperature. Instead of losing his temper when Fai splashed him, he just growled. The water was a bit too cold for a screaming tirade.

"All right. Class is now in session," Yuui announced brightly as she swam back toward them. "It's true that you three are a little older than we were when we learned, but we'll start this off the same way Watanuki, Himawari, and Doumeki started off with us. Tomoyo-chan?"

"Yep?"

"I'm going to swim you out into the deeper water, just so you can see what it feels like."

"Is it safe?" Kurogane asked suspiciously.

"Don't worry, Mr. Black," Fai teased as Yuui took Tomoyo's hand and led her deeper into the lake. "Yuui won't let anything happen to Tomoyo-chan."

"Mr. Black?" the prince muttered darkly as he watched Yuui swim out with Tomoyo. What next?

Tomoyo had to admit that she was a little nervous when her feet left the bottom, but she trusted Yuui and she knew that she wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. She held her up above the water as she swam further and further out into the lake.

"Are you doing all right, Tomoyo-chan?" Yuui asked, keeping eye contact with the little princess and making sure not to go too fast.

"I'm fine, Yuui-chan," she answered, giving her sensei a trusting smile.

"That's good. How do you like it so far?"

Tomoyo glanced down into the lake. She couldn't even _see_ the bottom anymore. The water was much darker out here.

"It's a little scary," she admitted. "But it's still fun. It's like…floating in the air."

Yuui giggled at that. "That's what Fai said when Watanuki brought us out the first time."

"I can't wait to learn to swim!"

"It'll be fun. Then we can all swim out to Tsubasa Island together."

"What about Soel and Larg? Can they swim?"

"Like fish, oddly enough. Hey, Tomoyo-chan?"

"Yes?"

"When we first met…that night…I met you in a dream."

"I know," Tomoyo said seriously. "I was there, too. We're both dreamseers. You can come and see me in a dream any time you want."

"Really?" Yuui asked, her eyes growing wide. "That's great! We can see each other any time!"

"Mm-hm," Tomoyo said, grinning madly.

Meanwhile, back in the shallows, Fai saw Yuui start to tow Tomoyo back in, so he turned to Kurogane.

"All right, Kuro-tan. It's your turn now."

Kurogane raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"It's your turn to go out now. I'll take you out the same way Yuui took Tomoyo-chan."

"I don't need your help! I am _not_ a baby!"

"But you admitted that you can't swim. This is how you learn, silly Kuro-puu," Fai said as he grabbed Kurogane's arm and proceeded to drag him out into the lake. The prince just rolled his eyes and grumbled evilly as he allowed himself to be manhandled into the deeper water.

"By the by, Soel, Larg, play nice with Souma-chan!" Fai called back to them.

"Check!" they shouted back, though they were already swimming in ever shrinking circles around the poor girl.

Kurogane tried to pretend that the water closing over his body didn't bother him, but it became increasingly more difficult the further they got from shore. Fai held onto his shoulders and he held onto Fai's to keep himself afloat. When his feet finally left the sandy bottom, he couldn't prevent his grip on Fai from tightening just a little bit.

"Nervous?" Fai asked. The devious tone he normally used with the prince was gone. He knew this was bound to be scary for poor Kuro-rin. But "poor Kuro-rin" didn't seem to notice his sudden sincerity.

"No!" he shot back. "I just don't like being stuck out here with you."

"Aw, come now, Kuro-prince. Where would you be if I wasn't out here with you? The bottom of the lake, maybe?"

"Grr."

"I like the necklace," Fai complimented, noting the ruby sun charm resting on Kurogane's chest. For some reason, it seemed really familiar to him. It reminded him…of his own pendant, actually.

Kurogane went red for a few seconds. He wanted to fire an angry comment back at the boy, but he couldn't; not where the sun charm was concerned.

"It was my father's," he finally mumbled.

"Was?" Fai prompted, suddenly curious.

"Yeah," Kurogane continued, glancing away from him. "He was killed…about ten years ago. A dark faerie murdered him."

"Oh," Fai gasped, unwittingly tightening his own grip on the prince. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" he asked, glancing sharply back up at Fai. "You didn't kill him."

"I know. It's just that…I'm sorry…that you lost your father. I wish I could say that I know what it feels like, since I don't know who my father is, but I have two. Doumeki and Watanuki are like fathers to me."

"Yeah," Kurogane started, his thoughts drifting back to his sensei, Kusanagi. "I have someone like that, too."

"I can see why you'd be afraid of faeries."

"I AM _NOT_ AFRAID!" Kurogane suddenly lashed out at that comment. "I'm going to find the faerie who killed my father, and then I'm going to kill her! You got that?!"

"Kuro-pin, don't thrash around like that!" Fai tried to calm him. "I can't hold onto you if you do that."

"Then don't make me angry!" Kurogane shot back, just barely managing to control his body.

"You make it too easy, Kuro-chuu," Fai teased.

Kurogane was about to snap back at him when he realized just how much of himself he had spilled to Fai in less than ten minutes. He could get angry with people, sure, but he had only ever spoken so freely to four people, and two of them were waiting for him back on the shore. How had Fai managed to get so much out of him so fast?

"Are you positive you're not a faerie?" he glared suspiciously.

"Pretty darn," he said with that same damn annoying grin.

"Then why did I tell you so much? How do I know you didn't put a spell on me?"

"You can't know," Fai answered simply. "And I have no idea why you told me so much. Perhaps it's because I asked you…or maybe you just trust me?"

"Trust you? Tch. That'll be the day."

"Kuro-chii doesn't trust me?"

"Trust? Heh. Not for an instant."

"Then how did I get you to relax so completely in the middle of a lake?"

Kurogane glanced around and realized just how far they were from shore…much further than Yuui had taken Tomoyo. He hadn't even realized it! Damn it! The bozu had done it again!

"I'm keeping my eye on you, kid," he said, throwing another suspicious glare at the blond.

"Oh? Kuro-chuu wants to keep his eyes on me?" Fai teased.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Kurogane shouted, his face briefly going red again. "I think you know what I meant!"

"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. Tell me, Kuro-buu, how do you feel right now?"

"Angry!" he responded immediately.

"I didn't mean how do you feel about me. Pretend I'm _not_ here keeping you from drowning. Pretend you're out here by yourself. What do you feel?"

Kurogane treated Fai to a fresh batch of glaring before he finally closed his eyes and actually considered the idiot's question. His body weighed almost nothing in the water. He could hear the sound of it as it moved about him. He could hear the calls of birds and insects. Very distantly, he could hear his sister chatting merrily away with Yuui and Souma.

"It feels like…flying," he finally admitted. Fai gave him a very secretive smile.

"Do you want to try floating on your own?"

"Is it safe?"

"You worry too much, Kuro-prince. I thought you wanted to be able to do this without my help."

"Of course I do! Teach me how!" he demanded, embarrassed that the fool had called him on his fear of the water.

"All right. I'm going to keep hold of one of your hands, but I want you to move onto your back. But before you do that, you need to take a deep breath."

Kurogane did as he was told, breathing deeply and reluctantly releasing his viselike grip on Fai's shoulders. When his lungs were full of air he found that he floated up onto his back easily enough.

"Good," Fai coached, keeping hold of his right hand. "Hold that breath, otherwise you'll start sinking."

Kurogane continued to hold his breath and, after awhile, he felt the pressure of Fai's fingers slowly melt away. He was floating by himself! The young prince gazed up at the blue sky in awe. Suspended in that paper-thin layer between water and air, it truly felt like he was flying.

Unfortunately, in that moment of wonder, Kurogane forgot to keep the air in his lungs. He started to sink. For a mere moment, the water closed over his head and he started to panic. Fai was by his side in an instant, pulling him back up to the surface. As Kurogane coughed up water, Fai started to scold him.

"Silly Kuro-chuu. You have to hold your breath. Maybe we should try that again in the shallows."

Kurogane sulked all the way back to shore. Fai seeing him at his most vulnerable like that made him feel more ashamed than angry. On that note, why did he even _care_ what Fai thought of him?

"You're just a child," he muttered, more to himself than to said child, but Fai heard him just the same.

"So? You're just a teenager."

Well, damn, he had him there.

While Yuui took Souma out onto the lake, Fai helped Tomoyo and Kurogane practice their floating. Once they were all together again, they started working on kicking. Kurogane was a bit more inspired in this arena when Soel happened to alight on his feet. The delighted creature had never been bounced so high in its life. When Kurogane, Tomoyo, and Souma could at least keep themselves afloat without help, Fai and Yuui decided that the lesson had lasted long enough and the group took a break for lunch. Kurogane pulled three bento boxes from Suwa's saddlebag and Fai and Yuui chowed down on Watanuki's delicious food, occasionally sharing bits of their lunch with Soel and Larg.

"What is it with you and sugar?" Kurogane asked as he watched Fai shove another cookie in his mouth.

"I 'an't 'elp it," Fai said, not even bothering to swallow. "Wata'uki's foo' is so goo'!"

"That's disgusting," Kurogane grumbled. "At least have the decency to swallow your food first."

"But, Kuro-wan wan," Fai mewled as he moved closer to him. "You _did_ ask me a question."

Just as Kurogane was opening his mouth wide to shout at Fai, the mischievous blond took the opportunity to shove his last chocolate chip cookie into his mouth.

For a moment, Kurogane was too shocked to speak, and in order for him to do so, he did have to chew the cookie up.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! SHOVING WEIRD CRAP INTO PEOPLE'S MOUTHS LIKE THAT! NEXT TIME THAT HAND COMES ANYWHERE NEAR ME, I'M CHOPPING IT OFF!" he screamed. Before he could continue his screaming rant, Fai was already halfway to the tree line and Kurogane was hot on his heels. Souma glanced nervously after them.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" she asked uncertainly.

Tomoyo smiled warmly, the glint in her eyes speaking of a secret that she already knew, but that no one else seemed to have figured out. She couldn't help but notice that her brother hadn't actually spit out the "weird crap".

"I think they'll be fine. Nii-sama won't be able to catch Fai-kun unless he lets him."

Yuui nodded in agreement, playfully cocking an ear to listen to Kurogane's angry yelling and Fai's singsong teasing.

"He ate Fai's food," Soel whispered to Larg in a singsong voice.

"That means he likes him," Larg returned in the same teasing tone.

Yuui laughed softly at the Mokona before turning her attention back to her new friends.

"I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

XxX

"Are you sure you want to do this, Souma?" Kurogane asked his friend.

The thirteen-year-old noble nodded resolutely. "I have to do it."

"Well, Yuui and Tomoyo will be happy for you, but Kakyo will probably disown you. You know that, don't you?"

Again, Souma just nodded. "I know it. But I don't care. Hand me your dagger."

The sixteen-year-old prince said nothing more as he handed his dagger to her. If this was what she wanted, then he would not stop her.

Souma found that her hands were shaking as she raised the dagger. This would be her ultimate defiance of her father. Just barely managing to steady her hands, she took a deep breath before hacking off her long black tresses. Kurogane stood by as the knife clattered to the floor along with her hair. He could see that she was nervous, but this was something that she needed to do for herself. There was no going back now.

Souma glanced into her mirror to examine her new hairstyle. By no stretch of the imagination was it a professional job. It was very uneven, with the front quite a bit longer than the back, but she found that she actually liked the style.

"You okay?" Kurogane asked gruffly as he retrieved his dagger.

"Yes," she whispered breathlessly. "Now for the hard part."

"I'll come with you if you want."

"Would you?" she asked. Admittedly, she was still scared. Kurogane just nodded.

"Let's go."

Souma and Kurogane crept quietly out of Souma's quarters. It was very early in the morning and the palace was only just beginning to stir. Servants were rising and preparing for the day's work. Priests were heading out to the shrines for prayer - all of the usual morning sounds. But this was not a usual morning.

The sun was just peeking over the horizon when the two friends snuck into the ninja training grounds. A few of the older warriors were up and going about their morning routines, but they paid the young ones no mind as they moved toward the shrine that had been set up specifically for the use of the warriors in the employ of the empress. Their goal lay within that shrine, going through her morning prayers.

Among the many fine ninja who defended Shirasagi, very few of them were women. The first and foremost among those who _were_ was Arashi Kishu. Her mother had been a miko and she had some spiritual power herself, but her primary vocation was that of a ninja mistress. She was a warrior on par with the best of them and only the best trained under her. Souma didn't actually consider herself _the best_ , but she felt that Arashi was the only one who could really understand her position.

She had spoken to Yuui and Tomoyo about her dream whenever Kurogane was off trying to catch Fai after his latest shenanigan.

"Why don't you?" Yuui had always asked her. "If you want to train to become a ninja, then why don't you?"

"It's not that simple," she would reply sadly.

"Why not? If you're not hurting anyone, why can't you do what you want to do?"

"My father…he won't let me."

"Since when did that stop you?" Tomoyo would usually ask with a giggle.

"Why won't he let you?"

"I don't know. We don't really…talk."

Yuui would shake her head. "That's awful. There are a lot of things that Watanuki, Himawari, and Doumeki tell us we can't do, but it's because they love us and they don't want us to get hurt. But…if your own father won't even _talk_ to you…you should do what you feel is right for you."

Souma could hear Yuui's voice in her head even now as she stood hesitantly before the shrine door.

_Follow your heart's desire. If you never seek out what your heart needs, then it will destroy you one day. At least, that's what Himawari tells Fai and I._

"I'll wait out here," Kurogane told her as she reached out her hands to slide the door open. She nodded and stepped through, quietly closing the door behind her.

Arashi was kneeling before the altar with her head bowed in prayer. Souma knelt just beyond the inner sanctum, waiting for the mistress to acknowledge her. It would be terribly rude to interrupt her at prayer. The girl had no idea how long she knelt there, but she tried to remain as still as possible, even though several itches popped up all over her body and her legs started to cramp from kneeling so long. And just when she was beginning to think that Arashi would never acknowledge her, she spoke.

"I've seen you," she said, raising her head, but never turning to look back at her. "You're Kakyo-san and Hokuto-sama's daughter?"

"Hai, Kishu-sama. I am."

"Why have you come here at such an early hour?"

"I've come to beg a favor of you," Souma began in a clear, strong voice. She bowed her head low in respect. "Ever since I was small, I have watched the young ninja train, and I have always longed to be one of them. I humbly ask to become one of your pupils."

"And what will you do…if I refuse to train you? What then, little noble?" she asked, a hint of mocking in her voice. "Will you run crying to your father and have him force me to train you?"

"No!" she insisted, promptly losing her temper at the mere mention of her father. "I hardly even speak to my father! He would kill me if he knew I was here!"

"Ah. So you are doing this to spite your father?"

Souma swallowed hard upon hearing the contempt in Arashi's voice. She was only digging herself deeper by getting angry. So she continued calmly, trying to rein in her emotions. "No. I'm doing this because…it is my heart's desire."

Souma could not see it, but Arashi raised an eyebrow in surprise at her words.

"And what makes you think you are worthy to study under me, young Souma-san?"

Souma hesitated a moment. At this point, this could go either way. The wrong answer now could ruin everything. But…wasn't it wrong to think of something like this in terms of right or wrong? Perhaps…all she needed to do was be honest?

"I'm really not sure if I _am_ worthy, Kishu-sama. I couldn't think of anyone less worthy. All I have to offer you is my willingness to learn whatever you can teach me."

Arashi smiled slightly as she listened to Souma talk. Perhaps there was something to this girl after all. Her belief in her own unworthiness was the mark of her worth.

"Tell me, Souma-san, why do you want to be a ninja? I understand that it's your heart's desire, but _why_ is it your heart's desire?"

Souma considered the question. Why did she want this so badly? Perhaps she was seeking a method of releasing her anger that didn't involve hurting anyone? Maybe she wanted to be able to fight with Kurogane on an equal playing field? Did she want to feel important?

No…none of those things were it.

Souma suddenly found herself remembering a conversation she'd had with Kurogane many years ago…about anger, and not destroying what you mean to protect. An image of Tomoyo, smiling and laughing, suddenly popped into her head. Protect. That was it. She wanted to protect that smile. It was…precious to her. Tomoyo, Kurogane, Fai, Yuui…she wanted to be strong so that nothing would ever hurt them.

"I want to be strong…like Kurogane-sama. I want the strength…to protect what's important to me."

"And what _is_ important to you, child?" Arashi asked, finally rising to her feet, but still not turning to face Souma. "What do you love?

Again, Tomoyo entered her thoughts. She could hear the peal of her laughter, ringing like the richest bells.

"My friends," she answered without hesitation.

"That is good. But I wonder if you are brave enough to take this responsibility on your shoulders."

"I won't fail you, Kishu-sama. I'm not afraid," she insisted. But the next moment, she found herself pinned to the floor with a blade pointed at her throat. Arashi had moved faster than her eyes could track.

"What about now, Souma-san? Are you afraid?" she asked, staring down the sword's length at Souma. The girl noted, with more than a little alarm, that Arashi was not actually holding the blade. It was extended from the very flesh of her palm. Clearly the woman had some fey blood in her.

"A- a little, Kishu-sama," she answered truthfully. She'd never heard anything about this magic sword.

Arashi nodded her approval as she withdrew the sword into her palm. She then reached out that same hand to help Souma to her feet. "I'll get you some proper clothing. We begin tomorrow at high noon."

"T-thank you, Kishu-sensei," she stammered, bowing low in gratitude. Then she slowly backed out of the shrine, not breaking eye contact with Arashi until she had slid the door closed.

"Always knew you had it in you," Kurogane's gruff voice suddenly sounded in her ear. She turned sharply to her friend, blushing a little.

"You heard all of that?"

"It's not exactly hard," he said sarcastically, tapping a finger against the thin scrim. Souma was about to shoot a smart remark back at him when her worst nightmare came striding toward the shrine.

"What is the meaning of this?!" her father snarled as he approached them. "They are saying that Kakyo's daughter has cut off all of her hair. Well, I can see the truth of that," he said, harshly seizing what remained of Souma's dark hair and giving her head a good shake. "What, exactly, do you hope to accomplish with this latest stunt of yours?"

"It's not a stunt!" she shouted at him, freeing herself from his grip with difficulty. "I didn't have a use for my hair anymore! I've presented myself to Kishu-sensei for training."

The tension in the air was like a living thing, ready to start wreaking havoc upon some unsuspecting village at any moment.

"What sort of name is that to make for your poor mother?! For _me?!_ " he raged at her.

"It's a wonderful name to make for my mother! The ninja army is a respectable part of this court. I don't care what kind of name I make for _you!_ "

It happened before either Kurogane or Souma could react. Utilizing a surprising amount of strength for a man of his slight stature, Kakyo slapped Souma hard across the face, the ring on his finger slicing her cheek. The blow had such force, it sent Souma crashing to the ground.

"YOU INSOLENT BRAT! I'LL TEACH YOU!"

Kurogane was standing before him in an instant, blocking his path to Souma.

"Kakyo, stop this!"

Kakyo just sneered at him. "I would remind you, _Prince_ Kurogane, that you are not emperor here yet."

As Kakyo moved to try and get past him, Kurogane started to draw his sword. It would certainly have come to blows if Arashi hadn't suddenly appeared between them.

"Lord Kakyo, I will thank you kindly not to strike my student."

"She's _my_ daughter! I will discipline her as I see fit."

"It has been my experience that you only act like her father when it suits you, and even then, you do a very poor job of it. To my mind, that's a very poor way to repay Hokuto-sama's sacrifice."

The rage that boiled off of the blond man was tangible…so much that it seemed to ignite the very air.

"Don't you _dare_ talk to me about my wife!" he whispered dangerously, looking ready to strangle the ninja mistress.

"Why not? You have no right to tell me whom I can and cannot speak of. _You_ pretend like Hokuto-sama never existed. The rest of us are not so willing to forget such a bright spirit. I am proud to have her child as my student. If your disciplinary methods hinder her from lessons, then I will be forced to step in."

Everyone present could see that Kakyo wanted to turn this into a fight, but he had little chance against two well-trained ninja who were clearly not going to allow him to lay hands on Souma. So, for the moment, he backed down.

"You have won today, Arashi, but you have not heard the last of this," he said, throwing Souma a venomous glare before turning on his heels and stalking away from the training grounds.

"You all right?" Kurogane asked Souma as he helped her stand.

"I'm fine," she huffed, brushing herself off. She felt ashamed for allowing herself to be pushed around in front of Arashi. However, the ninja mistress said something that threw her for a loop.

"It was actually a very good first step."

"But…he knocked me down."

"Something he shouldn't have done. Kakyo is no father to you. I meant how you stood up to him. It's good that you don't let him push you around," she said before moving off to start her daily routine. Before the two friends could exchange another word, a new presence came screaming onto the training grounds.

"What happened?!" Tomoyo shouted as she ran toward them, her long hair flying wildly behind her. She launched herself at Souma, wrapping her arms around her in a vice-like grip. "Souma-chan, you're bleeding! Tell me what happened!"

"It's nothing. I just had a fight with Kakyo."

"Over what?" Tomoyo started to cross-examine her as she removed a handkerchief from her kimono and started to dab the blood off of her friend's cheek.

"I've…presented myself to Kishu-sensei for training as a ninja."

Upon hearing this, Tomoyo left off cleaning the wound and once again threw her arms around Souma.

"Souma-chan, that's wonderful! I knew you could do it! I'm so proud of you! Is that why you cut your hair? When will you start training? How will-"

"Tomoyo-chan?" Souma interrupted her, suddenly curious about something. "How did you even know we'd be here?"

Tomoyo backed away from her, blushing lightly. "Well…I was in lessons with Chang Ang-sama and I sort of…fell asleep. I dreamed…that you were in pain and that you needed me. The only thing I saw was Kishu-sama and I knew that she would be here at this time of day, so I came. Chang Ang-sama wasn't happy, but I left anyway," she said with an impish grin.

"You know what we should do, since we seem to have some free time today?" Kurogane suggested, smirking at his sister, proud that she had finally taken the initiative to leave Chang Ang on her own.

"Go to Celes?" Tomoyo finished.

"I'd like that," Souma said, finally starting to smile again. "We haven't seen them in a few weeks."

Well…that wasn't entirely true. Tomoyo had spoken to Yuui just last night. The twins had just celebrated their thirteenth birthday and Tomoyo had pumped her friend for details about the party that Watanuki, Himawari, and Doumeki had thrown them. Watanuki had let them help make the cake this year, and Doumeki had finally given them real arrows for their bows. Himawari had even let them have a few sips of wine. All told, it sounded like a fun day.

"Let's go," she said, smiling warmly at the thought of seeing the happy-go-lucky pair again.

XxX

Yuui was the first to feel it this time. The ground suddenly seemed to suck at her feet as she moved across the yard, carrying a pail of goat's milk she had just harvested. The wind whistled in her ears in just such a way as to send a chill down her spine. The next moment, Fai appeared in the cottage door.

"You felt it, too?" he asked.

"They need us," she whispered. Fai disappeared back inside and she quickly followed after him. She heard him asking Doumeki if they could go out as she set the pail down beside the fireplace where Himawari was busy mixing up some chicken soup. Watanuki was feeling a little under the weather after all the work he'd put into the twins' birthday and Doumeki had caught him trying to make breakfast. He had literally flung the slighter man over his shoulder and forcibly carried him back to his room. Now Doumeki was trying to take care of Watanuki's usual chores around the house and Himawari was making him some soup.

"Depends on where you want to go."

"Just out," Fai answered. "Maybe take Leval out for some exercise. She hasn't been out all week."

"I suppose," he said, exchanging a glance with Himawari. It was probably better for the twins to be out of the house today. Anything that could affect a faerie so was bound to be dangerous for a human if exposed for too long. They would need some privacy to make certain that Watanuki's affliction wasn't due to some kind of dark magic. "The usual rules apply, and you'll have to make your own lunches. I think Soel and Larg are in with Watanuki right now. Only stick your head in there. I don't want you getting too close and catching whatever he's got."

As Yuui set about making their lunches, Fai moved down the small hallway toward Watanuki's room. The usual rules meant that Soel and Larg had to go with them, they could not speak to any strangers, and they could not leave the forest. Fai knocked softly on the door as he pushed it open.

"Watanuki?" he called softly. "Are Soel and Larg in here?"

"Unfortunately," he answered in a weak voice that still somehow managed to contain most of its usual bite. "I beg you, take them off my hands."

"I can do that," he said, hearing the small balls of fluff bound his way. "I hope you feel better soon. I think Himawari's making you some soup."

"Really? That's nice," he replied, though Fai could still hear the shudder he tried to suppress. They all knew that Himawari wasn't much of a cook, but she tried her best anyway.

"Yuui and I are going out. I think Doumeki's going to try to make dinner later."

Fai heard the sound of palm meeting face echoing from the darkened room.

"Fai! Fai!" Larg cheered as the two followed him back into the kitchen.

"Where are we going? Where are we going?" Soel asked.

Fai turned to them with a wink and placed a finger against his lips. Both Mokona grinned mischievously and kept their mouths closed.

"Be back before dark," Himawari reminded the twins as they swept out the front door, bows and quivers in hand, Mokona twins perched on their shoulders. Himawari glanced worriedly after them.

"That was a close call. I was starting to wonder how we'd keep them out of the way."

Doumeki nodded in response. "You know them. Always off on a new adventure. Keep that soup over the fire," he said as he moved down the hall toward Watanuki's room. "I'll be back soon to let you know what charm you should add."

"No way are you making dinner tonight!" Watanuki's weakened voice shouted at him the second he entered the room. "You are _not_ poisoning Himawari and the twins!"

"Calm down, idiot. You're in no state to even be up right now. I think they're more likely to be poisoned by that spell clinging to you."

Watanuki sighed. "I'm afraid this might be a little more than a runoff spell."

"Well, let's find out-" Doumeki started, reaching a hand out to him.

"Don't!" Watanuki immediately interrupted, throwing his own hand up to stop him. "This…really might be dangerous."

Doumeki seized the nature sprite's gaze for a single, intense moment before grabbing his outstretched wrist. Almost instantly, he felt a dark, sludge-like energy begin to crawl up his arm.

"Moron!" the bedridden faerie hissed, not wanting to alert Himawari. "I warned you not to touch me! It _can't_ spread to you, too!"

"It's a good thing I did," he muttered, sounding slightly worried as he attempted to prevent the spell from spreading to the rest of his body. "We might have lost you. It's a spell designed to seek out and destroy a pillar."

"I noticed," Watanuki grunted. It felt like a giant weight was crushing his chest. "So get it off yourself and leave me be. The wards can still stand with just two pillars, but if we both die, Himawari can't hold them herself."

"I'm not going to do that," he replied calmly, having finally succeeded in containing the dark magic. "No one's dying. _You_ are not dying." It was Seishiro's magic. He could feel the traces of the dark prince in the spell. It was particularly apparent to him because they were both possessed of darkness. "Besides, how would we explain your randomly dropping dead to the twins?"

"Tch, you'll think of something." It was getting harder to breathe. Every breath he drew felt like swallowing a lump of cotton. "No charm we can come up with can fix this."

Doumeki didn't respond to this. Instead he climbed up on the bed and straddled Watanuki. Immediately, he felt the spell start to climb into his body through the points of contact.

"What-" Watanuki started to ask, but was silenced by Doumeki placing his hands on his shoulders and resting his forehead against his. At this point, Watanuki didn't think he could have gathered enough air for the exclamation anyway.

Doumeki gazed deeply into the other's blue eyes as he gathered all of his will for this last, desperate trick. If this didn't work…no! He would not think about it. The assassin focused all of his power on the dark thing that was eating away at Watanuki's soul, wrapping his mind around it and willing it to enter _him_ instead. The spell couldn't resist the enticing scent of both light and darkness from the taller faerie. It withdrew from Watanuki and entered into Doumeki. As the transfer happened, a clap of thunder sounded in Doumeki's head and he couldn't quite manage to suppress a cry of pain. For a brief instant, his amber eyes rolled back into his head and, with a last weak cry, he collapsed on top of Watanuki.

The shocked faerie lay completely still, staring helplessly at the lifeless bulk that rested on top of him.

"Hey! Wake up!" he started, wriggling an arm free to try and shake him awake. No response.

"Don't do this, you imbecile!" Still nothing. "SHIZUKA!" he screamed, suddenly feeling desperate. He couldn't really be-

"What's going on?!" Himawari shouted as she dashed into the room, ladle still in hand.

"He won't wake up," Watanuki said, gesturing helplessly at the unconscious weather sprite. "He took the curse onto himself!"

"Sweet Goddess," she murmured to herself. "He didn't-"

"Hey." Watanuki suddenly felt the vibrations of the other's voice against his neck. "What's all the fuss for? I'm alive, okay?"

Watanuki glanced down at the head of dark hair that rested against his neck. For a moment, relief shone in his eyes. But the next moment, his free hand flew up to deliver a blow to said head.

"Fool!" he grumbled. "Why did you _do_ that?! I _told_ you not to!"

"My choice," his voice came, still muffled against Watanuki's neck. "Besides, I'm the _Darkness_ , remember? A spell like that won't kill me."

"Came pretty damn close, if you ask me."

"I didn't," Doumeki retorted. Eventually he managed to turn his head and glance at Himawari. "Don't you have something going?"

Himawari had been standing back, contentedly watching what passed for a tender moment between her two companions. But Doumeki's comment suddenly reminded her.

"The soup!" she cried out, frantically rushing back toward the kitchen.

"So…now that we've established that neither of us is going to die anytime soon…WOULD YOU GET THE HELL OFF OF ME?!"

Watanuki felt Doumeki's lips twist into a slight smirk against his neck. "Such language from the one who insists we keep our mouths clean around the twins."

"That's different"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I can't seem to move."

"Tch, moron. In that case, let me help you."

With that, Watanuki sat up and rolled Doumeki off of him. Then, turning his back to him, he lay back down on the bed.

"Thanks," he mumbled, burying his face in his pillow. "We need all three of us to protect them."

"Don't sweat it," Doumeki returned as his eyes slid shut. "Without you around, who would do the cooking?"

Neither of them moved for several hours.

XxX

"Kuuuuuuro-waaaaaaaan!"

Kurogane grumbled upon hearing the high-pitched call echo through the forest. For most people, the howl of a wolf or the growl of a bear was the sound of death. For him, it was one of the mutant freak's many nicknames for him.

"Can't you say hello like a normal person, idiot?" he asked as the twins rode toward them on Leval.

"Being normal is _vastly_ overrated, dear Kuro-rinta," he replied as he leapt off of the white mare.

" _Dear?!_ " he bristled.

"Uh-oh! Kuro-pin's mad!" Soel teased.

"What's wrong?" Yuui asked, getting right down to business. Souma blinked.

"How did you know?"

"We can tell," Yuui answered as she guided Leval toward Kendappa. "Besides, even if we _couldn't_ hear the voice of the forest, you're kind of bleeding."

"Oh, yeah. That," Souma mumbled, placing a hand against the scarring cut on her cheek.

"Souma-chan finally gathered up her courage and asked Kishu-sama to train her in the ways of the ninja," Tomoyo announced proudly as Kurogane helped her down from Suwa.

"Really?" Yuui asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she, too, climbed down from Leval. "That's wonderful, Souma-chan! I always knew you'd do it someday!" As Yuui was congratulating Souma and helping her down from Kendappa, Leval wandered over to Suwa and the two horses began to nuzzle a fond greeting. Kurogane just rolled his eyes as he climbed out of the saddle. He thought it was disgraceful how his proud, powerful stallion could fall so completely for a freaky pure white mare that had come out of almost nowhere. Everyone else, on the other hand, thought it was adorable.

"Look!" Tomoyo said. "Suwa and Leval are kissing."

"T-they are _not_ kissing, Tomoyo!" Kurogane blustered angrily. "That's ridiculous!"

"Aw," Fai whined. "Kuro-chuu doesn't like a little horse love?"

"That is wrong on so many levels," he muttered, retrieving food from Suwa's saddlebag.

"Well, Souma-chan, it's nice that you're finally going to be a ninja, but you didn't say how you got that cut," Yuui noted, producing a blanket from her knapsack and spreading it over a clear patch of ground. "Did you begin training already?" Somehow, the newly anointed teenager doubted that was the case. Both twins had gotten the distinct impression that all was not well in the royal house of Nihon. There would be no adventures in Celes today. Right now, their friends just needed asylum; a calm piece of ground where they could escape the sufferings of nobility.

"Not exactly," Souma muttered, getting food from her own horse's saddlebag and joining her friends on the blanket as the three horses wandered off to graze. "Kakyo wasn't too happy about it."

" _He_ did that to you!?" Yuui exclaimed, setting down her sandwich. "Your own father? That's awful."

"It's all right," Larg said, suddenly hopping into Souma's lap. "Larg will make it better." Then the little creature bounded up and placed a gentle kiss on the cut. Souma felt a slight tingle and reached up to feel the wound. It was gone.

"Thank you, Larg," she said, patting the tiny thing on the head.

"Mokona helps! Mokona helps!" it declared proudly.

Kurogane glanced sideways at the talking manjuu. The things had demonstrated healing abilities like that over the years, small things like scrapes and twisted ankles. Fortunately, there'd been no need to test their abilities out on bigger things like broken limbs or snakebites. He'd asked the twins about them several times, but all they ever said was that the Mokona had always been with them, that the strange creatures had been with their guardians even before _they_ had. Even if the twins weren't Fey, the Mokona certainly were. Perhaps…their guardians were as well?

Kurogane was about to pitch his new theory at Fai when Tomoyo suddenly leaned over and whispered something in Yuui's ear. A wide grin spread across her face and she leaned over to whisper in Fai's ear. An identical grin wormed its way onto the boy's face and Kurogane couldn't help but cringe. Those smiles usually meant trouble. Fai stood up and cleared his throat.

"Lords and ladies, may I have your attention? As per the suggestion of the lovely Tomoyo-chan, she, my sister, and I will perform a dance for Prince Kuro-chuu and the divine Lady Souma-chan. Soel, the music, please."

Soel started to hop up and down excitedly. Then it opened its mouth wide and a small wooden flute came flying out. Yet another odd thing that the Mokona could do. Fai easily caught the flute and began to pipe a lively tune. Tomoyo and Yuui rose to their feet and began to dance to Fai's melody. Kurogane sighed and lay down on the quilt, propping himself on his elbows. Apparently Fai wasn't going to let him talk. However, for once, that was fine with him. Today was about cheering up Souma.

Fai played through several songs and Yuui and Tomoyo danced to each one. Always something new: a quick-stepping jig to match a fast-paced tune, an easy waltz to go with a smoother, flowing piece, their own variation of ballet to enhance a new folk song Fai had learned. When Fai was in the middle of a lullaby, he suddenly noticed that Souma was humming. Slowly, his playing came to a stop and he listened to the tune. Yuui and Tomoyo also came to a slow halt and glanced over at Fai.

"Why'd you stop?" Yuui asked her brother.

"Souma-chan's got something new. What song is that, Souma-chan?"

Souma suddenly realized that all the action had stopped and everyone was looking at her. She'd been so mesmerized by the music and the dancing that she'd hardly noticed when it stopped, or that she herself had even been humming at all. She blushed lightly.

"It's an old lullaby Sonomi-san used to sing. She said she learned it from my mother. I only remember a few of the words. I don't even know the name."

"I remember that song," Tomoyo said fondly. "Sing it again, Souma-chan. Please?"

_Two little princesses_

_Dancing in a road,_

_Spinning fast and freely_

_On their little toes._

_Where the light will take them,_

_No one ever knows._

_Two little princesses_

_Dancing in a road._

_Two little princesses_

_Dancing in a road,_

_Spinning fast and freely_

_On their little toes._

_Where the light will take them,_

_There's only one way to know._

_Two little princesses_

_Dancing in a road._

After humming a few more bars, Souma broke off.

"It…sort of reminds me of you two," she said, nodding toward the two dancers, who both blushed.

"Yuui? A princess?" Fai asked in a teasing voice. "Well, Watanuki calls her 'princess', but that's probably as close to a crown as she'll ever get."

Yuui stuck her tongue out at her brother. "I bet I could rule better than _you_ … _Fai-bear_ ," she teased right back, using Himawari's pet name for him. Rather than being insulted, as Kurogane would have expected from such a jibe, he grinned impishly at his twin and raised the flute to his lips once again, attempting to work out the melody of Souma's lullaby. Once he had the notes figured out, he began to play a beautiful rendition of the song and Tomoyo and Yuui got right back to dancing. Yuui held Tomoyo close and spun her around, just like the girls in the song.

Souma smiled as she watched her friends perform a piece of her childhood. She couldn't help feeling that her mother would be proud of their rendition. Sometimes she found it hard to believe that Yuui _wasn't_ a princess. She reminded her so much of Tomoyo.

XxX

"It's incredible," Yuuko murmured to herself, staring idly at her after-dinner wine as she swirled the red liquid around the crystal goblet she drank from. "It's been thirteen years already and those wretched twins are still free. Normally I could easily break such a ward as the king's lackeys have erected, but it's just too close to Faerie. The closest I've been able to get is their dreams. But the enchantment that keeps me out of Faerie doesn't hold as strongly over you. I should think you would have made some progress by now, oh lazy son of mine."

"Oh, I've tried, Mother dear," Seishiro answered, leaning casually against her throne. "No one can say I haven't tried. They've just hidden themselves too well. And when the prince and princess _do_ venture beyond the boundaries of their wards, they are too well protected. I would have to get them alone, without the Modoki."

"I heard he found them once, but he let them go," another faerie, Koryu, said. Seishiro rolled his eye and the pillar the young faerie was leaning against vanished. The black-haired youth went crashing to the ground with an undignified yelp.

"Mokona," Seishiro reminded him.

"I don't buy that, Seishiro. You could take on the Modoki if you wanted to. They're like oversized creampuffs," he said, rubbing his sore backside as he got to his feet.

"It's not a question of 'taking them on', as you so crudely put it. The Mokona Modoki are a safeguard that they can use as a quick getaway. There is little point in confronting them if they can vanish in the blink of an eye. I must find some other way of taking them."

"Couldn't you just use magic?" another of Yuuko's minions, Kyle, asked derisively.

"There is no spell I can cast from afar that could not be countered by the Darkness," Seishiro explained glibly. "I've already told you what must be done. I must get them completely alone…where there is no help to be had."

"And you haven't been able to get any information from Subaru?" the last of the three faeries present in the great hall, Kokuyo, asked.

"Not a blessed thing. All he's told me is that the only ones in Faerie privy to information about the three guardians and their secret are Clow Reed, Fuuma Monou, Kimihiro Watanuki himself, and, most recently, Kotori Monou."

"He has no idea what those twins really are?" Kokuyo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"As far as I can tell, no."

"And you haven't…told him yourself?" Yuuko asked, her curiosity sparked.

"No. I thought we'd decided it was best to keep that knowledge between the five of us. Would you like me to…let it slip?"

"Hmm…yes, I think that would be best. It will make things more interesting if that information leaks into Faerie. It will shake things up in court. Will you be seeing the young Shiro lord any time soon?"

"Yes. In fact, we had planned to meet tonight."

"Once you've let that little tidbit slip to your lover, I think it might be about time that you disposed of him."

Seishiro's only reaction to his mother's suggestion was a slight raising of the eyebrows. "Really, Mother? I've been seeing him for almost three hundred years. He's been a veritable goldmine of information. Are you quite certain he couldn't continue to be useful to us? He could prove useful in the takeover. I know for a fact that he would be the first to welcome me back into Faerie with open arms. The boy would be practically salivating to place the crown on my head."

Yuuko looked thoughtful. "Our time is drawing near. More and more of the lesser fey are flocking to our cause. Lord Subaru Shiro could just as easily be our ruin as our champion. However, most in Faerie have said for years that he is a fool to risk lying with you. Why not prove them right? No one would think much of it if you were to lose control of your magic in the throes of passion and 'accidentally' slay the poor boy."

"True," Seishiro said quietly to himself.

_It would be so easy._

"Or have you lost your stomach for killing, son of mine? Shall I send Maru and Moro to give you some encouragement?" The twin crows perched atop her throne twittered excitedly at the mention of their names.

"Mother," the dark prince chided, easily slipping back into his carefree persona. "You know I don't like being watched when I'm _working_."

Yuuko smirked. "I'm well aware. Though I must admit that I wouldn't _mind_ watching."

Seishiro raised an eyebrow. Without wasting another word, he vanished.

The dark queen giggled lasciviously. "Off to his naive lover, no doubt. I really _would_ love to see them together just once before Subaru dies. He really is quite beautiful."

"You're absolutely certain there's no chance that Seishiro could betray you? That he might actually have feelings for the Shiro lord?" Kokuyo asked.

"No chance at all," Yuuko answered easily. "My son cares for nothing and no one. Besides, even if he were to betray me, I have safeguards in place. He would pay dearly for any betrayal. Now tell me, General, how fares the campaign against Valeria?" she asked as she rose from her throne.

"I have raiding parties starting skirmishes with King Syaoran's border patrols. Nothing too serious yet. They do not suspect anything," Kokuyo began his report. "But my troops will be ready to launch a full scale invasion when you give me the word. Valeria is ready to fall, my Queen."

"Excellent."

"If you don't mind my asking, Your Highness, why are you holding off on your invasion of Valeria?" Kyle asked. "The combined forces of Nihon and Valeria could not stop us and Clow Reed _will_ not stop us. Why wait?"

For a moment, Yuuko looked distant…like she was staring over Kyle's shoulder and away at something that was long since past. "I will launch the invasion…at the moment I present Queen Sakura with the bodies of her precious babies. Then, when she and King Syaoran are broken beyond repair…then will Valeria fall into our hands, along with all of Faerie, and Nihon will follow soon after. My son shall rule over everything.

"All I need…are those wretched twins."

XxX

"Ah…ah…Sei…Seishiro! I…I'm-"

"Yes!" the dark faerie moaned in his lover's ear. "Together! Now!"

" _Seishiro!_ " Subaru screamed in ecstasy. Seishiro couldn't manage to suppress his own orgasm as the hot, sticky feeling of the younger faerie reaching the height of his passion gushed over his right hand.

With a last small cry of pleasure, Subaru collapsed upon the stained sheets beneath them. Seishiro easily extricated himself from the warm, tight embrace of the faerie lord's body and lay down beside him, gazing longingly into his dazed green eyes. Subaru reached out a hand to stroke his face. The glow of their skin was fading along with the orgasm.

"I love you, Seishiro," he whispered, leaning forward and kissing him gently on the lips. Seishiro reluctantly broke the kiss and sat up.

"I want more wine," he announced as he rose from the bed, tucking the blankets back around the naked and debauched Subaru before moving over to the small table where a decanter of wine and two goblets sat. One was still half full. "Can I interest you, Subaru?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure."

Seishiro, grinning wickedly, refilled both goblets and took a small sip from his own, but did not swallow. He set the two goblets down beside the bed and quickly straddled Subaru. The slighter faerie's eyes widened as Seishiro leaned down over him, but he did not resist when the prince began to possessively kiss his mouth. When Subaru opened his mouth under his, Seishiro allowed the ruby liquid contained there to dribble down into his mouth.

Subaru laughed against Seishiro's lips as he choked down the wine, giving his lover a light punch on the shoulder. Seishiro grinned down at him, reaching over to retrieve the two wine goblets before climbing back under the blankets himself.

"You seem…distracted, Seishiro," Subaru noted as the taller faerie handed him his goblet. "Is something bothering you?"

"You could say that," he answered, taking a sip of wine. "My mother wants me to kill you, you know."

Subaru stiffened briefly, but then he shifted to look directly at Seishiro.

"Well, we've both known that was coming for awhile now. What exactly does she mean for you to do?"

"She thought it would be best if I just 'lost control' during sex and killed you with my touch. No one would be too suspicious of that."

"Kamui might be."

"Mm, yes. I guess she hadn't thought of that. Sometimes I wonder why your scary brother lets me within fifty feet of you. The danger of that happening is very real, court conspiracy or no court conspiracy."

"He lets you see me because _I_ trust you not to hurt me and I've told him as much. It probably also has something to do with the fact that you swore, your hand to Goddess and Consort, that you had no desire to be king."

"True enough. Unfortunately, the perks of being with you don't make it any easier to play double agent."

"That's all I am to you? A perk?"

For a moment, Seishiro thought he'd upset his delicate lover again, but then he noticed the teasing smile on his face. He dipped his fingers in his goblet and flicked some wine at Subaru, who laughingly flicked back.

"Of course, Subaru. You knew what this was," he said as he took the nearly empty goblet from the younger faerie and set them both out of the way. Then he quickly tackled Subaru and wrestled him back down on the bed, pinning both of his arms above his head. "But I am forced to admit that you are a very…delicious…perk." Each syllable was punctuated with a tiny love bite against the tender skin of his neck.

"Would you?" Seishiro suddenly heard Subaru asking. He glanced back up at him and saw that he was completely serious now. There was no need to ask what he meant. He wasn't sure if he was more disgusted by the fact that Subaru was even asking or the fact that he could hear resignation in Subaru's voice…resignation to die if he chose to carry out his mother's command and slay him.

"Would you let me?" he shot back. He moved his free hand to wrap around Subaru's slender throat. "It would be so easy…so easy to let my guard down and allow the touch of my skin to steal your life from you at the very height of your ecstasy. You would lie back and let me do that to you?"

Instead of tightening his grip on Subaru's throat, he released both his throat and wrists and wrapped his arms around his lover, kissing him passionately. His own impassioned words, the sudden nearness of death, the sight of Subaru's perfect skin…all had served to arouse him all over again; and as Subaru moaned into his mouth, he could feel that his young love was equally aroused.

"Mmph…please…Seishiro."

He couldn't even _begin_ to figure out why, but Seishiro suddenly felt a strong surge of disgust. What or whom it was directed at, he couldn't guess. Either way, he pulled himself away from Subaru's embrace and moved as far away as the bed would allow, attempting to will away his desire.

"Seishiro?" He suddenly felt Subaru's hand on his shoulder. "What have I done?"

Seishiro shook his head in irritation. "You've done nothing, Subaru."

"Well…if you don't want me right now…will you at least hold me?"

Seishiro sighed. Yes, he supposed he could at least do that after such a vehement interlude. He turned back to Subaru and took him in his arms as the two of them lay back down on the bed. Subaru snuggled eagerly into the embrace.

"Will you stay tonight?" he asked sleepily.

"If you want me to," Seishiro replied, absently massaging Subaru's back.

"Mm, yes," he mumbled softly against his bare chest. "Stay with me."

"Oh, I almost forgot. I'm also supposed to let slip to you the true nature of Fai and Yuui."

Subaru glanced up at him, slightly confused. "You mean…your mother doesn't know that you 'let that slip' to me about thirty-five years ago?"

"Of course not. If she'd known that, she probably would have told me to kill you a lot sooner. You could potentially use that information against me."

"But…I _am_ using it against you," he protested.

"True, but that's only because I asked you to. I want it used against me."

"Sometimes…I really don't understand you…Seishiro," the young faerie yawned as he drifted off to sleep.

"That's all right, Subaru," he whispered, pulling his lover impossibly close against his chest. "There are times when I really don't understand _you_." Honestly, what sort of fool was he? Trusting the love of the _dark prince_?

"You _shouldn't_ trust me, my love," he mumbled into Subaru's hair; only brave enough to speak the truth when he knew Subaru couldn't hear him.

_You don't know who I am._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't believe I left a note last time this song was used, but it's from a short series called Tin Man. Excellent watch if you haven't seen it.


	6. A Gift of Song

"Now, my fellow revelers, in honor of Kuro-tan's seventeenth birthday, we shall have a dance this evening…accompanied by a special surprise provided by Yuui and myself," Fai announced, producing a large basket filled with bottles from behind his back. "A choice selection of wine liberated from Doumeki's private store."

"Where did _he_ get it?" Kurogane asked as he pulled a bottle from the basket to examine it. "I don't think this is Nihon-made and you told me your guardians don't go to Valeria."

Fai set the basket of wine down next to the roaring fire the group had going. Then he knelt down in front of Kurogane, leaned in very close to him, and whispered in his ear, "Who knows? Doumeki's out by himself a lot. Maybe he met some faeries when he was out hunting? Perhaps this is faerie wine?"

Soel and Larg traded glances at their charge's words. True, they had helped the twins steal the wine, but Fai didn't realize just how right he was.

"And you know what they say about faerie wine," Fai continued as he backed away from Kurogane to include Yuui, Tomoyo, and Souma in the tale he was beginning. "It's nothing like human wine. Oh, sure, you get drunk off of it just like any other kind of alcohol, but they say that you start to see the truth when you drink faerie wine."

Kurogane snorted. "What does that even _mean_?"

"Who can say, Kuro-prince? Care to be the fearless leader and take the first sip?"

"Heh, faerie wine," Kurogane said derisively as he uncorked the bottle. The intoxicating scent of red wine instantly filled his nose. "It's alcohol like any other," he said, raising the bottle to his lips and taking a swig. The liquid burned a little on the way down, but that was something he'd expected. What he _hadn't_ expected was the subtle richness he tasted. It was a flavor he had never encountered in any kind of drink before…and he had had several drinks. It was like…magic, almost. It was like the feeling he got when he swam in Spirit Lake. With just one sip it had warmed his whole body and had already made his mind feel a little fuzzy. Of course, his pride wouldn't allow him to admit anything like that to Fai.

"It's good," he said, setting the bottle down and reaching for a slice of buttered bread to counter the effects of the wine. Fai said nothing. He just smiled that odd, secretive smile of his…one that everyone except him and Kurogane realized that he gave _only_ to Kurogane…and began to pass out the wine. One bottle for everyone…except Soel and Larg, who declined on the grounds that _someone_ had to keep their wits about them. Fai found this odd, since the two balls of fuzz were usually so hyperactive anyway. He'd half expected them to go all out since they were, after all, having a feast out here this evening. When Tomoyo had 'let slip' the date of her brother's birthday, Yuui and Fai had insisted on throwing him a party of their own. Kurogane hadn't exactly consented, but the plans had gone forward anyway. Fai and Yuui had claimed that they wanted to go on a camping trip with just themselves and the Mokona. It had taken some convincing, but their guardians had apparently bought it and helped them prepare food. Now, here they were, deep in Celes Forest in the middle of the night, with a veritable feast set up on blankets that surrounded a blazing fire, lighting up the clearing they had chosen for their merrymaking.

"You know, Souma-chan," Yuui started as she opened up her own bottle of wine. "You never did tell us how you managed to slip away. Tell us the tale."

Souma blushed lightly. Before she could even get a word in, Tomoyo started to gush. "It was absolutely brilliant! It was all Souma-chan's doing. She made a powder that put everyone to sleep!"

Yuui's eyes widened. "Really? You can do that, Souma-chan?"

"Well, something like that. Arashi-sensei has been teaching me about herb lore and potions. I mentioned to her that we wanted to get out on our own for Kurogane's birthday and she told me it was the perfect opportunity to test my skills. She taught me to make an untraceable powder; slow acting so the food testers wouldn't give the game away too early. Just a light sleep so no one would suspect that it was anything but the wine that put them to sleep. Once it started working, we left."

Wide-eyed, Fai glanced over at Kurogane. "Kuro-pii, you're a ninja. Can you do that, too?"

"Yeah. I can. Kusanagi taught me all of those recipes." He couldn't help but smile a little bit self-satisfactorily at Fai's apparent amazement. He was proud of his skills.

"A toast!" Fai shouted, raising up his own bottle. "To ninja!" All of the others raised their own bottles and drank deeply from them, except for Tomoyo, who took only a small sip.

"Now," Fai started, climbing unsteadily to his feet, already feeling the effects of the enchanted wine. "The dance. Soel, if you please."

Soel opened its mouth wide, quickly providing two instruments. Fai's wooden flute and Yuui's mandolin. Instead of his flute, Fai picked up the mandolin and strummed a few chords. Yuui rose to her feet, already a little unsteady, just like her brother. Her new blue silk skirt swirled around her as she moved. She had recently had her first blood and Himawari had been so exited, she had rushed into Shirasagi and bought the bolt of blue silk, then asked Yuui what she would most like to be made out of it. Hence the skirt and the new scarf tied into her long hair. Fai had gotten a new shirt out of the remaining fabric, which he also happened to be wearing now.

"I'm going to sing you all a new song that Doumeki taught me, and of course, my talented twin will be the dancer. Feel free to join in if you want," he added as he began to play. Yuui began to dance to his melody as he played and sang.

_Like a gift from the heavens,_

_It was easy to tell,_

_It was love from above_

_That could save me from hell._

_She had fire in her soul._

_It was easy to see_

_How the devil himself_

_Could be pulled out of me._

_There were drums in the air_

_As she started to dance._

_Every soul in the room_

_Keeping time with their hands,_

_And we sang_

_Ay, oh, ay, oh, ay, oh, ay._

_And the voices rang_

_Like the angels sing._

_We're singing_

_Ay, oh, ay, oh, ay, oh, ay,_

_And we danced on into the night._

Yuui was spinning like a whirlwind now. The fire reflected off of her silken garb as she moved in time with the music. Before long, Souma was on her feet, dancing right along with her. Tomoyo stood on the outskirts of their self-made dance floor, clapping in time with the mandolin. Kurogane just lay back and watched, wine in hand.

_Like a piece to the puzzle_

_That falls into place,_

_You could tell how we felt_

_From the look on our faces._

_We were spinning in circles_

_With the moon in our eyes,_

_No room left to move_

_In between you and I._

_We forgot where we were_

_And we lost track of time._

_And we sang to the wind_

_As we danced through the night,_

_And we sang_

_Ay, oh, ay, oh, ay, oh, ay._

_And the voices rang_

_Like the angels sing._

_We're singing_

_Ay, oh, ay, oh, ay, oh, ay,_

_And we danced on into the night._

The music and dancing were starting to blur together around Kurogane as he continued to drink. As he watched Yuui dance, he couldn't help but think that she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Being a crown prince and all, there was never a shortage of beautiful girls throwing themselves at his feet. None of them could ever hope to compare to Yuui. But, at the same time, it was odd for him to think of her in that light, no matter how pretty she was. She was his friend. He thought of her in the same way he did Tomoyo and Souma, as a sister. However, by the same token, her beauty could not hope to hold his attention when her brother sat so close at hand. Yuui and Souma were both very talented dancers, but invariably, Kurogane found his gaze straying ever more often toward Fai. Perhaps it was the firelight, or the moon, or the wine, but, in spite of himself, the teenage prince was forced to admit that Fai was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, male or female.

"Kuro-min?"

Kurogane blinked and realized that Fai was sitting right in front of him. He couldn't explain it, but with those beautiful sapphire eyes staring straight into his, he suddenly had an almost irrepressible urge to kiss the boy.

Yep. There was definitely something in the wine.

"It's your turn."

"My turn to what?"

Fai held the mandolin out to him. "Tomoyo-chan tells us you're really good."

Kurogane glared at his little sister, who was smiling dazedly at him, having had a sip or two more of the wine. It was true that, as the crown prince, he'd been required to learn the 'less manly' arts of music, poetry, and painting, but she didn't have to go blabbing about his shame to everyone she met, did she?

"Maybe so," he growled at the much-too-beautiful-idiot before taking another swig of wine and wobbling to his feet. Again, he felt that glorious, tingling rush through his entire body. It warmed him, lifted him up, made him feel that he could do anything, _be_ anything that he wished. "But I've got a better idea. Why don't I tell you a story instead?"

"Nyaaa?" Fai mewled, falling roughly onto one of the blankets and groping for his wine. "Really? Kuro-chip would really tell us a story?"

"Yeah...but it's a really scary story," he said, never once breaking eye contact with the intoxicated blond. Not that he would have wanted to. "Do you think you can handle it?"

"Story! Story!" Fai sang and clapped his hands, taking another long swig from his bottle. Kurogane didn't realize it, but the wine was having much the same effect on the forest boy as it was on him. Drunk as he already was, Fai couldn't seem to take his eyes off of the handsome prince's dark face. He loved watching the way his ruby red eyes blazed with a kind of wild fire of their own, the way his dark hair fell into those eyes in just the right way…the way he couldn't quite manage to walk straight…tee-hee. He just couldn't look away. He didn't _want_ to.

"What story are you going to tell, Nii-sama?" Tomoyo asked, pulling Yuui up from the place where she'd fallen and dragging her to sit closer to the fire, where Souma was already sprawled across one of the blankets.

Kurogane turned away from the fire, trying to create a more dramatic atmosphere…and with his audience as drunk as it already was, he was succeeding. Then he turned on his heels and glared at his friends from across the fire.

"It's the story of the day my father was killed…by the dark queen, Yuuko. And the day the prince and princess of Valeria…vanished into thin air."

"Oooooh," Fai whispered in awe. Yuui and Tomoyo clung tightly to each other. Souma sat up, leaning closer to the fire, hardly noticing how hot it was. Kurogane had never, _never_ told this story before.

"It was a long time ago…nearly thirteen years. You wouldn't remember, Tomoyo. Kaa-san didn't even know you were in her womb back then. We'd been invited to Valeria for the naming ceremony of the newborn son and daughter of the king. The whole country was celebrating. It was the biggest celebration I'd ever seen. Even some of the faerie king's own entourage was there. But then… _she_ came. Yuuko," he hissed, his eyes burning with hatred.

Fai and Souma listened with rapt amazement. Yuui and Tomoyo held each other ever tighter, their eyes wide. Soel and Larg trembled from their places on the two girls' laps. They were the only ones who realized that the danger of Yuuko was much closer than a simple ghost story. Kurogane took another swig of wine before continuing.

"She was like nothing I'd ever seen. She appeared out of nowhere. The light vanished and I felt like I'd been plunged into ice-cold water. She had eyes like blood and she was dressed in cloth blacker than night. Her skin was white, even whiter than yours," he said in a hushed voice, getting right into Fai's face. "She had two crows with her, and a staff with a glowing green gem set into it. She was evil. She was insane! She'd come for the twins."

His audience gasped as one. "What happened next?" Fai asked, afraid to raise his voice above a whisper.

Kurogane glanced away from him, as if he were ashamed of something. "I'm not sure what exactly happened, or even _why_ it happened. They told me later that Yuuko had put a curse on the babies and my father tried to make her take it back. What I _do_ remember is my father firing a bolt of magic at the dark faerie and her firing it right back. But he didn't cry out when it hit him. He just…fell. All I could hear…when I was running toward him…was the sound of her laughter. I remember her face…as the life drained out of him. I'll never forget that _smile_."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Kurogane felt a pair of arms latch around his waist. He looked down and saw Fai hanging off of him with his face buried in his stomach, soaking his shirt with tears.

"Agh! Quit that fake crying!" Kurogane shouted, the mood flying out the window. "And get the hell off me, you imbecile!"

"I'm sorry, Kuro-chii! It's just so sad!" he sobbed. "To lose your father like that…it's just awful!"

Kurogane rolled his eyes as he attempted to pry the blond's arms from around his waist. "You're drunk."

Fai instantly released him and leapt to his feet, flinging his arms around Kurogane's shoulders instead, easily sending him toppling to the ground.

"And you're not?" he asked playfully, pawing Kurogane's shirt as if he were a playful little kitten. Then he leaned down very close to him and whispered in his ear, "Take your shirt off. I wanna see that necklace again. You _are_ wearing it, aren't you, Kuro-chuu?"

"Of _course_ I'm wearing it!" he said. His mind was much too hazy to care that Fai was sitting on top of him. It was also much too hazy to argue against removing his shirt, as it normally would have. So he sat up, shoved Fai off of him, pulled off the rough cloth shirt Sorata had leant him, and tossed it away. Unfortunately for him, it landed in the fire and was soon burnt to cinders, meaning that the next morning he would probably have to explain to his mother why he came riding home without a shirt.

"Ooh! Are we getting naked?" Fai asked excitedly, seemingly having already forgotten his previous request. Instantly, he undid the few buttons on his own shirt and removed it. He immediately crawled back over to Kurogane, who had somehow come to be lying against the trunk of a tree, draining away the last of his wine. Fai snuggled right up to him, nuzzling his cheek against the prince's bare chest. He sighed contentedly.

"You're so soft and warm, Kuro-wan. Just like a big puppy!"

"What was that?" he slurred. He didn't know why, but he suddenly found his free hand tangled in a wonderfully silky substance. He glanced down and found that he was stroking Fai's hair, which wasn't as appalling to him as it would be under normal circumstances. "You got any wine left?"

"Sorry, Kuro-puppy," he sang as he upended his own bottle and the last few droplets of the precious ruby substance dribbled down onto his face. "All gone."

Without thinking, Kurogane leaned down and licked the last of the alcohol off of his face. Fai lazily tried to bat him away, giggling insanely all the while.

"Stoooooop it, Kuro-shita! That tickles!"

"Oi! Tomoyo! Are you gonna finish yours?"

Tomoyo shook her head. She was still relatively sober herself and she had to admit that she enjoyed seeing the kinds of drunks her friends were. Fai wasn't too terribly much different than usual. Souma was lying on her back and reaching up toward the sky, as if she were trying to catch the stars in her hands. Yuui had been swinging Soel and Larg back and forth in her arms, but she had just recently collapsed against a tree and was singing to herself. Her brother…interestingly enough, her brother usually held his alcohol much better, but the young princess was starting to believe that it really _was_ faerie wine coursing through them now. She, personally, had seen enough of her own truth and no longer needed the help of the alcohol. The question for her was, would the other half of that truth recognize hers without the aid of the wine? Her brother's clearly would not. His truth would remain hidden from him until he was ready to accept it. But, right now, she could see that he desperately needed to be close to that truth, so she corked the bottle of wine she'd been drinking from and rolled it over to her brother before crawling over to Yuui to try and free the Mokona from her grip.

"I just had the craziest thought," Souma said in an unusually high-pitched voice. "Fai-kun? Yuui-chan? What if you two are the Lost Twins of Valeria?"

"I s'pose it's possible," Kurogane mumbled as he opened the new bottle and took a nice long drink from it. "No one ever saw 'em after that day. Some people say they're dead. Maybe they are out there somewhere…but I don't see how _this_ twit can be one of 'em," he teased as he gazed longingly down into Fai's half-lidded eyes.

"That was mean," Fai slurred. "I should smack you!"

He tried, but all he managed to do was slide his body further up along Kurogane's and get a goodly amount of wine splashed on his face. Kurogane slowly glanced between Fai and the bottle.

"I really _will_ hit you for that!" But he made no attempt to. Instead, he greedily began to lap the wine off of Fai's face once more. Instead of fighting him off, Fai leaned into him.

"Nyaa! Do I taste _good_ , Kuro-yum?" he asked, freely offering his face up to be licked.

"Mm, good," he groaned, licking at a few stray trails of wine that had managed to dribble down Fai's neck. "So good." Dear Goddess, he knew it was the wine talking, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't resist. Part of him didn't even _want_ to. He wanted more. He felt his heart would burst if he couldn't have him.

_Wait! Him?_

_Yes, him. Who else?_

_I was talking about wine. Where did he come from?_

_From I. He comes from your deepest desire. He and I are the same, and I tell you now, if he is not yours, then your own heart does not belong to you. Without him, the place in you where your heart lives will be empty. By extension, you will have nothing if he and I are not as one. There is no one else. You know this. The other half that you will cleave to is here before your very eyes. You are of one mind and body and soul. Gaze into his eyes and tell me you are not one and the same! Or would you rather I withered and died within your chest? If he is not yours…if you are not his…you will die._

Kurogane was no longer certain if it was the wine or his own heart that was speaking to him. In his advanced state of inebriation, neither one seemed like a particularly odd candidate. He was suddenly drawn out of his thoughts by the gentle feeling of Fai's fingertips on his face.

"Why are you crying?" the boy asked in a completely serious voice. Kurogane reached up to his own face and felt the salty wet tracks of tears on his cheeks. He hadn't even _realized_ he was crying.

"I…don't…know," he whispered, more tears already squeezing their way out of his eyes against his will. Blindly seeking comfort, he allowed his hand to tangle in Fai's beautiful hair once again.

"You know something, Kuro-pan?" Fai started as he laid his head down on Kurogane's chest, listening to the steady, rhythmic beating of his heart. "I think I like you. But that doesn't matter, does it? Because Kuro-chan hates me, right?"

"No!" he insisted as vehemently as he was able to. "Kuro-chan doesn't hate you." He shook his head in a vain attempt to clear it. "He means… _I_ don't hate you. I think…I like you, too…Fai."

Fai glanced back up at him, surprise evident in his fever-bright eyes. He drew himself up even closer to Kurogane's face.

"Kiss me," he breathed, his voice thick with uncertainty. His lips were mere inches away from Kurogane's. The darker boy leaned toward the lighter one above him. Those sapphire eyes held him spellbound. There was nothing he could not give Fai…nothing he could deny him.

_Your wish is my command._

But, just as their trembling lips were about to intertwine in that kiss they both ached for, Fai passed out cold, right there on top of Kurogane. The poor boy was too lost in the enchantment to be angry over being deprived of his desire. He wrapped his arms around Fai and hugged him even closer to his own body.

"You have…wonderful eyes," he whispered to the other, placing a gentle kiss on his ear before losing his own grip on consciousness.

"Well, that was a good start," Soel said as it bounded over to the sleeping boys.

"Yeah," Larg agreed. "Too bad they won't remember it in the morning."

"Oh, well," Soel sighed, grabbing a blanket with its stubby paws and dragging it over to Fai and Kurogane, covering them with some difficulty. "Soel and Larg got something started. That's enough for now."

"Uh-huh," Larg said, smiling as it dragged a blanket over to Souma. Souma had fallen asleep watching Yuui and Tomoyo snuggle together. Tomoyo had managed to convince Yuui to release the Mokona on the condition that _she_ would be her prisoner instead. They had fallen asleep like that, snuggled up against a tree. Souma had covered them with a blanket before passing out herself, hugging her empty bottle to her chest.

"Does Larg think…maybe Soel and Larg should tell Clow?" Soel wondered aloud. Larg debated the question as the two went about cleaning up the campsite.

"Larg thinks…that maybe Clow already knows."

"But wouldn't the king have told Watanuki, Doumeki, and Himawari?"

"Larg doesn't think so. The king knows the orders he gave them. He knows that he can trust Soel and Larg to keep Fai and Yuui safe and happy. But if it will make Soel feel better, Larg can talk to Kero sometime and see how things are going."

"Soel would like that," the white twin said with a smile. Then the two stood on either side of the campfire and gushed streams of water from their mouths to extinguish its flames.

"Larg will take the first watch. Soel can sleep for awhile," Larg said before hopping off to pace the perimeters of the little camp. Soel bounded back over to Fai and Kurogane and snuggled up next to Kurogane. It giggled to itself as it thought of the prince's reaction when he woke the next morning. It would certainly make for quite a show.

No one had noticed it, but somewhere in the midst of the boys' drunken whatever-it-was, their two pendants had become intertwined…exactly the way they were meant to be. The crescent moon fit perfectly into the embrace of the sun's rays: Sun and moon, gold and silver, ruby and sapphire, night and day, brought together again after being apart for so many years. Had anyone been able to see them, the joined talismans would have seemed to glow with a light of their own, pressed firmly between the boys' two heartbeats.

"Always," Fai mumbled in his sleep. Kurogane instinctively pulled him closer.

XxX

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Kurogane mumbled to himself as he traipsed through the swamp behind Fai. "The things I won't do for my baby sister."

"Now, Kuro-puppykins, we did promise the girls," Fai reprimanded him.

"Dear Consort, the names get worse all the time." Kurogane would have loved to draw his sword on Fai right about now. Unfortunately, he'd left it back with Souma because she hadn't been granted one of her own yet and he felt much better knowing that at least _one_ of the girls had a sword. "Remind me again why we left the girls behind."

"Because we decided to be the chivalrous _men_ and make the dangerous journey through the swamp so they wouldn't have to. Would you really want poor Tomoyo-chan walking through all of this muck just to see a Pegasus?"

Kurogane just sighed rather than bite back at the fourteen-year-old. He certainly wasn't exaggerating about the muck. The two of them were slogging through swamp water up to their knees, it smelled rancid, and…sweet Goddess, he didn't even _want_ to know what he had just felt slither past his foot.

"How much further?"

"Not much. We should be able to see the island before too long."

"How do you know they even exist?"

"I've seen them," Fai answered without looking back. "Himawari brought Yuui and I here a long time ago. A whole herd lives on the island. They're the most beautiful creatures you'll ever see."

"One more question. Why doesn't the manjuu have to walk?" he asked, glancing sharply up at the white marshmallow riding atop Fai's head.

"Because Mokona would sink," it answered, as if this fact were obvious.

"Can't you swim, lazy arse?"

"Mokona's not swimming in _that_!" it said, sticking its tongue out in utter disgust.

Kurogane swore under his breath. Someday that blasted pork bun was going to push him one step too far…and he wasn't going to be nice about it anymore. As if half-swimming through a swamp wasn't already a step too far anyway. Fai and Yuui had promised Tomoyo that she would get to see a Pegasus today, and of course, the only herd of Pegasus in all the land happened to live on an island in the middle of the only swamp in the land. It was just his luck. He was just about to make another scathing remark about the swamp or the manjuu, (either one would have been fine, really) when Fai gave a loud "Hyuuuuu!"

"Why do you feel the need to do that?" Kurogane asked irately. "If you don't have the decency to learn how to whistle, then at least shut up and let the rest of us have a little _peace_. Yuui can whistle. Why can't you?"

Fai stopped in his tracks and turned to give him the biggest, brightest set of puppy eyes he'd ever seen. He'd even give Tomoyo a run for her money. "I was just trying to talk to Birdie-san, Kuro-puu," he said, pointing up into a nearby tree. Kurogane looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a small blue bird flying down from the tree and coming to alight on Fai's outstretched finger. The tiny creature gave a few short trills and Fai smiled, giving it a kiss on the head before allowing it to fly back up to its previous perch.

"Birdie-san says we want to change our direction a few degrees to the south," he explained, making the direction change before continuing on.

"That is just downright unsettling," Kurogane growled. "I really don't understand how you can do that."

"Neither do I, Kuro-tan. I just can. It's not like Birdie-san or anything else in the forest actually speaks a type of language that I know. I just…understand what they mean. That doesn't make any sense, does it?"

"No," he grouched. Why would the damn bird even answer to a fake whistle anyway? It made no sense at all. But, then again, after all of the years he had been coming here, Kurogane had come to learn that Celes really wasn't governed by what made sense…neither was Fai, for that matter. They did what they wished, sense be damned.

"Kuro-min, look!" Fai shouted, increasing his speed to little more than a snail's pace. "There it is!"

Kurogane glanced past Fai and saw the trees beginning to thin and, just up ahead he could see the land rising out of the swamp to form an island.

"Now, before we go looking for the herd, there are some things we need to do. Like wash off."

"Not that I mind," Kurogane said as he took his first steps back onto dry land. "But why is that so important?"

"The Pegasus can't stand uncleanliness."

"So of _course_ they would live in the middle of a _swamp_ ," Kurogane griped.

"Of course," Fai said matter-of-factly. "That way, only sincere seekers manage to find them and live to tell about it. Kuro-woof is so smart."

"Che. Is there anywhere _to_ wash?"

"Yep. There's a fresh-water spring here somewhere," he responded, shaking some of the muck from his bare feet.

"Mokona's not dirty at all," it said proudly. "Mokona doesn't need to wash."

"Shut up!"

"This way, Kuro-pup," Fai interrupted, easily dodging the rock that was aimed at Soel as he moved away from the shore. Kurogane crossed his arms over his chest and followed, grumbling to himself the whole way. Before long, he began to hear the sound of running water.

"See, Big Puppy? I told you it wasn't very far," Fai said cheerfully, indicating a small pool whose source seemed to be a pile of rocks located at its far end. Not too far from where they'd stumbled upon it, the pool trickled into a tiny stream that ran back to the swamp.

"Would you stop with all the dog shit?!" Kurogane hissed. "It's the most ridiculous thing you've come up with yet."

"That means so much coming from you, Kuro-wan-wan," Fai giggled as he stepped into the pool. Soel hopped off of his head. "But there's no more time for games. We have to hurry. The herd won't be too far from the water."

"You want games? I'll show you games," he hissed, coming up quickly behind Fai and shoving him face-first into the crystal clear water.

"Kuro-chuu!" Fai squealed with delight as he surfaced. "Now I'm all wet! You know what that means!"

"Hey! Wait! Stop!" Kurogane shouted as Fai launched himself at him, dragging him down into the cold water. He growled as the two of them wrestled, only half as enraged as he normally would have been. Fai giggled all the harder when he heard Kurogane's growls.

"I just _love_ playing with my Big Puppy. He's so cuddly and cute."

"Why you-"

"Shh!" Fai suddenly shushed him. "Do you hear that?"

The two of them froze, listening. After a moment, Kurogane heard it…the neighing of a horse, or in this case, hopefully, a Pegasus. Kurogane glanced up at Fai, who happened to be sitting on top of him, and saw an excited smile spread across his face. When he saw the excitement there, he suddenly found himself blushing. Ever since his seventeenth birthday, he had found his gaze lingering on Fai a little bit more often and a little bit longer than absolutely necessary. It hadn't helped that he'd woken up that morning with both of them shirtless and Fai held securely in his arms. It got even worse when he realized that he couldn't even remember anything that had happened last night after he told the story of Yuuko and his father. For a few brief moments, he'd been terrified that he'd somehow…taken advantage of the younger boy. However, before he had had a chance to freak out and awaken Fai to their state, Soel had hopped up to him and assured him that nothing had happened last night. It said that it and Larg "surely would have stepped in" if he had started to do anything untoward to their little Fai. All it would reveal was that they were all very amusing drunks.

Thankfully, Fai was much too excited to notice the heated blush on his friend's face. He quickly stood and pulled Kurogane up out of the shallow water.

"Come on," he said in a hushed voice, leading Kurogane out of the pool and into the forest. Soel bounded after them and easily landed back on Fai's head. They'd only gone a few steps beyond the tree line when Fai suddenly turned and placed a hand on Kurogane's chest. "Before we go, there's something I need to know. Kuro-pon, are you…a virgin?"

For a moment, the question did not sink in. But then…

"WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT?! I DON'T SEE WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT! HOW IS THAT ANY OF YOUR GOD DAMN BUSINESS?!"

"Kuro-pii, hush! You'll scare them," Fai said, placing a finger against his lips to silence him. It was then that he felt the exorbitant amount of heat rising off of the older boy's face. "Aw, Kuro-pin's blushing. Perhaps he really has been…sexually awakened," he whispered with a knowing look in his eyes. "What was it like…Kuro-sexy?"

"Ooooh! Kuro-kiss is a lover boy!" Soel teased in his usual singsong manner.

Kurogane's face may as well have been a tomato for how red it was. "Don't talk like that. Yes, if you must know, I'm still a…virgin," he whispered, half-choking on the word. "But I really don't see why you need to know that."

"Pegasus stallions are very particular about who they let near their herds. A stallion will only let virgins approach his herd. However, on the other hand, a stallion will only let those who have been…sexually awakened near him personally."

"How in the world can they tell a thing like that?" Kurogane asked irately, the blush on his face only just beginning to alleviate.

"Believe me, Kuro-rin. They know."

"So…what happened when your guardian brought you?"

"She couldn't approach. She stayed with the stallion while Yuui and I played with the herd. When we reach them, we'll have to wait for the stallion to acknowledge us. If he gives us the go ahead, we can approach."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Well," Fai started without glancing back at him. "I guess we'll just have to go back the way we came."

The three fell silent as Fai led Kurogane through the forest. Before long, the young prince began to see flashes of white through the trees. When they finally reached the clearing, it became more than just white. The herd was a veritable blanket of color: Blacks, browns, whites, silvers, even a few shades of blue, and they all had magnificent sets of wings.

"Look," Fai said, pointing off to the left. "The stallion."

The stallion was much more physically impressive than the rest of the herd. His wings were amazing and his muscles rippled with power. His coat was a beautiful, shining chestnut color and his eyes seemed to spark with fire. As Kurogane was admiring him, the stallion suddenly glanced up to see who would dare invade his territory. To Kurogane, it seemed that he was sizing them up, just as he had been doing a minute ago. After awhile, the powerful creature nodded its head and went back to its grazing. Fai swept down into a deep bow, catching Soel as it fell.

"Thank you, Stallion-sama," he said before approaching the nearest mare in the herd. This Pegasus had a coat of shimmering white. Unlike the stallion, this Pegasus had a much more calm air about her.

"She's pregnant," Fai whispered as he reached out to stroke the mare's mane. Kurogane was tempted to ask him how he knew, but he was starting to learn better. Fai and Yuui just knew these things. The mare whinnied softly and leaned into Fai's touch, nuzzling his hair with her nose. Kurogane rolled his eyes and turned away. For some reason, he almost felt like he was intruding on something private.

"It's all right with her," Fai said, pulling Kurogane's attention back on track.

"All right?"

"Yeah. She'll give us a ride. She says she needs the exercise. Stallion-sama's been keeping her close." The mare lowered her wings to allow Fai to climb onto her back. Once he was securely in place and had Soel settled in his lap, he held his hand out for Kurogane's.

"Whoa! Hold on a minute! We're actually going to…fly?" he asked, sounding more than a little nervous.

"What did you think we were going to do? Lead her back through the swamp? Trust me. This is much faster."

"Ano…"

"May I assume you've never flown before?"

"What do you think, idiot?"

"Meh. I'll take that as a 'yes'. Is the fearless Prince Kuro-tan really afraid to fly? Come on. It's fun. I promise."

Kurogane stared hesitantly at Fai's hand. He _was_ nervous; it was true. But Fai had snared him with that comment about his courage and he hated the fact that they both knew that. He growled low and took Fai's hand, swinging himself up behind him.

"All comfy? Good. You might want to hold onto me."

Again, Kurogane's face turned beet red. "W-what?"

"Let's be sensible about this, Kuro-pin. What else would you hold onto? Do you _want_ to fall off?"

"Fine," Kurogane muttered, at least grateful that Fai hadn't turned around and seen his shameful blush. He grudgingly wrapped his arms around Fai's middle. It was almost certainly his imagination, but for a moment he thought he felt Fai's breathing quicken. Fai twined his fingers in the mare's mane and leaned forward to whisper something in her ear. Then, almost before Kurogane knew it, they were soaring high above Celes. Kurogane couldn't quite manage to suppress a cry of shock when he saw the tops of the tallest trees far below them.

"Kuro-pan," Fai began in a choked voice. "I know you're anxious, but you don't have to crush my ribs to prove it."

"Oh. Sorry," he mumbled, loosening his grip on Fai, but only enough so as not to suffocate him. Free to breathe again, Fai threw his head back and whooped loud and long.

"WAAAA-HOOOOO!" Soel shrieked.

"My Goddess," Kurogane whispered. He was just getting used to the feeling of the wind whipping past his face and the world flying by beneath his feet…when it all suddenly stopped. The Pegasus landed so smoothly that the Nihon prince was almost shell-shocked that the flight was already over.

"Fai-kun, she's beautiful," he heard his little sister's voice come from somewhere below him.

"Fai! How dare you bring her out here in her condition? You could have picked someone else, you know," Yuui said in mock anger.

"Aw, but she wanted to come. She was getting antsy cooped up with the rest of the herd. Daddy-stallion didn't want her wandering too far."

"What condition?" Souma asked.

"Mare-san is pregnant," Yuui explained.

"Oh! How wonderful!" Tomoyo squealed.

"I told you this would be much faster, Kuro-chii," Fai said over his shoulder as the three girls chattered on. "Tell me, do you plan on letting me go so we can climb down, or would you rather just stay like this?" he asked, leaning back against Kurogane's chest. "Really, Kuro-chan, anything's fine with me."

Fai's words finally broke through to Kurogane's dazed mind and he immediately relinquished his hold on the blond. Soel hopped down, landing easily on Tomoyo's head. Fai swung himself off of the Pegasus and offered his hand up to Kurogane. Kurogane pointedly ignored it and hopped down himself.

"So, was it everything I promised, Kuro-pyon?"

"Mm, it was cool enough," he replied, trying to sound disinterested.

"Translation: It was the coolest thing you've ever done in your life!"

Rather than argue, Kurogane just growled.

"All right, who wants to go for a ride on Mare-san before she goes back home?" Yuui asked excitedly. Tomoyo jumped and waved her hand in the air.

"I do! I do! Please, can I go ne-"

Tomoyo's joyful pleas were cut short by a shrill cry of pain and her enthusiasm disappeared like a candle that had been snuffed out. She dropped to her knees, moaning in pain.

" _Tomoyo!_ " everyone shouted at once. Kurogane raced to her side and gently moved her onto her back.

"Tomoyo-chan! What happened?" Yuui asked worriedly.

"I-it bit me," she moaned, pointing off into the bushes. Fai turned and caught the tail of a black snake vanishing into the foliage. The moment his eyes caught it, an involuntary shiver traveled down his spine. He had grown up in this forest. It was his home. Nothing here had ever caused them real harm. There was just something...unnatural about that snake. The light had seemed almost to refract away from it. He would not have gone so far as to say the _thing_ wasn't alive, but he _did_ know that Celes did not recognize it.

"A snake?" he muttered to himself, suddenly uncertain.

"Fai!" Yuui called to him, the worried tone of her voice summoning him out of his musings. "I don't think that was an ordinary snake. Look!"

Fai knelt down beside the others and took a look at the bite wound in Tomoyo's ankle. It was already starting to swell an angry red. What was terrifying about it was that the veins in the immediate vicinity of the bite were turning an insidious black color and the blackness was spreading rapidly.

"Sweet Goddess, what's happening to her?" Souma cried out.

"I don't know!" Yuui answered despairingly.

"There has to be something we can do!" Kurogane said angrily. "Maybe we could get her back to your place?" he suggested to Fai. Shirasagi was much too far. Fai was just starting to nod when Larg interrupted.

"There's no time," it said sadly as it placed its stubby paws on Tomoyo's ankle. "It's a deadly poison. It's spreading too fast." As proof of its words, the veins in her right leg were all visibly black with venom and the stuff was still spreading. "If it reaches Tomoyo's heart, it…it's over."

"NO! Damn it, manjuu, you've got to do _something!_ " Kurogane half-screamed, seizing the black twin in his hands. "Can't you use your powers to help her?!"

"Soel and Larg can't suck out poison…without killing themselves," Soel explained sadly. "And Soel and Larg exist only to protect Fai and Yuui."

"But we can't just sit here and watch her die!" Souma sobbed.

"Nii-sama," Tomoyo moaned in pain, barely clinging to consciousness. "It…hurts…so much."

"No! Tomoyo! Are you listening to me?! Don't give in to it! You've got to fight it!"

"Please…someone…make it stop." Her pained voice was barely above a whisper.

"Soel, isn't there _anything_ we can do?" Fai pleaded desperately.

"Maybe…maybe Soel or Larg could-"

"Soel and Larg can't do that!" Larg insisted.

"But Tomoyo's _dying_!"

Yuui, who had been silent this whole time, could feel the snake venom racing for Tomoyo's heart. Any moment now, she would be dead.

"No!" she cried, seizing one of Tomoyo's hands in hers. "No, you _can't_ die!"

Tomoyo's eyes suddenly opened wide and she began screaming in pain. It was almost over.

"Tomoyo!" Yuui screamed right along with her. " _You can't go away!_ "

As she felt the poison enter Tomoyo's heart, Yuui suddenly realized that her hands were glowing. Wasting no words, she reached for the wound, willing the venom to leave. A flash of light filled the clearing and, for a brief moment, everything was still. Then…time started moving again.

"T-Tomoyo?" Yuui whispered fearfully. But she needn't have feared. Tomoyo was lying in her brother's arms, smiling and still breathing.

"Oh, Tomoyo-chan! Thank Goddess, you're all right!" Souma cried out, wrapping her arms around both Kurogane and Tomoyo. Kurogane said nothing. He just held his sister close. Yuui was content with simply holding her hand. Fai stood behind his own sister with his hands on her shoulders.

For a long while, they all just huddled together like that, reveling in the fact that disaster had narrowly been averted. But, after a time, Kurogane looked up at Yuui and Fai.

"Thank you," he said seriously, "for saving her life."

"Us?" Fai whispered. "What did we do?"

"You didn't notice it?" Souma asked. "You were both glowing."

"Both of us? I saw my _hands_ glowing, but I didn't-

"While I _am_ grateful that you saved Tomoyo," Kurogane interrupted her, "it doesn't change the fact that you lied to us."

"What are you talking about?" Fai asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"You said you weren't Fey. No human could have done anything like what I just saw."

"I- I don't _think_ we are, but-" Yuui stammered.

"Kuro-prince needs to remember that we never knew our parents," Fai continued, his face strangely stoic.

"Fai…maybe…maybe we really are-"

"It's possible," he said, suddenly looking thoughtful. "We should probably talk to Watanuki, Himawari, and Doumeki about this."

"I thought you said they'd punish you if they found out!" Kurogane said indignantly.

"Don't worry, Kuro-tachi, we won't tell them about _you_. We'll say it was one of us that was bitten," he responded. Kurogane said nothing, but the cold tone of Fai's voice had left him stricken.

"Nii-sama, Fai-kun, please don't fight," Tomoyo begged, noting the tones of their voices. "Everything's all right now."

"Kurogane, maybe we should take Tomoyo-chan home?" Souma suggested.

"Yes, that's a good idea," Fai said, still sounding infinitely cold. He didn't know why, but it had hurt when Kurogane had been so quick to accuse them. Almost losing Tomoyo wasn't helping either. "Mare-san will take you back to Suwa and Kendappa."

"But…when will we see you again?" Tomoyo whispered, clinging to her brother as he carried her toward the Pegasus.

Fai shook his head. "I don't know. Soon, maybe."

"Nii-sama," Tomoyo cried as Kurogane hoisted her onto the Pegasus. "You can't…leave it…like this!"

Kurogane turned back to Fai as Souma climbed on behind Tomoyo. He knew she was right. He didn't _want_ to leave things unsettled like this. He didn't _want_ Fai to think that he hated him…much as his façade might suggest otherwise. Fai's coolness…caused a strange pang in his chest. But, instead of apologizing, he shook his head and climbed on the Pegasus behind Souma. Fai stepped forward, his expression unreadable. He whispered into the mare's ear and she was airborne within minutes, with all of the Nihon nobles hanging on for dear life. Kurogane couldn't stand to look back as they flew away.

_I'm sorry…Fai._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song is "Into the Night" by Santana.


	7. Lips that Shame the Red, Red Rose

"Fai, are you going to sit there all night?" Yuui whispered to her brother. Fai was sitting at the top of the stairs, trying to catch a snatch of the conversation happening in Doumeki's room. "You should come to bed. I think you really need to sleep."

"I can't hear anything."

"Of course not. We're up here and they're down there."

"But Watanuki's usually so loud," he mumbled as Yuui wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. "I thought for sure I'd be able to find out what's happening."

"Maybe…they're being quiet because they know we'll listen." Upon arriving at home, they had told their guardians an altered version of the afternoon's events. Apparently Yuui had been bitten by a deadly snake and they had both started to glow. Working together, they had used this strange power to banish the venom and heal the wound. Hardly a word had been spoken during dinner and Himawari had ushered them off to bed immediately afterward. Now everyone else was in conversation below and they were stuck on the outside.

"I bet we can get Soel and Larg to tell us about it later. Come on. We should get some sleep," Yuui said as she pulled Fai to his feet and led him back to their room. In truth, she was anxious to see Tomoyo, but she could also see that Fai hadn't been himself since Kurogane and the others had gone. She was worried about him.

Yuui got her brother as far as the bedroom, but when she had the door closed he would go no further. He leaned back against the closed door and slid down until he was sitting on the floor. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, reaching a trembling hand up to his chest.

"Yuui?" he whispered, his voice filled with pain. "Why does it hurt?"

"Why does what hurt?" she asked, kneeling down next to him.

"Right here," he said, digging his fingers into his chest. "Why does my heart hurt?"

XxX

"We can't tell them anything!" Watanuki shouted. "It's too dangerous!"

"I would say it's more dangerous _not_ to do anything," Doumeki replied calmly. "We can't have them running around using magic when they haven't been trained. I know we said we'd try to avoid using magic but we can't just ignore this. We _must_ train them."

"But if the twins know we're Fey, things will only get more dangerous for them!"

"We don't have to tell them we're Fey. They'd believe us if we said we had a little bit of Fey blood. It's not uncommon for those of half-blood or less to be banished from the kingdoms."

"But things have been so much better since Amaterasu took power. Ashura was a friend of the Fey and he helped Amaterasu see past the previous emperor's ways. Sakura and Syaoran have carried Touya's views into their own reign. Could we really lie to them and say that things are still so bad?" Himawari asked despairingly.

"We couldn't tell them that because we've already taught them about the politics of the two kingdoms," Doumeki reasoned. "We'd just say that we were too afraid to return."

Watanuki sneered. "You mean you'd actually admit that you, the great Darkness, were afraid of something?"

"For them?" Doumeki asked, staring right into Watanuki's eyes. "Yes. There is no question."

Watanuki sighed and turned his head away. He should have known it.

"Well, we've already broken the no magic rule," Himawari said, glancing at the door. They had placed a silencing charm on the room to make sure that none of their words could go beyond it. "Why not go one step further? Soel? Larg? What do you think?"

The Mokona, who had been silent up to this point, glanced at each other nervously before speaking.

"Soel and Larg think Fai and Yuui have to be able to protect themselves," Soel said.

"The snake today wasn't an ordinary snake," Larg continued. "The snake was one of Yuuko's minions."

All three faeries froze at that.

"You failed to mention that," Doumeki said, the barest hint of a growl in his voice.

"How could they have found them?!" Himawari was near hysterical. "We have to do something!"

"Yes," Doumeki said. "We have to train them to use their magic."

"Much as I'd hate to agree with you, I think you're right," Watanuki finally agreed. In truth, he'd been expecting these powers to manifest at some point. He'd just never been sure when it would happen.

"But…there's something I don't understand," Himawari suddenly mumbled. "We've always known that they would have some kind of power since the king used his own power to overcome Yuuko's curse and help create them but…such a powerful healing spell? Even though they're untrained? Is their magic really just the result of the spell used in their conception? Could it be something else as well?"

"I don't know," Doumeki responded. Himawari did not see the questioning glare he threw at Watanuki. The vizier knew. He knew he did. But he still wasn't talking.

Would he ever tell them the secret behind Fai and Yuui?

XxX

_The first thing Yuui sees when she enters the dream realm is Tomoyo's shining face. The younger girl is in her arms in an instant and the two are hugging as if there's no tomorrow._

" _I'm so glad you're alive, Tomoyo-chan," she whispers into her hair._

" _I'm alive because you and Fai-kun saved me. Thank you," she cries. Her words are muffled because her face is buried in Yuui's chest._

_The two don't speak for a while after that. They just continue to hold each other. They dream they are on Tsubasa Island, a site of many happy memories for the group of friends. They are surrounded by the sparkling, life-giving waters of Spirit Lake, with the Yume River flowing toward Nihon and the Hana River flowing toward Valeria._

_Yuui is the first to break the tranquil silence. She holds Tomoyo at arm's length, smiling hesitantly._

" _I don't know…what I would have done…without you."_

" _It's all right, Yuui-chan. I didn't disappear. I'm still here."_

" _I know, but I just…I-" she can't finish. She just pulls Tomoyo back into her arms._

" _Tomoyo," the thirteen-year-old whispers._

" _Huh?"_

" _When you thought I was dying…you called me…Tomoyo."_

_Yuui blushes furiously. "I…I suppose I did."_

" _Do you think…maybe…you could call me that…from now on? Just Tomoyo?" she asks nervously._

" _I-if you want me to, Tomoyo-chan."_

" _It's Tomoyo. And…can I call you…Yuui?"_

_Yuui's smile widens. "Of course…Tomoyo."_

" _Yuui?" she starts, suddenly thinking of something. "How's Fai-kun?"_

_Yuui's smile disappears and she sobers up in the blink of an eye. "He…he's hurting. I think Kurogane-kun's accusation really hurt him."_

" _Nii-sama was just worried," Tomoyo tries to apologize. "But I think he knows what he's done. Fai-kun's coldness hurt him, too...more than he'll admit. He hasn't said anything, but…he shut himself up in his chambers when we got home. He didn't come down for dinner…I'm worried."_

" _I know. Fai wouldn't eat anything either…even though Himawari was so worried about him. He told me…that his heart hurt. He cried himself to sleep."_

_Tomoyo gasps, covering her mouth with her hands. "Goddess and Consort, that's so awful."_

" _Hai. Those two care about each other more than they'll admit. It's so hard to watch. There's got to be some way to get them to apologize to each other."_

_The two girls sit down on the grass to try and come up with a plan. One occasionally turns to the other; realizes why the idea won't work, and ultimately ends up saying nothing. But, after what could be hours or minutes, Yuui looks over at Tomoyo and asks, "Is it possible for us to just…connect their dreams?"_

_Tomoyo looks thoughtful. "I don't know. We could try it. Perhaps they'd let their guards down in a dream? If it works they'd only_ _**remember** _ _it as a dream, but I think it would make both of them feel better."_

" _Let's try," Yuui says excitedly, jumping to her feet and pulling Tomoyo up with her. "I'll find Fai and you can find Kurogane-kun."_

_Tomoyo nods once before vanishing to seek out her brother. It doesn't take her long to find him. He's stuck in the middle of a rather strange dream. She would almost classify it as a nightmare. He's sitting in a dark room, holding something she can't identify in his hands. As she draws closer, she realizes it's his old toy sword._

" _Nii-sama?" she whispers gently. He doesn't look up. She kneels down beside him and gazes up into his face. His eyes are empty. She knows that here in the dream realm, she's seeing the hurt and confusion he would never show to the waking world. When he finally does speak, his voice is filled with guilt and unshed tears._

" _Imouto?" he whispers, turning the sword over in his hands. "I…I hurt him, didn't I?"_

" _Yes, you did hurt him." She sees no need to sidestep the issue just to spare his feelings. After all, the purpose of this little intervention is to heal the divide, not avoid it._

" _But…I-I didn't_ _ **mean**_ _to. I don't_ _ **want**_ _to hurt him…not ever."_

" _How does it make you feel? Knowing that you hurt him?" she asks, placing her hands on top of his._

" _Bad," he answers simply. "I couldn't eat. I thought the guilt in my stomach was going to make me throw up. I…I can't stand it!"_

" _Then why don't you tell him so?"_

" _How can I?" he mutters. "He won't believe me."_

" _He will," she says comfortingly. "He wants to. He feels just as bad as you do." She knows this because she can hear Yuui giving Fai a similar talk. The connection is almost complete. "If you won't believe me, then just look up and see who's here."_

_Kurogane finally glances up at her, looking confused. She inclines her head to the side and he follows her eyes._

_Fai and Kurogane's eyes meet at exactly the same time. It's like looking through a window into another place. Fai had been huddled up next to a tree with his sister beside him. Kurogane can clearly see the offending tracks of tears that mar his face. When their eyes meet, the two of them rise to their feet as one. The toy sword falls from Kurogane's hands as he moves forward, but he doesn't notice. They reach out to touch each other…and are instantly met with a wall of cold, smooth glass. Kurogane pounds his fist against the unyielding wall and more tears slide out of Fai's eyes as he presses his face up against it. Both Yuui and Tomoyo look away, saddened. This is almost worse…somehow._

" _Fai!" Kurogane shouts, hoping he'll be able to hear him through the glass. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! I was just upset! Please…don't cry anymore! I just…want you to be happy!"_

" _You…you mean it?" he whispers. Kurogane can hear him perfectly. He opens his mouth to speak, but Fai places a finger against the glass where his lips would be. "Don't…don't say anything, Kuro-sama. It's my turn. I'm so sorry I was mean to you. It's just…we'd almost lost Tomoyo-chan…and then you started yelling at me. So I got scared and upset and hurt! I thought it was really over this time. This time…I thought you were actually going to tell me you hate me! I couldn't_ _ **stand**_ _the thought of everything really being over for good!"_

" _I_ _ **don't**_ _hate you," he insists, cursing the glass for preventing him from wiping the tears from Fai's cheek. "I've never hated you. You can just be a bit…annoying sometimes. When I brought Tomoyo home…I seriously considered never going back to the forest…to protect her. But…I don't think I could_ _ **bear**_ _…never seeing you again."_

" _So…you'll come back?" Fai asks, his face brightening up._

" _Yeah," Kurogane says, the usual air of sarcastic indifference returning to his face, save for the small trace of a smile that remains in his eyes._

_The two press their hands and foreheads right up against the glass, wanting to be as close as possible. However, just then, the wall separating them seems to just melt away, allowing the two friends to collapse into a gentle hug._

" _I missed you, Kuro-sama," Fai says, sighing contentedly._

" _What are you talking about, moron? It hasn't even been a whole day yet."_

" _I know, but I just_ _ **hated**_ _not knowing whether or not I'd see you again," he whispers, a few more tears escaping against his will._

" _Hey," Kurogane says, trying to be gentle. "Don't cry. I don't want you to cry anymore," he soothes, finally fulfilling his desire and using his thumbs to wipe away the tears on his friends face. "I'm never going to make you cry…never again."_

_With that, the two vanish…like wisps of morning mist vanishing as the sun warms them._

_Tomoyo and Yuui smile at each other._

" _Well," Tomoyo starts. "I think that went well."_

XxX

Fai awoke with a big smile on his face. He couldn't explain it, but he felt wonderfully warm…as if someone had just given him a big hug. He knew he'd just had a very good dream, but he couldn't quite remember all of the details. He turned to talk to Yuui about it, but as he glanced toward her bed, he could see that she was sleeping peacefully with a contented smile on her face. Oh, well. He would just have to tell her in the morning.

Somehow, he knew that things with Kurogane were going to be all right.

XxX

Not many people would have noticed the passage of a single black snake in the middle of the night in the middle of a forest. Kokuyo, on the other hand, was no ordinary person, so he was fully aware of the black snake as it slithered into his neck of the woods.

"Kyle," he began with a condescending chuckle. "You redefine what it means to be a fool."

One moment, a snake was slithering into the bush next to him; the next, a fully-grown faerie was strolling out of it.

"So I bit the wrong princess. So what? Snakes see by sensing heat signatures. One heat signature is much like another. At least the person I bit was female. I was close."

"You know, it's probably better that you didn't succeed in assassinating Princess Yuui. The queen would have killed you…slowly."

"It wasn't my intent to kill her. My intent was to awaken their power…and I did. So as far as I'm concerned, my mission was a success. Young, untrained ones are much easier to track. Especially young ones as powerful as they are. I was getting tired of Seishiro's excuses."

"Just because he can _find_ them doesn't mean he can bring them in. The Mokona Modoki would never allow it. You just wanted to one-up Seishiro."

"The twins are not my problem anymore," he said derisively. "Nihon is."

Kokuyo stole a glance at him. "What do you mean?"

Kyle smirked self-importantly. "Her Majesty has appointed me to make the first move against Nihon, to make it ready for her arrival."

"So how do you plan to do it? Invasion? Genocide? Magic?"

"Intrigue," he answered with a sneer. Kokuyo rolled his eyes.

"Ever the fucking ass-kisser."

"You have your sword. I have my games. I'm simply playing to my own strengths. We must play the game with the pieces the Consort has granted us. Though, on the subject of the game, did you hear that Reed has finally appointed a new wind master?"

"I heard. Apparently Seishiro got the information from his little plaything in the middle of a particularly intense blow job."

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "I hadn't heard _that_. Who was receiving?"

"Lord Shiro spilled nearly a quarter of his king's military secrets. Who do you _think_ was receiving?"

"There's no need for sarcasm, General. Did he happen to reveal the name of this new wind master?"

"Yeah. Some prissy wind sprite named Hisui."

For times of war, the ruler of Faerie had four generals in order to command the army: a master of wind, a master of water, a master of earth, and a master of fire. The four masters had been mostly inactive since the time of the previous king, Fei Wang Reed. The only war that had occurred during Clow Reed's reign was the Last Great War to unite Faerie into a single nation. When he had first taken the throne, the four masters had been Fuu Monou, Master of Wind, Umi Watanuki, Master of Water, Zagato Sol, Master of Earth, and Hikaru Kunogi, Master of Fire. Zagato had died in the attempt to place Clow on the throne and his position was filled by his son, Ransho. Umi had, oddly enough, died giving birth to her son, Kimihiro. Her position had been filled by her sister, Touki. Fuu, Clow's own sister, had been slain by Yuuko when she began the Last War. She had never been succeeded by anyone. Perhaps Clow couldn't bear to see his sister's place filled by someone else? During the war, it had just been Ransho, Touki, and Hikaru. But Hikaru was killed at the end of the war and her position was filled by her brother, Ryuuki. For the past thousand years, it had been just the three of them. However, according to Seishiro's military intelligence, Clow was finally starting to see the threat that Yuuko and her armies posed. So three generals were becoming four once more.

"I've heard she's not half bad to look at for a master," he added with a smirk.

"Honestly, Kokuyo, sometimes I wish you would think with your head instead of your sword. Take that how you list," he sneered. Kokuyo countered with a smirk of his own.

"What do you think I'm doing here?"

"Fishing, no doubt. Waiting for some innocent little thing to wander out of Faerie. Or perhaps your tastes are a little more…earthy these days?" he suggested.

Kokuyo snorted. "I've had mortals before. They don't exactly do it for me. They can be tasty enough but most of them aren't strong enough for a good fuck. I remember one died once and I wasn't quite finished with him. I've pretty much sworn off mortal sex."

"If you had things your way, I imagine you would just have our armies rape our enemies to death."

"I don't need help for that. That I could do all on my own…especially since half the enemy is mortal. However, I'm not here to discuss tactics. It's my night off and I'm looking for something a bit more innocent tonight. I've grown tired of the queen's servants. There's nothing new in the Dark Court anymore. I need something fresh."

"Well, if you're that desperate, I just left a perfectly good virgin alive today. If you want _her_ , you could go and fight Reed's lackeys for her."

"My tastes don't run quite that young. Besides, the queen would slay the first one of us to even _dream_ of taking the princess. I would have to kill her afterward. Perhaps once all of this is over and she's grown some more…" he trailed off.

"What about her brother? Also a virgin. Surely Her Majesty wouldn't kill you for taking him? Nothing could come of _that."_

"Believe me, I would if he were a little bit older and I were in a fighting mood. But I don't feel like fighting the Darkness just for a lay that may or may not be any good. I'll just wait here. Someone's bound to pass by."

"Sometimes I think you've only gotten as far as you have by…what am I saying? Of course you have. You know no other way."

"Exactly right. I'm where I am today because I'm the best damn lay in all the queen's court. The queen herself isn't half bad either. Ass-kisser that you are, I'm almost surprised _you_ haven't tried it."

"If I thought it would get me anywhere, then I might."

Kokuyo gave Kyle a knowing leer. "She's never called for you, has she?"

Kyle said nothing. He just glared at the taller faerie.

"Know who's with her tonight?"

Again, nothing.

"Koryu."

"Koryu!" Kyle blustered. "That damned-" Fortunately, Kyle managed to gain control of his anger before he could go off on a screaming tirade. "Excuse me, General. I must be off to Nihon. I need to kill something. Enjoy your fucking…or whatever it is you plan to do."

"I will, thanks," he said as Kyle vanished into thin air. He chuckled to himself as he went back to his watching. Goddess, but he did love to bait Kyle. The snob made it too easy. Perhaps he'd be a bit more easygoing if he could get himself laid? But, by Kokuyo's count, he hadn't had any in almost five hundred years. Kyle Rondart couldn't get anyone into bed unless he either bespelled them or outright raped them. Unlike what Kyle had been implying earlier, rape was certainly not Kokuyo's style. He preferred the power of knowing that he could make anyone fall for him. Rape defeated the purpose of that ideal. He was proud to say that he had never raped anyone. Everyone who had ever shared his bed had done so willingly…enthusiastically, even.

Though, on the subject of sex, he was pretty sure he saw an excellent lay heading in his direction right now. Her milky skin gave off a faint glow in the moonlight; definitely Fey. She was clad in robes of shimmering white and green and her blonde hair flowed down her back, held in place by a single green ribbon. In the darkness, his black eyes could just barely make out the green color of hers. She moved so lightly upon the ground that she almost seemed to float. She was deceptively slender. Kokuyo could see the power that was in her. In moments, he was standing beside her, holding her hand in his. He was impressed when she didn't flee in fright or even start. In fact, she turned to him and gave him a bright smile.

"Hello," she said warmly.

In response, he pressed his lips to her palm, enjoying the smooth feeling of her skin. When he pulled away from her, he looked her in the eyes and asked, "Aren't you afraid?"

"Should I be?" she asked, still wearing the same warm smile.

"I'm a servant of the Dark Court," he pointed out.

"Yes, I know," she said, inclining her head toward the livid red bat symbol on his black tunic.

"Heh, don't they teach you anything in that court of yours? Haven't you heard the stories of innocent maidens coming upon dark faeries in the night?" he asked, pulling her body close to his, allowing her to feel how much he already desired her.

"I wouldn't go so far as to call myself innocent," she replied. He was surprised that she still seemed unafraid. Was she not even going to make him work for it? This wouldn't be any fun if there were no challenge. Damn! And here he was hoping this one would be difficult to seduce.

"I don't think you understand the gravity of your situation," he said silkily, pressing his lips to the pulse point in her neck to prove his point. "Do you know who I am?"

"I do," she said with a giggle. "Kokuyo Satani, master of the armies of darkness, known for his insatiable lust."

Kokuyo took a step back from the sprite, appraising her. She really did not seem to get it. He laughed.

"Impressive. You are either very brave or very foolish."

"Neither, really," she said absently as she moved away from him to examine the bush that Kyle had smashed earlier. "Just knowledgeable."

Kokuyo raised an eyebrow. What the hell was _that_ supposed to mean?

"Well, General Kokuyo," she started as she stood up. "This has been fun, but I'm afraid I have other places to be. I believe I'll be by this way next week if you'd care to talk again." With that, she vanished into the night, leaving him completely unsatisfied and aching with need.

"Hey!" he shouted, even though he knew she couldn't hear him.

_What just happened?_

Kokuyo winced in pain. He couldn't wait for some other unsuspecting denizen of the light to come along. He had to take care of this himself.

"Damn her!" he muttered to himself, leaning against a tree to take care of his problem. He groaned with desire and embarrassment as he imagined her…naked and writhing beneath him. He felt his face turning red with shame. He hadn't had to do this in so long. There'd been no need. The supply of beings willing to be his release was never short. But her…

Oh, he would return next week, he thought, hissing as the burning tension in his groin was finally released…and they would do more than talk, much more.

Kokuyo smiled to himself. It had been so long since he had truly had a goal. This one…she would be his greatest conquest.

He had never even bothered to catch her name.

XxX

"Doumeki?" Fai called. He didn't actually expect his stoic guardian to answer, but he had been living in this cottage long enough to know whom he would get his answer from.

"If you're looking for the moron," Watanuki called from the kitchen, where he was washing dishes. "He's outside."

"Thanks," Fai called back before heading out the door. True to Watanuki's word, Doumeki was out front of the cottage, sitting beneath a tree and nursing a cup of sake.

"Hey, Doumeki."

"Hey."

"Can…can I talk to you about something?"

"What? Still can't get that hover charm right?" he asked with a small chuckle.

The three guardians had explained their partial Fey heritage to the twins and said that yes, they may indeed be part Fey as well and had begun to train them in spells. But that was not what Fai wanted to talk to his oldest guardian about right now.

"Actually…I-I wanted to know…about love."

Doumeki froze briefly, staring up at his charge over the rim of the cup. However, he eventually gathered his wits and set the empty sake cup down.

"Sit," he said, nodding his head at the spot beside him. Once Fai had complied, he began. "Why the sudden curiosity about love?" He knew why, of course, but he figured it would be best to let Fai tell him.

"I…I've seen the way you look at Watanuki," he answered, not meeting his gaze.

Of the many things he'd expected from the boy, this was actually not one of them. Of course, he hadn't expected him to come right out with the _real_ reason, but this…

"Have you? And what do you think of that?"

"I think…that you care for him…very much. That…that maybe you love him. Not the way you love Himawari…or Yuui and I. It's different…somehow," Fai answered nervously.

"That's true," he said, making no big deal out of the admission. "And how do you think _he_ feels?" The trace of nerves in his own voice was well hidden.

"I think…that Watanuki cares for you, too. But…he has trouble showing how he feels."

"Maybe so. But tell me, if you figured all of this out on your own, why did you come to me?"

"I…Doumeki…how do you _know_ if you're in love?!" he finally blurted out, his face turning red. Doumeki just sighed.

"Honestly, Fai, I couldn't tell you. Love is complicated…and simple at the same time. It's different for different people. I can't tell you how you're going to feel when you meet someone you _know_ is precious to you. Only _you_ can know if you love someone. But…I suppose you could say that when you _do_ find your love…you won't need to ask that question anymore. On the day that you don't have any doubts…that's when you'll know. You'll know because…you'll look only at that person, and you won't even be able to _see_ anyone else anymore. Does that make any sense?"

"Sort of. Do you mean that…I'd never see Yuui, or Soel and Larg, or you, Watanuki, and Himawari again?" he asked nervously.

"No. It's not like that. It's like you said. The way I care for that idiot is different from the way I care about the rest of you. I can't see anyone else the way I see him. It will be like that when you find the one you love."

"I suppose that makes sense," Fai said, still looking a little confused.

"You'll know," Doumeki assured him. They sat in silence for a few moments. "Something else?" the elder finally asked.

"Yes," Fai muttered. Doumeki found himself thinking that the boy now looked…almost terrified, rather than just confused. "Is it…is it all right for two boys to love each other?!" He almost sounded like he would cry.

"Yes," Doumeki answered without hesitation. "There's nothing wrong with that. Never let anyone tell you different. The Goddess doesn't care who you love, so long as you love them truly. There's nothing wrong with me and there's nothing wrong with you." It was the closest the storm faerie had come to sounding vehement in a long time. He reached for his surrogate son and pulled him into a tight hug.

In Doumeki's many centuries of existence, he had only ever hugged two people: his mother, and Watanuki, once, a very long time ago when they were still very small. But then Fai and Yuui came along. For them, he did many things that he'd never imagined he was capable of…and never even gave it a second thought. He patted Fai's back gently as the young boy soaked his tunic with tears.

"I…I'm just…so confused," he sniffled. Doumeki just continued to soothe him. He wasn't going to say something ridiculous like boys his age shouldn't cry. Age was sort of an irrelevant factor with him anyway. He knew that emotions like what Fai was feeling could be confusing and painful at first…and no one but Fai himself could sort through them. All he could do was support him as best he could.

"You know," he started, finally letting go of Fai and slowly wiping the tears from his face. "I think it's time you saw something."

"What something?" Fai asked, slowly getting a hold of his emotions as Doumeki helped him to his feet.

"You'll see," was all he said as he led Fai back into the cottage. "Hey! Loud mouth!" he called into the kitchen.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" the nature sprite shrieked as he burst in from the kitchen. But then he saw the look on Fai's face. His eyes instantly softened and he turned a concerned, questioning gaze to his friend. Instead of answering, Doumeki turned his attention down the hallway that led to their three rooms.

"Kunogi! Yuui!" he called. Not long after, the two came down the hall.

"I think it's time you took them to the Labyrinth," he said to Watanuki as he gathered cloaks for the twins.

"You…think they're ready for that?"

"I do," he answered, placing a black cloak around Fai's shoulders and carrying the next one to Yuui. "I think this one needs it." He nodded at Fai.

"All right," Watanuki said, not arguing for once as he went to fetch his own cloak. "If you're sure."

"Does Watanuki need Soel and Larg?" Soel asked, throwing a concerned glance at Fai.

"Not this time, little one," he explained softly. "Tonight it will be just me and the twins."

Himawari remained silent as part of her little family prepared to go on this journey. She just placed gentle kisses on both the twins' foreheads as they walked out the door behind Watanuki. When she turned back into the house, she saw Doumeki facing away from her.

"I'm a bringer of death," he muttered to himself. "What right do _I_ have to tell them about love?"

The animal spirit was positive she hadn't been meant to hear that question, but she would answer his cry just the same. She went to him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Anyone who's experienced love can talk about it. It isn't some right to be given or taken away on a whim. Besides…love doesn't end with death."

It was the best thing she could have said.

XxX

"Fai? What's wrong?" Yuui asked for the hundredth time. Her brother had pulled his hood up over his face to keep her from seeing it, but before Doumeki had given him the cloak, she could see that he had been crying. Watanuki was walking a little ahead of them, not letting them out of his sphere of awareness, but still giving them some space. He had insisted that she keep her hood up as well. Yuui didn't understand any of this. Where were they going? Why wouldn't Fai talk to her? Why was he upset?

"Why won't you tell me what's wrong?" she whispered, seizing his hand in hers. He had never been so closed off before. Instead of answering, he squeezed her fingers tightly. The pressure of his fingers reassured her that he wasn't trying to shut her out. He just needed her to be by his side right now because he was upset and confused. So the two just walked hand in hand behind Watanuki through the dark forest.

"Watanuki?" Yuui finally got up the courage to ask. "Where are we going?"

"Patience," Watanuki said mysteriously. "We're almost there."

After awhile, the twins began to hear the sound of a waterfall. That was some indication of their direction. The Yume River had several waterfalls. The first and biggest of them was a spot called Faerie Falls. Almost before they knew it, they were standing at the lip of the waterfall, staring down into darkness.

"There's a path down here that leads into a cave," Watanuki started to explain. "We must be very careful. These ledges are precarious at best. You will step where I step."

The two nodded and followed Watanuki out onto the downward sloping ledge, with Fai behind Watanuki and Yuui behind Fai. The way was slow, and the path almost non-existent. However, slowly but surely, they made their way down the cliff face. The path eventually wound behind the waterfall, toward an opening in the rock. At long last, they stepped off of the ledge and into a rather spacious cave. Watanuki spoke a few words and streams of light shot from his body to hang suspended from the cave's ceiling, lighting up the place. Now that they could see, Fai and Yuui realized that it wasn't just a hollowed out space behind the waterfall. The cave extended very far back, farther than their eyes could see, deep into the earth. Watanuki immediately began to walk down the long rock corridor.

"What is this place?" Yuui asked as the two followed behind him.

"Do you know why the humans call this place Faerie Falls?" Watanuki asked without turning to look at them.

"No," Yuui whispered, somehow feeling that it would be irreverent to raise her voice here.

"It's because these caves are sacred to the faeries. There is a veritable labyrinth of caves beneath the forest. The only other way in or out is back at Spirit Lake. Only those with faerie blood can use that entrance. As long as the land has existed, even further back than human memory goes, those of the noble houses of Faerie have come here to perform sacred rites. The place where I am taking you is the Holiest of the Holy."

Not too long after Watanuki stopped talking a smaller corridor split off from the main one, which continued to wind away into the earth. This new corridor led down into a circular chamber.

"Oh, my…" Yuui breathed in awe as she allowed her hood to slip back. The walls were covered with paintings: paintings of faeries dancing, drinking, eating, and…doing other things, as far as she could tell. The very air they breathed seemed steeped in magic.

"It's beautiful," Fai whispered reverently, speaking for the first time that evening. A smile instantly lit up Yuui's face.

At the very center of the room, a circle was drawn into the rocky floor. A single line of ancient text encircled it. It was very simple compared to the other feats of artistry, but somehow, the twins could feel that all the magic they felt was centered on that circle.

"What is it?" Yuui asked.

"A magic circle," Watanuki explained. "Rites of marriage and fertility are consummated here. It is said that this is the place where the Goddess first gave birth to the God, and where they later consummated their love when He became Her consort. And again, this is the place where She brought His body when He died, only to give birth to Him again in the spring. That is the dance of the year," he said as the twins knelt just beyond the confines of the circle. "Birth, innocence, consummation, death, and rebirth. So, yearly, Fey nobility come to this place to perform fertility rites and consummate marriages. It is said that marriages consummated here will be fruitful and happy. It is the place of the First Promise."

"First Promise?" Yuui asked, glancing up at him.

"Yes," he said with a smile. "Sex is a sacred thing. The joining of two souls who love truly is the Holiest of the Holy. It is the way to see the true faces of the Great Mother and the Great Father. The First Promise is that the God and the Goddess will never be too far from their children. They are as close as the sweet whisper of one lover to another, close as the feeling of your love's lips upon yours. The Lady and Her Consort are the truth…the truth through making love…the truth that love does not die."

"What do they mean?" Fai asked, pointing to the words that encircled the sacred space.

"'I am at the beginning as I am at the end'," Watanuki began to read. "'I am the sacred circle, spinner of the web of space and time. I am the Cosmic "And": life and death, order and chaos, eternal and finite. I am Earth and all things of it'."

"Who does it mean?" he whispered. "The Goddess?"

"No," the nature spirit said softly. "It is who they are together, the Lord and the Lady."

Yuui felt tears spring to her eyes as she listened. In a place like this, it was easy to believe that the ancient powers of the world dwelt here. It was such a beautiful story…and as she gazed upon the magic circle, she could have sworn that she saw a face in the dust.

_Tomoyo?_

Yuui shook her head to clear it, and found herself staring over at her brother. His eyes were bright with unshed tears. Whether they were tears of happiness or tears of pain, she couldn't guess.

"Fai?" she whispered, but he didn't hear her. Fai was enthralled by the magic circle. Slowly, he reached out a trembling hand to touch the black line in the rock. As his fingers brushed the ancient circle, a vision suddenly attacked his mind.

_Kurogane…laying him down in the circle…his lips against his neck…he felt…_

Fai snapped out of the vision with a sharp intake of breath. He pulled back from the circle, breathing heavily.

"Fai!" Yuui shouted, moving to help him. "Are you all right?"

"What happened?" Watanuki asked, kneeling beside him. "Did you see something?"

"I…I'm not sure," he said shakily. His skin was suddenly feeling hot and his blood was pounding through his body. His heart was pounding and his stomach was full of butterflies. Parts of his body that he had never really noticed before were suddenly screaming their presence. It wasn't fear he was feeling. He had no idea what it was. He didn't yet understand it, but his breath had quickened for a different reason.

"I think it's time we left," Watanuki said softly as he helped the twins to their feet. Fai and Yuui quickly fell into step behind him, Yuui clutching her brother's heated hand.

_Kuro-chuu…I…I think…that I might…_

XxX

" _What was it like…Kuro-sexy?"_

_Like…rain and sun. Like…cold and heat._

_The moon shines down on his silken hair as the blond dances enticingly before him. How he longs to reach out and touch him…to claim him for his very own._

" _Tell me how you love me, my Kuro-tan," those soft lips pur._

" _Like a sickness…and a cure...together." God, where is this poetry coming from?_

" _Would you do_ _ **anything**_ _to have me?" he asks teasingly, dancing ever closer, swaying so close to him that he can feel their bodies brushing together._

" _Anything," he whispers longingly. "Anything in the world."_

" _Would you beg me?" he whispers in his ear. "Would you get down on your knees for me?"_

" _Yes," he says, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him closer._

" _Would you give up your crown for me?"_

" _Goddess, yes."_

" _Will you kiss me?" he asks as he climbs up onto his lap and wraps his legs around his waist, grinding their hips together._

_Instead of answering, Kurogane seizes his lips in a searing kiss. He never wants it to end, but the boy pulls away all too soon. The kiss has left him utterly disheveled. The pale expanse of his chest as it rises up and down with his sharp pants of desire, the press of his thighs against his hips, the way his messy blond hair falls into his beautiful blue eyes, his parted lips…all of it makes him want to take him right there! This desire will consume him. They will both go up in flames._

" _One last question," he starts, suddenly sounding angry. "Would you make love to me…or would you fuck me?"_

" _I'd fuck you_ _ **senseless**_ _," he hisses possessively, imprisoning him in the circle of his arms. "But then I'd make love to you for hours, days, years even, as long as you want, as tender as you want…until I'd made it up to you," he says gently, placing a kiss on his forehead. Still hesitant, the boy leans into him._

" _What's it like…Kuro-koi?"_

_**It's like…feeling truly alive…for the first time.** _

" _Would you…love me?"_

" _I can't_ _ **live**_ _without you," he whispers into his hair as he massages his back. "Does that answer your question?"_

_Reassured, the blond presses his body up against Kurogane's bare chest and places his lips to his ear._

" _Fuck me, Kuro-sama."_

Kurogane awoke from the dream with a small yelp. When he realized he was in his own room and _not_ off somewhere in Celes with _Fai_ , he started to breathe easy again.

"Not again," he groaned. It wasn't the first time he'd had that dream and it wasn't likely to be the last either. It had started nearly two months ago and every time he thought it had stopped, it would return with a vengeance. What he needed now was a cold bath to calm himself down. But when he sat up and threw his blankets off, he realized he had a bit of a problem.

"Fuck," he muttered. The damn thing was awake again. He climbed out of his futon and half-waddled over to the door that led out to his balcony. He slid the door open and collapsed on the hard surface, reaching behind him to close it. No one could see him like this. He slowly crawled over to the railing, thankful that his room did not overlook the city. It overlooked the fields and it was much too early for anyone to be out working. The sky was only just beginning to lighten and he half-hoped that the cool morning air would calm his heated flesh, but the rest of him knew he would have no such luck. Still, he tried to turn his thoughts away from the offending hard on. In the half-light, he could just barely make out Celes on the horizon. They hadn't been in a few weeks. Perhaps they should go sometime? The idiot was there. Mm...Fai…with his stupid smile and his stupid nicknames and his stupid face and his silky blond locks and his mesmerizing eyes and his smooth, soft skin…

His arousal twitched in anticipation at the mere thought.

"Oh, shut up!" he growled down at his erection, poking up through the folds of his black yukata. Clearly this thing wasn't going to go away by itself. He sighed angrily as he undid the obi that held the sleep garment closed, exposing himself to the cold air. It did nothing to dampen it. He growled deep in his chest as he took hold of himself. Unlike most men, who probably enjoyed this, the prince _hated_ being held so in thrall to the whims of his body. But at the same time…it felt so…damn…good.

As he worked at himself, the dark-eyed prince found his thoughts straying once more toward the idiot blond. He couldn't help but imagine that it was _him_ touching him right now. He couldn't help but imagine him naked, panting in time with his own animalistic moans. He couldn't _help_ but picture those rose red lips on his manhood.

 _NO! h_ e berated himself. _You should_ _ **not**_ _be thinking about_ _ **him**_ _when you're doing_ _ **this**_ _! You should be thinking about_ _ **girls**_ _! Anyone! Souma! Yuui! Oh, dear Consort, that is_ _ **so**_ _wrong._ Another louder, stronger part of him yelled, _how can I_ _ **not**_ _think about him? He's so damn-_

"Beautiful," he moaned, jerking himself harder as he freely allowed his fantasies to wash over him. He had this argument with himself every time, but the side that longed for the blue-eyed fool always won. Goddess, he would do everything to Fai a million times over.

As his moans of pleasure grew louder, he placed his free hand over his mouth in an attempt to muffle the sounds. The pressure between his legs was building with every new fantasy. He was almost there.

 _Fai…Fai…Fai!_ The name pounded in his blood with the rhythm of his heart.

"Mmph…Fai!" he cried into his hand as the dam finally burst, unable to stop the name from passing his lips. He could practically hear the stuff sizzling as it hit the wooden surface.

When the flood finally subsided, Kurogane collapsed against the railing, breathing hard and trembling. He was exhausted and would have gladly slept right on the spot, but he couldn't quite manage to calm his raging thoughts. He watched with morbid curiosity as his pearly white essence dribbled away from him and over the side of the balcony.

The sun was rising now. Kurogane turned from the rising sphere, retreating back into his quarters. Rather than dress for the day, he flung himself back onto his futon and pulled the covers up over his head, curling into a ball like some unhappy five-year-old, rather than the eighteen-year-old he would soon be.

Why was all of this so complicated? He had pretty much come to terms with the fact that he just was not attracted to girls some time ago. Being attracted to boys was fine with him, but…the idiot? There was no shortage of beauty in the royal court. Why choose him?

_Maybe because no one is more beautiful than him?_

If that were so, then he would have taken him long ago…when he was first of age. Kurogane did not consider himself a kind person. There was no need he had that he did not sate in a timely fashion. Fai was the only exception to that rule. He growled in frustration as he pounded a fist against his pillow. Why was that? Was it because he actually _cared_ what Fai thought of him? That he _cared_ about _him_? Yes. It was that simple. Goddess, but he wanted Fai. He wanted Fai as he had never wanted anything else in his entire life. But…neither did he merely want to take him. He wanted to _be_ with him. He wanted to walk beside him in the full light of day and not have to worry about him suddenly disappearing. He wanted to tell Fai that he wasn't always annoying. He wanted to tell him how happy he made him. He wanted to tell his _mother_ how happy he made him. He wanted to hold his hands and kiss his face. He wanted to tell him how precious he was to him. He wanted to see him smiling…always. He wanted to protect him from harm. He wanted to hold him close in the night and wake up beside him in the morning. All of that disgusting, mushy, romantic sap that Tomoyo loved reading about in those "classic" dramas…he wanted all of that, just because it was Fai. He wanted to make love to him and hear that honeyed voice calling out his name, knowing that _he_ had given him that pleasure. He wanted…to love him. Him, and only him.

He suspected that he had always known it, but it had taken him _this_ long to admit it. It was really very simple. What complicated it was the haunting fear that Fai might not feel the same. Could he really destroy their friendship over the fragile wish that they could be more?

And that, he realized, was what separated the boy he'd been when he woke up this morning from who he was now. He would prefer his own hurt to Fai's pain. He would rather live with a broken heart than bring unhappiness to Fai.

But…what would he do if Fai didn't…couldn't…love him in return?

XxX

_Hands run all over his body._

" _Tell me what you want me to do to you," his heated voice whispers as those hands slide his shirt from his shoulders._

" _Nngh…touch me…K-Kuro-shita," he moans as those lips leave a fiery trail of kisses from his lips down to his pelvis. Goddess, his hands are so_ _ **hot**_ _. He can't suppress his moans as those dexterous fingers slide into the waistband of his pants. He collapses onto the bed as the last of his clothing is removed._

" _What else?" he asks as he boastfully exposes himself. "What do you want?"_

_Fai cries out in desire as the older boy falls upon him, ravishing every inch of skin._

" _I…I w-want you…inside me!" The last word turns into a desperate cry as he reaches down to stroke him._

" _What would you do…to feel me?" he whispers, his breath hot against his ear._

" _I'll do anything!" he cries out. "I n-need you, Kuro-koi. I'm yours! Take me!"_

" _But that's not what_ _ **you**_ _want, is it?" he asks, roughly seizing his hair and staring into his eyes. It's so hard to concentrate with those smoldering eyes holding him prisoner. What_ _ **does**_ _he want? He wants those hands to keep touching him. He wants that voice to keep whispering to him. He wants those lips to keep kissing him. He wants the other half of his soul to keep_ _ **loving**_ _him._ _ **That**_ _is the answer._

" _I…" he starts nervously, clinging tightly to his dark-haired lover. "I want you to make love to me. But I want you to enjoy this, too."_

" _It's not so hard to do both," he replies, a satisfied smile crawling onto his face. "I'll enjoy this…if I can make_ _ **you**_ _happy, if I can make_ _ **you**_ _feel good."_

_Fai smiles as he nuzzles his head against the taller boy's sweaty chest._

" _Do you want me, Kuro-sama?"_

" _Yes," he answers honestly._

" _Then take me."_

Fai awoke from his fevered sleep with a rather violent jerk. He was still sitting in his bed, yes. The only difference was that instead of Kurogane on top of him getting ready to become one with him, Soel was snoozing peacefully beside his pillow and Yuui was still slumbering in the next bed over.

The blond started to fan himself. Consort, but the room was hot. Maybe he should open the window? Unfortunately, when he peeled the blankets off of his sticky, sweaty skin, he realized that being hot wasn't his only problem. The bedding, his nightshirt, and his legs were all coated with a sticky white substance.

_Oh, Goddess in heaven! Did I really…_

How embarrassing.

He couldn't let the others wake up and see him like this. But the only way to get out of it was to sneak out early and take care of the laundry himself. Well, it was better than being caught with his pants down, as it were. Fai worked quickly, first transferring the sleeping Soel over to Yuui's bed, letting it curl up with Larg. Then he gathered up all of his soiled bedding and crept silently down the stairs. Thankfully, the sky was still dark. Watanuki hadn't yet gotten up to make breakfast. So he gathered up the laundry baskets that Himawari had prepared and slipped out of the house, still in nothing but his nightshirt. He honestly didn't see the point of putting on fresh clothes until he'd washed his own semen off of himself.

When he reached the calm stretch of river that Himawari had shown them for bathing and laundry, he set the laundry on the riverbank, divested himself of his sticky nightshirt, and dove into the river.

The cold water did wonders to clear his sleep-addled brains. Unfortunately, his head was only cleared to make room for perfectly lucid thoughts of his rather intense dream and his…eh…fit of passion. This certainly wasn't the first time it had happened. He'd been having similar dreams most every night since Watanuki had brought him and Yuui back from Faerie Falls. More often than not, they did not result in his little…accidents. More often it would happen that the dreams caused him to bring about the release himself, though, during those instances, it was easier to clean up after himself. There was so much of it this time. How many times had it happened?

"Nngh, Kuro-rin," he groaned as he floated on the still surface of the river. Just thinking of the prince was reversing the effect the cold air and water were having on him. He dunked himself under once more, both to clean off any lingering stickiness and to rid himself of his thoughts. That done, he crawled up on the riverbank, laying himself out on the grass to dry. Fortunately or unfortunately, he couldn't quite decide which, his earlier thoughts would not be suppressed. The cold air was doing nothing to curb his growing enthusiasm as images of Kurogane's face started to flood his mind. He had come to terms with the fact that he was in love with Kurogane. The erotic dreams, on the other hand, he had not quite managed to wrap his mind around yet. Sometimes he was convinced it must be a _sin_ to feel so good.

Fai half-sighed as he shamelessly started to wank himself right there in the open. He would be lying to himself if he said he didn't _want_ to. After all, he hadn't been able to enjoy it when he was asleep. Plus, no one would spot him here.

"Mm…Nngh…Kuro," he moaned as he rubbed himself to a hard on. This was one of the only times when he allowed himself to dream freely of the handsome prince with the gorgeous red eyes. He let himself imagine that he could feel Kurogane's hands on his body instead of his own…that it was Kurogane who was making him feel so wonderful.

The fantasies intensified as his breathing sped up…eager hips grinding against his, hands everywhere, a hot mouth covering his face with kisses.

"Kuro…gane!" he continued to moan in pleasure. He couldn't help himself. His back arched as he involuntarily bucked up against his own hand. If only it was really him…if only.

A strangled cry escaped his lips as he finally brought himself to ecstasy. As he continued to fuck his hand, he spread his legs wide to prevent any of the white fluid from getting on them as it poured out of him and onto the grass. The moment it was finished he sat up, fighting his tired muscles, and scooted away from the small white puddle. He felt almost…guilty for enjoying it every time. It felt…cowardly, somehow. He drew his knees up against his chest, shaking and breathing heavily.

"If it bothers you so much, why don't you tell him how you feel?"

Fai glanced up and saw his sister heading toward him through the trees. He drew his knees even tighter against himself as his face turned a deep shade of red. It wasn't that he was ashamed of being naked around his sister. He was just ashamed of being found…like this…with the physical evidence of his activities sitting right in front of him. She had caught him at it once before and had never asked about it again. But she did keep dropping hints to him about other things.

"I can't," he mumbled into his knees. "I'm too scared."

"Scared of what?" Yuui asked as she knelt beside him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"That he won't want me," he whispered despairingly.

"That's really just impossible," she said as she gently started to rub his back. "Have you _seen_ the way he looks at you?"

"No. He has no reason to want me. I'm not good enough for him." He did not cry anymore. He had cried all his tears weeks ago. Now he would just sit, with a look of empty despair in his eyes.

"Good enough?" Yuui scoffed. "Love isn't about worth. I don't think Kurogane-kun's worthy of _you_ , but would you ever want anyone other than him?"

"No," Fai muttered. "But…Kuro-sama's a _prince_. I've never even seen a city. I was raised running barefoot through the dirt."

"And there's _nothing_ wrong with that," Yuui insisted, forcing her twin to look her in the eyes. "Watanuki, Doumeki, and Himawari brought us up right. If our background bothered Kurogane-kun at all, do you really think he and the others would still come here…still be our friends?"

"Well…no," he finally admitted. "But that doesn't mean he can care for me the way I care for him."

"I think it makes him _more_ likely to return your feelings. But I'm obviously not going to be able to convince you of that when you're like _this_ , ne? No matter. I'll drag the truth out of you someday," she said cheerfully as she climbed to her feet and offered her hand to her brother. "Come on. I brought you some clothes. I'll help you do the laundry. The others don't have to know anything."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Fai's mouth as Yuui helped him up and produced a fresh pair of pants and a tunic from the knap sack she'd been carrying.

"How did you find me?" he finally asked her as he started to dress himself.

"Soel woke me up, hysterical, saying that you were nowhere to be found. When I saw your stripped bed, I knew where you'd gone. Besides, I always know where to find you, no matter where you go," she answered, tossing him an apple from the sack. "But…you do realize that Watanuki, Himawari, and Doumeki would have killed you if they ever found out you went outside without Soel? Lucky for you they were still asleep when I left."

"I don't see what the big deal is," he muttered around a bite of fruit. "We'll be fifteen in just a few months. Why do we still need babysitters? You didn't bring them with you, did you?"

"Of course I did. Soel was worried about you. I could hear you long before I could see you, though, so I asked them to wait for me to call them."

"Well," Fai sighed as he tossed aside the core of his breakfast and picked up his stained nightshirt. "I guess we'd better get this over with."

XxX

Seishiro smirked to himself as he watched the happy scene of the brother and sister splashing about in the river as they went about their chores. The boy was visibly less happy than he'd seen him in previous years, but with what he'd just heard, he supposed it was to be expected.

He'd been alerted the moment the prince was separated from his Mokona guardian and he had fairly flown to the spot. He knew that he wouldn't be able to perform any magic so close to their wards without being detected, but he didn't expect Fai to put up too much of a struggle. He had figured he would be easy enough to kidnap through brute strength. However, all of his plans had gone awry the moment he'd stumbled upon the boy.

Seishiro was not easy to surprise, which is why it was saying something to say that he had _not_ expected to see the young prince writhing on the grass, pleasuring himself. The banished prince had chuckled to himself as he'd watched. The boy was so helpless…so off guard he would have easily been able to spirit him away to the Dark Court and have him bound in one of its deepest dungeons before he'd even finished with himself. He would have never known what hit him. However, Seishiro had also been more than a little distracted by the sudden images of Subaru in the boy's place. He'd gotten more than a little hot himself. By the time he sensed Yuui and the Mokona approaching, it had been too late. He had missed his chance.

The dark prince had chuckled once again when he'd heard Fai's complaint about the Mokona.

_Child, you may never know just how_ _**close** _ _you came to finding out the terrible truth of just how much you_ _**do** _ _still need a babysitter. One or both of you came very close to dying today. Congratulations, twins of both worlds. You survive to fight another day._

Even though he had missed his first opportunity in years, Seishiro certainly did not consider today a total loss. He had uncovered some new information that could be used to great benefit…or ruin, depending on who was looking at the situation.

So the innocent little prince had someone he desired, did he? Someone he might even love. All the better that it was the crown prince of Nihon himself. That could be used against him. Perhaps used to break his mind…break his spirit. And of course, the dark prince would not hesitate to use this new sexual awakening to screw with the boy's head…

 _Maybe other parts of him as well_ , he thought with a smirk as he vanished.

Though, speaking of screwing, where had Subaru said he'd be today? After the morning's little tousle, he could do with a bit of a tumble himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ancient text from the sacred cave is actually from a book called "The Maltese Goddess". It seemed to fit, so I decided to use it.


	8. I Wonder

Kurogane felt…awkward, for lack of a better word, which was something he did not feel often. He was standing alone just outside the inner sanctum of the Goddess' main shrine, dressed in a flowing white kimono with a wreath of white roses set atop his head. He felt like a freaking woman! White didn't suit him at all. It went against his every sensibility. White was much better suited to…Fai.

The prince shifted uncomfortably in the small corridor. He'd been standing in the same spot for nearly an hour! He was not allowed to enter the sanctuary until the two candles guarding it had burned out and the one on his left was still stubbornly clinging to life. Consort, why couldn't he just snuff the damn thing out himself and get this over with?

 _Oh, well_ , he sighed to himself. _I guess it's got to be done. Tradition and all that nonsense._

In Nihon, upon reaching their eighteenth birthday, it was traditional for male nobles to receive an education in "the art of love"; court speak for "virginity is a _shameful_ state of being and must be dealt with". And of course, the rite was only for boys. Ladies would remain virgins until their wedding night…in theory, anyway. Practice was a bit sketchier. Most nobles who went through the ceremony were, more often than not, not really virgins anymore. But they weren't talking and the court seemed to hold great store by the ceremony, so no one ever said anything. He himself was, interestingly enough, still an actual virgin. Only he knew why that was and he certainly wasn't telling anyone.

Preparations for the ritual had begun at dawn. He'd been allowed nothing to drink except water and nothing to eat except fresh fruit. Tomoyo and Souma had gone around most of the day giggling and gossiping between themselves. He'd had half a mind to give them a good yelling at…maybe brandish his sword threateningly at Souma. The only problem with that was that he was forbidden to lay hands on any kind of weapon until after the rite was finished. Today was meant to be a day of growth, fertility, and new life and it was considered bad luck to think of death in any way. He was also meant to spend the day in meditation, contemplating the important step in his life he was about to take. Well…he had spent the day contemplating _something_ , just not what the stuffy elders at court would have preferred. His thoughts had constantly been on the person whom he would rather be performing this ceremony with. That was a little unfortunate for him because, considering what he would be doing come nightfall, his thoughts were not always…eh, pure, as it were…and he was forbidden to touch himself. Tradition claimed that any emission, intentional or accidental, on the day of the ceremony _before_ he lay with whatever shrine maiden they'd chosen for him made him unclean and would curse his first performance. The stories claimed that he would be clumsy, or that he would be unable to perform. Some even claimed that he would be cursed with infertility and such a defect could cost him the crown. He honestly didn't believe a word of it, but there were guards stationed outside of his chambers with orders to check on him every five minutes to make sure that he was "sticking to the plan". So he had suffered in silence with thoughts of pale skin and blond hair drifting through his head.

Apart from the guards constantly checking on him, he had had only six visitors throughout the course of the day. First, Kusanagi and Chitose had come to wake him and help him dress. Once that was finished, Chitose had gone, saying that Tomoyo would be by to visit him later. Kusanagi had had a few words with him, seeing as how his own father was not around on this very important day in his life. He'd said that he was proud that he was finally entering this stage in his life and so on and so forth.

"Heh!" Kurogane snorted at the formal words that sounded so dry in his sensei's mouth. "Aren't you even going to ask me if I really _am_ a virgin?"

"Well, that's not really any of my business, now is it, Kurogane-sama. If you are not, then I hope you truly cared for the one who came to your bed. If you do not consider tonight your first, then it is my dearest wish that you love the person you consider worthy of such a gift."

"What?" Kurogane asked sarcastically. "Royal seed?'

"No," Kusanagi replied very seriously. "Your love. That is the gift one should give with one's virginity. People tend to lose sight of that. I never understood why the court held so much stock by this ceremony. You lie with someone you don't care about and it's as pointless as if you were alone. Lying with a woman's not going to make you a man, Prince."

Kurogane glanced away from his surrogate father. "I know."

Then he was gone and a few hours later, true to Chitose's word, Tomoyo had come to see him with Souma in tow. She had walked right up to him and placed the crown of white roses atop his head. He glanced up at them, then back down at his little sister.

"Is this your idea of a joke?"

"Nope," she answered with her usual smile. "I made it myself. I remembered that Fai-kun likes roses. I thought you might want it."

Kurogane studied her smile for a moment. He had never told _anyone_ his feelings for Fai, and yet Tomoyo somehow always seemed to know what was in his head and heart. However, he decided to let the comment slide and the two girls settled in for a visit. They dined on a lunch of berries and rose hip, both girls teasing him mercilessly about the whole business. Unfortunately, they were chased away by his next visitor - Chang Ang.

"So," the high priest had begun once the girls were gone. "Tonight you become a man."

"If you say so," he'd responded, remaining seated and not meeting the old man's gaze.

"This is no joking matter, Your Highness. It is a very important ceremony. You must show the people that you are worthy to be their emperor. Your subjects must know you are a fertile heir who will continue to carry on the royal line of Nihon."

 _Honestly, what does sex have to do with my ability to rule?_ he thought. What he said was, "And how do you know the woman you've chosen for me is fertile? Sometimes the fault can lie with the woman."

"Oh, trust me, my Prince. Your teacher has proven herself to be fertile on many occasions. Tonight is a test for you and you alone."

When Kurogane had not responded, Chang Ang had finally left. His last visitor had come not long before the rite was to begin - his mother.

He was standing out on his balcony when Amaterasu came up behind him. He showed no reaction when she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I remember when your father went through this ceremony. We weren't even engaged back then."

"Was he a virgin?" Kurogane asked, suddenly curious.

"No, actually," she answered with a sad smile. "Back then…he loved a girl named Shashi. He always told me the two of them were going to run away together. I was so happy for them."

Kurogane finally turned to look at his mother. He had never heard any of this before. "So…what happened? Did he just…stop loving her?"

"No. I don't think he ever did."

"Then…why did he marry you?"

"It's…complicated," she finally replied. "I always promised myself I would tell you when you were old enough, but I just kept putting it off. No time ever seemed right. I suppose…now is as good a time as any."

"I'm listening."

"You see…back then, I was in love, too. With a girl named Saya Kishu."

"You mean…you were…" he mumbled, hardly able to grasp this new concept.

"Yes," she said laughingly. "I was, and remain to this day, a lover of women. Saya was so beautiful. I loved her so very much. I thought we were going to be together forever. But…it wasn't that simple. My father wanted Ashura for me. He wanted an alliance between the royal house and Ashura's. Ashura was my best friend. We didn't want to get married. We actually started making plans to run away together. Just the four of us."

"What happened?" Part of him didn't want to know the ending. This story was starting to sound all too familiar.

"Before we could escape…my father discovered Saya and I together. He flew into a terrible rage and stabbed her on the spot."

Kurogane was shocked to see tears in the empress' eyes. He didn't think he had ever seen her cry.

"It was…awful. He left us there…locked us in. I tried to call for help, but no one would dare cross him. No one came. I sat against the door, crying out for someone, anyone, to save her. But there was nothing I could do. She bled to death in my arms."

The prince reached out and placed a comforting hand on his mother's shoulder. "I…I'm sorry, Kaa-san." What must it be like to lose someone you love in such a horrible way?

The empress quickly gathered her composure and continued her story. "Afterward, when her mother demanded a proper burial for her child, my father refused. He claimed the reason he'd killed Saya was that she had Fey blood in her. Nihon's relations with Faerie have historically been shaky, but it was especially bad during my father's reign. After Saya's murder, he began a campaign to exterminate all those in Nihon with Fey blood. Many people were killed those next few years. After Saya, her mother was the first to be killed. You know Arashi Kishu? Souma's sensei? She was Saya's little sister. She was only a child when all of this happened. She was only spared because my father was hesitant about killing children."

"What happened to Shashi?" He was fairly certain he already knew.

"Shashi had some Fey blood in her as well. Ashura's parents didn't know about their love. When Shashi discovered she was pregnant with his child, Ashura and I made plans to get her and her family out of Nihon. After Saya's death, I had sworn to myself I would never love again. As such, I never expected to produce an heir. I promised Ashura and Shashi that any child of theirs would be the one to follow me to the throne. But…during their escape, Shashi and her parents were captured and killed. It broke your father's heart. When he came to me with the news, I swore I wouldn't let it go on. I was already broken beyond repair. I couldn't stand to see him in so much pain, too. Dissent was already growing when my father made the decision to start killing children. When our engagement was announced, Ashura and I started gathering dissenters to lead a coup against my father. While your father and I didn't particularly like the idea of marriage, it was a strong symbol to our followers. The true empress and her 'love' come to free them from oppression. So we pushed for a quick marriage. My father was surprised but I suppose he was just so happy to finally be getting his way that he never thought to question our motives. On the night of our marriage, instead of having a wedding night like most couples, we led a rebellion. The few who remained loyal to my father quickly joined with us rather than be slain. I took my father's own sword…and I killed him with it…just like he'd killed Saya. Your father and I took the throne and Taishakuten's genocide was forgotten."

Kurogane stared at his mother in shock. He had known she had overthrown his grandfather, Taishakuten, but the rest of that had been unknown to him.

"So…you never loved my father?"

Amaterasu shook her head. "He was my best friend. We were very fond of each other. He was my greatest advisor. But love…no. Neither of us could ever replace what the other had lost. What we could do was join forces to make sure it never happened again. So I suppose some good did come out of it. If we had never married, I would not have you or Tomoyo, and I know your father loved you very much. You have become a very strong young man and you take very good care of your little sister. I know your father would be very proud of you today. You know what's meant to happen after I leave, yes?"

"Yeah," he said, turning away from her to take in the scenery one last time. Amaterasu had to stand on tiptoe to give her son a kiss on the cheek.

"Good luck, Kurogane," she whispered to him before leaving. Kurogane had not even looked up when the group of seven shrine maids came to collect him. They led him through the corridors of the castle, a few tossing rose petals before him as he walked, one playing a flute, another a small drum. Before he could be taken to the shrine, he had to be taken to the cleansing pool to be bathed in rose water, to increase his virility, as tradition stated. As the shrine maids bathed him, his mind kept wandering back to his mother's story and how it related to him and Fai. Both of his parents had loved someone they could not have and had married simply out of convenience. Could he ever bear to lose Fai like that? When the time came, would he be made to choose duty over love?

Once the ritual cleansing was complete, the shrine maids had led him to the Shrine of the Goddess and left him to wait for the candles to burn out. When at last he did see the last candle flicker out, part of him was relieved to be able to move again; the other part was nervous as all hell. He had never done this before. But worse than the nerves…was the feeling that he was somehow betraying his love for Fai by taking part in this rite.

 _But he is not yours to betray, is he?_ his conscience suddenly chose to remind him. _You never told him how you felt._

 _Still_ , he argued back, _that doesn't make it feel like any less of a betrayal. I_ _ **still**_ _love him._

_Then why are you walking into the shrine? If you love him so much, then tell him so. Leave this ridiculous ceremony behind and go sweep him off his feet and straight into bed._

_I would…if I thought there was any chance he might return my feelings. Besides, I'm a prince. My obligations aren't just to myself._

Only once he was past the doors and they were closed behind him did Kurogane's thoughts return to the present. A very few candles lit the sacred space. A futon was set up in front of the altar. A woman was laid out on it, a white veil covering her face. As she sat up, the blanket that covered her slid down around her waist, revealing her large breasts and flat stomach.

"I am the Goddess given flesh," she said in a sultry voice. "Come to teach her son the ways of love."

"I am the God in human form," he returned, as tradition dictated he must. "Show me what it is to love another."

As he knelt in front of the futon, the shrine maid crawled toward him, revealing that she was completely naked beneath the covers. Not a word was spoken as she helped him undress. Once that was done, he carefully removed Tomoyo's wreath himself and set it down on top of his kimono. The maid laid herself back down on the futon, beckoning him to come to her. Slowly, he lay down beside her, breathing hard. She removed her veil and leaned forward to give him a reassuring kiss on the forehead. He could barely make out her face in the half-light from the candles, but he could see that she had blonde hair. That would make things easier.

"Don't be afraid," she whispered to him, though it was not part of the ritual. Then she kissed him on the lips, reaching down between them and giving him a few strokes to help him get started. He finally moved so that he was straddling her hips. She took his hands in hers and showed him what to do with them, showed him how to bring her to climax to make it easier for her. After awhile, their movements became less awkward and more natural. But as Kurogane entered her, he couldn't help but imagine that the maid was Fai. It was the only way he was able to get through it. Instead of _her_ fingers clutching his back as he moved in her, they were _his_. Instead of _her_ legs wrapping around his waist, they became _his_. The slender neck he was kissing became the idiot's. The rounded hips he held as he came were not _hers_ , but _his_.

"You know," she started as he held her afterward. He felt it was the least he could do. "You're actually not half bad. Just young. Though…your father was a bit more…experienced when he came to me."

"My _father?_ " he yelped, releasing her.

"Yep, sugar. I'm quite a bit older than I look," she replied. As she rose from the futon, Kurogane realized who she was.

"Caldina?!" He didn't know the shrine matron all that well, but he had seen her around. She seemed to have a great deal more personality than many of the other shrine attendants.

"Good guess, Kurogane-sama," she said with a wink. "The ceremony's over now. Can I interest you in some wine?"

"More than you can ever know," he said, rubbing his temples in confusion. It wasn't exactly a pleasant thought to learn that you'd just slept with a woman who had slept with your father.

"So, Highness, do you feel any different now you've lost your virginity?" she asked as she approached him with two full goblets of wine.

"Not really," he mumbled, taking the goblet she offered.

"I didn't think you would," she said, sitting back down beside him. "After lying with me, some boys claim they've crossed over into manhood. But I knew you would be different."

"How did you know?" he asked, taking a sip of wine.

"I could see it in the way you walked toward me. Some boys are nervous that they won't be able to perform their first time. Others are overconfident and just looking to add another woman to their lists of conquests. You weren't any of those things. I could see it in your eyes. You're in love with someone else, aren't you?" she asked with a bright smile.

Kurogane nodded hesitantly, staring down into the red liquid in his goblet. He could just barely make out his tired reflection.

"But you haven't lain with that person yet, have you."

"How would you know?" he growled.

"It shows in the way you carry yourself. I knew you were a virgin the moment I saw you. But it also shows that you carry a deep love in your heart. I imagine when you finally take to bed with your precious one it will be an experience unlike any other," she teased. Kurogane blushed lightly.

"So…can you…will you…" he mumbled, nodding at her stomach. He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Get pregnant?" she laughed. "There's a distinct possibility. In fact, it's probably better for you if you _did_ get me with child. It will prove your fertility."

"What happens then?"

"It will be killed like all the others," she answered. "My womb is no place for royal seed."

Kurogane didn't understand how she could be so casual about the whole business. How many children had she lost to this ritual?

"Have you…ever had any children of your own?"

"Once. A long time ago. Before I became a shrine priestess. I was in love with a soldier named Lafarga. He was the one I gave my virginity to. My stomach swelled with his son. We were to be married. But…he died fighting a war in the south. When my parents learned that my son would be a bastard, they sold me off to the shrines. They said the only place fit for me was as a glorified whore."

"Do you know what happened to your son?" Kurogane asked absently. Honestly, he'd had his fill of tragic stories for the day.

"Yes. My parents raised him as their own. I'm told he has a good life. They at least let him keep the name I gave him…Sorata."

Kurogane very nearly choked on his wine. _Caldina_ was _Sorata's_ mother?!

"All right there, Prince-sama?"

"I-I know Sorata. He's a friend of mine."

Caldina grinned. "I know. He's a good boy, isn't he."

"How old _are_ you, Caldina?" Of course, for asking _that_ question, he got a smack to the face.

"You should know better than to ask a lady her age, Kurogane-sama."

Nursing his injured cheek, Kurogane thought back to what Caldina had been saying earlier...about finally taking Fai to his bed.

_Are you ready for that?_

_No. I don't think I am. I want to be able to please him. I don't think what I learned tonight is good enough._

"Caldina?" he started, finally glancing over at her again. "You've been in this profession pretty much your entire life?"

"Close to it," she replied absently.

"So you've probably slept with a lot of men."

"That's the theory."

"Do you know anything…about men…together?" he asked awkwardly. Understanding dawned in her eyes.

"Ah, so you are a lover of men. This precious person of yours must be quite a beautiful boy to have attracted _you_. And you want to know how you might pleasure him."

Kurogane just nodded.

"Well, experienced as I am, I don't know much about the more…exotic forms of love-making. But I believe there is one who can help you. A woman. She was quite famous at court in your grandfather's day…but very expensive."

"That's not important."

"She's retired now. Last I heard, she was living somewhere in Piffle Province. I should warn you, though; she will not come to you. You must go to her."

"Fine, fine," Kurogane responded as he got up off the futon and began to pace. "It would probably be better for me to do this away from court anyway. But…do you think you could find her for me? I'll come when you send word. Offer whatever she asks. I can pay it."

Caldina grinned languidly up at him. "I can do that. I do love a good tryst."

"Can you leave by tomorrow?"

"Sure thing, honey."

"By the way, when the physicians interview you about our night…would you mind leaving this out?"

"No problem."

XxX

Kotori pulled her blue cloak even more tightly around her shoulders as she and Fuuma walked through the darkened palace. Most of the noble families were attending a ball celebrating the coming of the rain season, but the king had asked her and her brother to come to his chambers tonight for some reason.

No matter how long she had lived there, Kotori had never learned to like the sithen at night. You honestly never knew what you might meet up with. As evidence of that, the noble couldn't quite manage to suppress a squeak when she saw a flash of movement further down the corridor.

Fuuma quickly shushed her up. "It's all right, Sister. It's just little Kero."

"You know, I'd really appreciate it if you'd drop the little," the sun guardian's squeaky voice sounded as he appeared in front of them.

"In _that_ form? How can I help it?"

"Give it five minutes, pretty boy," the tiny creature growled. But the next moment, he was snatched out of the air.

"Aww, Kero's so cute when he's angry," Kotori cooed as she cuddled the sun guardian.

"I give up," he sighed. Then he turned his attention to Fuuma. "Are you sure you weren't followed?"

"Positive. Now what's so important Uncle needs to sneak away from his own party?"

"Follow me," was all the tiny guardian said as he disentangled himself from Kotori's arms and flew away down the corridor. The two royal siblings followed quickly after him. Just outside of the king's quarters, Kero landed on the floor and, with a flash of light, blossomed into his true form…a magnificent winged lion. None who meant to deceive the king could get past him.

"Enter," Clow Reed's voice called through the open door. Fuuma and Kotori both passed Kero without incident. When they entered their uncle's chambers, they found that they were mostly unlit as well. Only a few candles were scattered about the space, giving off weak light. Clow himself was standing out on his balcony, overlooking the realm of Faerie.

"Uncle," Fuuma began as he and Kotori bowed low. "Why have you summoned us?"

"Do you know…why Yuuko was banished?" he asked without turning to look at them.

"Of course," Fuuma responded, surprised that he was even asking. "She was banished because she began the Last War."

"That's part of it, yes. I assume you remember that she killed your mother?"

"We could never forget, Uncle," Fuuma responded with a shudder. The events leading up to the beginning of the Last War had been…horrific.

" _Mother_ _!" Fuuma called as he wandered through the corridors, the five-year-old Kotori pulling him along by the hand. The proud big brother smiled at his baby sister's antics. He'd been an only child for almost five hundred years and suddenly this little bird showed up._

" _Fuu!" Their father, Ferio Monou called from only a few steps behind them._

" _We have to find Mama or I can't show her the flower I found," Kotori said excitedly. Fuuma didn't show any signs to his baby sister, but he was starting to get worried. They'd been looking for the princess for several hours with no sign of her._

" _Do you think…maybe she could have gone to see the queen?" he suggested to his father._

" _I hope not," Ferio said worriedly. The queen had been acting strangely as of late. "But I suppose we could check."_

_The little family circled back around, heading toward the king and queen's private quarters. Strangely enough, Kero and Yue were not standing guard outside, as they usually would have been._

" _Hello?" Ferio called out, knocking on the door. A few muffled sounds came from behind it. "Your Majesty?"_

_The sound wasn't muffled this time. A man's voice could be heard screaming in pain. That was too much for Ferio._

" _I'm coming in!" he warned, using a powerful spell to blast the door in. Kotori slipped through before Fuuma could stop her. He would spend the rest of his life wishing to the Goddess that the child could unsee the things she'd seen in that room._

" _Mama_ _!" Kotori cried joyfully as she burst into the room…but her voice fell silent after that._

_Princess Fuu Monou had been torn to shreds. The shattered pieces of her body were scattered all over the room. It looked as if it had been painted in her blood. The only piece that was still recognizable as their mother was the head, which Yuuko held in her arms._

_Kotori passed out on the spot. It saved her life. Fuuma's mind didn't register it at the time, but Kero and Yue were in the room, too, bound and unconscious. Seishiro was there as well. The prince was bound in the center of a magic circle, lying in a pool of his own blood._

" _WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, YUUKO?!" his father screamed as he drew his sword._

" _No more than I must," she answered as she lay Fuu's mangled head down upon her son's chest. As the head became soaked with Seishiro's blood, it began to change. It transformed into a sword black as night. When the transformation was complete, the prince's eyes flashed open._

" _I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!" Ferio screamed in a blind rage, lunging toward the maddened queen. Unfortunately for him, the Monou lord should have been paying attention to her son._

_The prince sprang to his feet, leaping over the fallen Kotori. If she'd still been standing, she would have been killed. Instead it was her father's chest that Seishiro's hand plunged into, pulling out his beating heart._

_Had it been anyone else, Lord Ferio Monou would have lived, but Seishiro was well beyond his own control at this point and the touch of his skin killed the faerie lord instantly. Then he turned his gaze on Fuuma._

_The young faerie stood, rooted to the spot. He was suddenly faced with someone he'd known his whole life, someone who had been his friend, confidante, and cousin…someone who clearly did not know him anymore. Seishiro's eyes glowed red as he surveyed his new prey. This was not the Seishiro that he knew._

" ** _Seishiro_** _!_ _" he screamed, desperately trying to reach him. "It's me! Fuuma!_ **_Don't you recognize me?!_** "

_Fuuma surely would have died then and there had his uncle not arrived on the scene. Almost before Fuuma was aware of it, Clow was standing in front of him, blocking Seishiro with his own magic._

" _TAKE KOTORI AND GET OUT OF HERE!" he commanded._

" _But…Mother…Father…"_

" _I SAID GO!"_

Fuuma shook his head. He had never questioned his uncle again after that night. He glanced over at his sister and saw tears gathering in her eyes. The incident had left deep scars on the poor girl. She was sane enough, but the rest of the court rarely saw that side of her. Fuuma knew that many of the nobles whispered behind their backs. Many of them wondered if it would not be kinder to just kill her. Of course, between himself, Kamui, and Subaru, they could usually keep such rumors from reaching her ears.

"I never understood why…was it just for Assassin's Hand?"

"You never understood why because no one ever knew the whole story except for Yuuko, myself, and the four masters, and the masters took the secret to the grave."

"You mean…there's more to it…than just the war?" Fuuma asked as he pulled his sister into a comforting hug.

"Much more," Clow said, finally turning to face them. "May I assume you have heard tell…of the Sakurazukamori?"

Fuuma's blood ran cold at the mere mentioning of the name. Who in Faerie _hadn't_ heard the stories of the ancient evil?

"I thought so," the king said, noting Fuuma's reaction. "What can you tell me about it?"

"The Sakurazukamori served as the king's right hand before we lived among the humans. It was the darkest of our ancient powers. One who would possess its powers had to slay the previous holder in ritual combat. But…when we made contact with the mortal world, our grandfather, the previous king, Fei-Wang Reed, made a promise to lock the magic away. Setsuka Ichihara, Yuuko's own mother, was the last to hold the magic of the Sakurazukamori. She was not killed. She could not be if the magic was to be defeated. I've heard it said she was sealed beneath the sithen. Some say that with nothing to destroy in her prison, that the Sakurazukamori devoured her. When the sealing was finished, Haruka Doumeki became the first Darkness. To my knowledge, the Sakurazukamori has been sealed away for the past three thousand years."

"If only it were so," Reed sighed. Fuuma's breath caught in his throat.

"Uncle…what are you saying? How could such a thing have been released without anyone knowing it?!"

"The Sakurazukamori was released…and it has walked the land for the past fifteen hundred years."

"But…how?!"

"That was what you witnessed the night your parents were killed. Yuuko sacrificed your mother's life in order to break the seal and unleash the Sakurazukamori's power on her own child. Your father was the new Sakurazukamori's first prey."

"Why?" he whispered. "Why would she do something so horrible? Why would she free something that destroyed her own mother? And…her own son?"

"She did it…to prevent my father's last curse from coming to pass," he said sadly.

"Curse? What curse?"

"You know that my father lost his mind near the end of his reign. Do you know why that was?"

"I've heard stories," Fuuma began slowly. "Some say he couldn't bear taming Faerie's magic to the hands of the humans any longer. I've heard some say it was because he lost his wife. I'm really not sure what to think anymore."

"It was a combination of all of it, really," Reed began to explain. "My mother, Xing Huo, was the one who convinced my father to make peace with the humans. He loved her very much and would have done anything for her. She only wanted a peaceful world to pass on to her children. She spent a lot of her time out among the humans, teaching them the sacred arts: agriculture, language, science, mathematics, art, religion, all gifts from the Goddess and the Consort. Many of the images of the Goddess that exist in the mortal world today bear my mother's face."

"She must have been a truly wonderful queen," Kotori said, her eyes slightly misty.

"Yes," the king said sadly. "Yes, she was. Everyone loved her. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end in their time. As much as he loved my mother, my father hated having to bend his nearly limitless magic to the mortal world. They began to fight about it. Their arguments came to a head about two thousand years ago. Seishiro was only a little baby and Fuu was soon to give birth to you," he related to Fuuma. "My father felt that the people of Yamato, the kingdom that would one day become Nihon, were not respectful enough of his power. He insisted on wiping them out to teach the other kingdoms a lesson. But my mother would not stand down. To this day, even _I_ am not sure what happened. The only certain thing is that at the end of the scuffle, my mother was dead and my father was insane. He claimed that it was man's fault…that the humans had forced him to kill her, that they had taken her from him. In order to prevent him from destroying the world of men, Yuuko and I stood against him. With the help of the four masters we brought his power down to nothing. We destroyed him."

"Uncle…" Fuuma whispered, shocked.

"As he was dying, he placed a curse on me. He said that just as he had been made to kill the one he loved most, so, too, would I be slain by the one I loved most."

"Yuuko," Kotori said sadly.

"Yes. The only ones who knew were those of us who survived the battle: Yuuko, Fuu, Umi, Hikaru, and myself. None of us ever spoke of it to another soul. I kept telling Yuuko that it didn't matter, but she wouldn't listen. She kept trying to come up with a way to escape the curse. She talked about killing herself, but I made her swear an oath not to. Seishiro needed her. _I_ needed her. She was my wisest councilor, the best queen Faerie could have hoped for. I loved her…so much…and for five hundred years, I watched her suffer…slip slowly into insanity. I had forbidden any soul in Faerie to kill her. I placed a geis on my own people. However, Yuuko persevered and she eventually thought she'd found a way."

"The Sakurazukamori," Fuuma said quietly.

"Exactly. She couldn't unleash it upon herself because she'd sworn not to kill herself. So she convinced Seishiro to do it for her. The Sakurazukamori does not answer to the laws of Faerie. It is more ancient than even _we_ are. With its power, Seishiro would be able to break my geis and slay his mother."

"But…didn't she realize what she was doing to him?" Kotori asked.

"I don't think she did. All she could see was a way to finally die. I can only guess at the horrors Seishiro witnessed…forced to stare into the heart of the Sakurazukamori. Its symbol was carved into the flesh of his back that night. It consumed him."

"But if Yuuko had that kind of power all along…why did the Dark Court lose the war?" Fuuma asked.

"Because Seishiro couldn't be controlled. Those first few hundred years, he could only be unleashed. There was little point in sending him out to fight if he made no distinction between ally and enemy. Even now, I don't know what finally woke him up. Sometimes it almost seems like he's back to his old self. But…during the war…he was a monster."

"So…Yuuko did all of this…for love?" Fuuma whispered.

Clow just nodded, turning away from his niece and nephew.

"I don't understand," Fuuma started. "If Yuuko loved you so much, why did she turn against you when the Sakurazukamori was unleashed?"

"It was the final blow in her decent into madness. When she realized what she had done…to Seishiro, to herself, to me…she went mad. She claimed that she finally understood what my father had been trying to accomplish. She said the humans were to blame for everything…that they should be eliminated. She declared a crusade against the world of men, calling all in Faerie who shared her beliefs to join with her. And of course, as you may well recall, all of the tribes of Faerie were still somewhat scattered back then. Many _did_ follow Yuuko's lead. She used the blade born of Seishiro's blood and Fuu's sacrifice, Assassin's Hand, as her rallying point. Even though she could not reveal that she had the Sakurazukamori in her possession, that blade was forged with Seishiro's blood. As such, it was infused with his magic."

"The power to slay through touch."

"Yes."

"So Yuuko _didn't_ start the war to form her own court, as we were told?"

"No. She always said she did it for us…for our family. She said she would lead us out in triumph over the humans."

"And the official line to the court was that she was banished for killing Mother, and for treason?"

"That's so. Neither of us could risk revealing that the Sakurazukamori was free. When we defeated the Dark Ones and the courts were finally split in two for good, Yuuko swore she would bide her time, that the Dark Court would lie in wait until the time was ripe for mankind to fall and all of Faerie could break free of its shackles. She said when that day came she would 'lead me out of the darkness' and that I would be ruler of both worlds. She asked me…if I would kill her then. I told her I wouldn't. I could…never raise a hand against Yuuko…no matter what she's done."

"And the geis still exists?" Fuuma asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It does," Clow admitted. "I will not… _cannot_ …remove it. Of those of us who have even the tiniest bit of Fey blood in our veins, only Seishiro or I can kill her."

"Then why hasn't Seishiro done it yet, if that's what she wants?" he asked.

"For a long time, I imagine it was because there was some part of Seishiro that resented his mother for forcing him to take on the powers of the Sakurazukamori. The Sakurazukamori drained all the light out of him. As far as I can tell, he cares for nothing and no one. The only reason he remains loyal to Yuuko is because she can keep the monster within him supplied with victims. More recently, it is because her wish has changed. I believe she still wants to die…but not before I am slain by her hand."

"Because of Nadeshiko?" Kotori asked.

"Yes."

"There's…one other thing I don't understand," Fuuma began. "The Sakurazukamori does not answer to the laws of Faerie or its king. Is that right?"

"That's right."

"Why is it that Seishiro never just marched back into Faerie to take the crown for himself? Wouldn't it be easy for him…if your magic can't keep him out? What's stopping him?"

"A power just as old as the Sakurazukamori itself. You remember that when Yuuko left, she kidnapped Yue and imprisoned him in the new dark realm she created?"

Both siblings nodded.

"The powers that created Kero and Yue are just as old as, if not older than, the Sakurazukamori. They have protected Faerie ever since the days of the Goddess. They, and they alone, can recognize the true ruler of Faerie. If Yuuko had forced the Sakurazukamori on _anyone_ else, that someone would have been able to enter Faerie after being banished without a problem. But Seishiro was my heir. Now that he is possessed of the Sakurazukamori, neither Yue nor Kero recognize him as the heir. By extension, Faerie itself does not recognize him and works to keep him out. They will only recognize the true heir. When the time comes, my son can challenge the true heir if he wishes, but if they are somehow both judged worthy, there is only one way to be recognized as the next king."

"And that is?"

"Provide proof that one or the other can continue the royal blood line."

"One last question," Fuuma said, suddenly sounding angry. "Does Subaru Shiro know what it is that he's sleeping with?"

Clow shuddered to hear his own son referred to as an 'it', but he really couldn't begrudge Fuuma his point of view on the whole situation. "No," he answered hesitantly. "No, I don't believe he does. You may tell him if you wish. I'll leave the decision to you. You may one day be the one that Seishiro must challenge, after all."

"You and I _both_ know that isn't so. The one he will challenge is nowhere _near_ ready to face him. Will you send _all_ of your heirs to the slaughter the same way you did Seishiro?!"

"You're right," the king said, his shoulders shaking slightly. "I should have…been able to prevent it."

"I've heard enough," Fuuma muttered angrily before turning on his heels and stalking out of Clow's chamber. He was practically seeing red. The king had kept those who would be his heirs alive all this time only to ultimately pit them against Seishiro? There would be no coming back from such a challenge. What was the man playing at? Could he just not bear to turn his own child away?

Kotori, on the other hand, remained behind for a brief moment. She went to her uncle and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Uncle…no matter what happens…it wasn't your fault." Then she was gone.

"So," Kero started as he sauntered into the room. "You finally told them the truth?"

"They had a right to know. I'm the reason their parents are dead. I should have seen it coming. I should have been able to stop it," the king whispered as he fell hopelessly to his knees.

"You couldn't have known Yuuko would go to such lengths…not until it was far too late," the old guardian tried to comfort him.

"When Yuuko killed Fuu…I should have killed her," he said regretfully, allowing a few tears to slip from his eyes. Even after all these centuries, the pain still felt so fresh.

"Clow, Yue and I were there, too, and we couldn't stop her. No one could have."

"And they all paid the price: Fuu, Ferio, Seishiro, Yue, Kotori…all of them…and now, Fai and Yuui will also pay for my mistakes."

Kero rested his large, golden forehead against the king's, gazing directly into his eyes. "You are not to blame for loving Yuuko."

"Maybe not. But I _am_ to blame for choosing to allow my love for her to take first place in my heart. If the heir is not ready, as Fuuma believes, then the world of men will fall. There is little I can do to prevent that."

"But…wasn't that the reason behind linking Valeria and Nihon together through Prince Kurogane and Princess Yuui?" Kero asked gruffly.

"It was. I was relieved when Sakura gave birth first to a daughter. I meant for them to become a symbol to their people…something to unite the human kingdoms against Yuuko. But…something has happened, something I could have never foreseen. It just goes to show how easily plans can go awry."

"What? What's happened?"

"Kurogane…and Fai…are falling in love."

XxX

"So…why the sudden and unyielding need to travel to Piffle Province?" Kusanagi asked Kurogane as he rode up beside him. It had taken little more than a week for Caldina to send word to him. The woman she'd spoken of was charging an arm and a leg for her services, but it wasn't this that bothered the prince. He wanted to learn…but at the same time, making a trip for reasons such as his…was a little embarrassing. He'd told his mother he just wanted to see a few of the outer provinces. For her part, Amaterasu was just happy he was finally taking an interest in internal politics, so she'd sent him off with quite a bit of fanfare. One of his mother's new advisors, some prissy twit named Kyle Rondart, had expressed suspicion about the trip, but Kurogane really didn't care what _he_ thought. His type never lasted long anyway. The few guards and servants he'd brought with him had been fed the official line, but as always, Kusanagi knew him much too well.

"Oh, you know, just finally taking an interest in affairs of state," he replied, trying to sound casual.

"Kurogane-sama, you're a terrible liar, you know that?"

"It shows?"

"Prince, I've known you your whole life. I even helped bring you into being. I like to think I know you a little better than the average servant. You have no stomach for politics. I don't see why that would change so suddenly."

_Know me, do you?_

"Did you know that I…prefer men?" he asked hesitantly, glancing over at his sensei. That was as close as he would come to revealing the true reason for this excursion.

"I'd guessed at it," he replied with a chuckle. "Most young nobles are excited to be going through the Awakening Ritual. Not so with you."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"Not at all. I've known plenty of fine warriors who were lovers of men. It means nothing. As far as I'm concerned, the Goddess and her Lord do not care whom you love, so long as your love is pure. And isn't theirs the only judgment that really matters?"

"I suppose," Kurogane said thoughtfully.

"You never did answer my question. Why _are_ we going to Piffle?"

Kurogane was spared having to invent an answer by the approach of one of his scouts, Spinel Sun. He had come to Kurogane's guard from one of Nihon's many southern provinces and his skin was as black as night. He was a small, sinuous man with eyes like a cat that always seemed to be on watch.

"Majesty, Piffle City is just over the next rise. Shall I ride ahead and alert Lord Mihara of your coming?"

"No. Set up camp outside the city walls. I don't want anyone making a big fuss about this visit. If all goes well, I should be finished with my business by morning and we can be gone by noon tomorrow. Once camp is set up, tell the men they are free to spend the evening in the city."

"Yes, Sire. As you wish," he said before riding off.

"That's awfully generous of you, Kurogane-sama. I've heard Piffle City is a sight not to be missed."

"The soldiers may do what they like. So long as they keep my mother's good name in mind, it doesn't concern me. I just want them out of the way tonight," Kurogane explained sternly.

"What exactly is your business here, Highness?"

"My business is my own, _sensei_ ," he replied through gritted teeth. Kusanagi just turned away, trying to hide his smile. He could see the blush on his student's face.

"As you wish."

XxX

Her name was Ruby Moon, and she was a priest's daughter. Unusual for a professional courtesan. She looked much younger than the forty years she admitted to, with luscious red hair, fine bones, and pampered pale skin. She wore a tunic of fine rose silk that seemed to shimmer as she walked, fastened by a broach of pure gold. There were gold bangles on her bare white arms and a small gold ring in her small nose. Her fingernails had been painted with mother-of-pearl, and there was a jeweled diadem in her hair. She dressed like a princess. She had done well at her trade.

Her dusky red eyes glittered with amusement and knowing. She looked around the royal tent, at the diaphanous curtains sewn with gold and silver thread, at the thick, woolen rugs in gold and blue.

Kurogane stood at the far end of the tent, trying to appear at his ease, though his emotions were a churning, tangled mess. He was acutely aware of the disparity in his experience and this woman's.

 _This courtesan has more the bearing of royalty than_ _ **I**_ _do,_ he thought grudgingly.

"They say you were a courtesan for many years," he said to the woman.

Ruby's deep red eyes flashed. "The best there is. I am retired now, though."

"In some luxury, they tell me. Did Caldina tell you why I asked to see you?"

"She only said that my services were required. She was very generous, or I would not have come."

The woman watched him, hands cupped in front of her, one knee bent. She seemed hardly as intimidated as Kurogane would have liked.

_Why would she be? The hunting tent of a boy prince is not the throne room in Shirasagi._

"How many men have you lain with?"

"I never counted them. One man is much like another."

"Hundreds?"

"Certainly that many," she said with a playful, teasing smile.

"Caldina says that you once commanded a high price in Shirasagi…that you have a reputation."

The woman only smiled. Such a small and secret smile that it almost aroused even _him_.

"For myself, I have never known a man in that way." He waited for some sign of surprise or shock, but Ruby's expression was unfathomable. "I would like to know your secrets."

"I can tell them to you in an hour, Majesty. But…"

"But?"

"Their application requires more than simple learning. If you understand."

"Yes, I do understand. That is why I asked Caldina to be so generous. And I will be more generous still. I wish you to show me."

Ruby tilted her head to one side. " _Show_ you, Majesty?"

"You have not retired entirely from your activities?"

"Indeed, I haven't. I just perform my duties much less frequently."

"Could you be persuaded to return to your previous occupation for an hour?"

"Two hours, Majesty," Ruby corrected him gently, "and that would depend on the amount of persuasion I was offered."

Kurogane held out a set of earrings, Valerian pearls and fearfully expensive.

"Is the man so displeasing to the eye?" Ruby asked.

"No. If I was any other man, I might ask for him to teach me himself. But that's not possible."

Ruby took the earrings and cupped them in her palm. "I will perform for you, Majesty. If that is what you wish. But…for some odd reason, I do not believe you really _would_ ask this man to teach you."

Kurogane stiffened at the probing tone in her voice. This was what he'd been waiting for. "What makes you believe that?" he asked stiffly.

"You have someone…specific in mind, don't you?"

"And if I do?'

Ruby laughed. "I just thought you ought to know that you're much easier to read than you might realize. You are not the typical court politician who comes to me seeking a good fuck. I imagine you have plenty of willing…instructors at your fingertips, and yet you come to me in secret. You've got a secret love somewhere that you desire to please, and you want it to be the _greatest pleasure_ he's ever known…because you _love_ him, right? What are you, Majesty, a virgin?"

Kurogane just glared at the woman.

"No," she teased. "Of course you're not. Our little Caldina has seen to that.

_Damn it! Why is it so easy for everyone to tell that I'm in love with Fai?!_

"It's easy to tell," she began, easily reading the expression on his face, "Because most people are _not_ in love. It's rather strange to me to see someone seeking _love_ and not _sex_. There is a difference. I live in a world of people who know only sex. I almost wonder what kind of world you see, Majesty. Now that we are speaking plainly, I'm curious. Is it truly only this boy's pleasure you seek…or your own?"

_Is…is it so wrong to want both?_

XxX

The oil lamp flickered, throwing shadows on the silk roof of the tent. A slight breeze rippled the curtains that divided the room, each of the finest silk, to deter any insects.

Kurogane sat on a chair behind one of these diaphanous curtains, his presence concealed by the shadows. The lighting inside had been so arranged that he could see into the tent but remain an anonymous observer. A brush was gripped tightly in his hand and a bit of parchment was poised on his lap. He was determined to learn how to please Fai, as surely as he had learned swordsmanship and horsemanship from Kusanagi.

He saw the tent flap part. Spinel Sun. A bonus for him, he had been told. A gift from the prince.

He felt his stomach muscles tighten and it was suddenly hard to breathe. He wondered at his own reaction. _I should gain no pleasure from this,_ he thought. _This is just a matter of instruction. I'm doing this for Fai._

Ruby lay on a simple futon in a corner of the tent. She wore a short, fringed tunic that revealed the long line of her thigh muscles, rippling with sweet-scented oil. She had darkened her lips with a bluish powder to make them appear fuller and heavier, and had accentuated the corners of her eyes with touches of vivid vermillion. Her breasts were bare, covered with a transparent gauze veil.

Spinel stepped into the tent, dressed only in a short white tunic. Ruby rose slowly from the futon. There was a short, murmured conversation. Kurogane smiled, despite himself. He remembered that the scout was shrewd by nature and was probably eager to confirm that he was not expected to pay for this.

Satisfied, he reached for her, but she slid away from him. An hourglass had been set up on a nearby table. Ruby turned it over to set the sand filtering to the bottom chamber. Spinel stood, eager, but uncertain about his own role.

Ruby took his hand, led him to the futon, and sat him down. Then she took his head in her hands and kissed him on the lips. Spinel tried to grapple her onto the futon, but she pulled away, whispering to him to be patient. Then she knelt between his legs and told him to take off his clothes.

Kurogane felt his fingers tighten around the brush. His mouth was suddenly dry and he felt a bead of sweat make its way down his spine between his shoulder blades.

Spinel removed his tunic. He was small, but very well built, his muscles hard and pronounced. Sweat was dribbling down his face and he looked as if he were in pain. Kurogane leaned forward, his face touching the silk of the curtain, straining for a better view in the smoky, lamp-lit gloom.

As if she knew what her pupil was thinking, Ruby moved to the side, the perfect tutoress, and Kurogane could now see the reason for his guard's agitation. The courtesan was holding the length of him in scarlet-painted nails, and Kurogane puffed out his cheeks, repelled and fascinated, amazed that his small guard could grow so large. Could it ever fit in such a small space without tearing it?

And now what was she doing?

When he saw, the prince dropped the brush and parchment on the floor, where they fell soundlessly on the thick rug. That a woman could do that with her tongue and her mouth! He was not sure if he could ever do it himself. Spinel was thrashing wildly about, as if he were being whipped. His expression was that of a man under extreme torture. Yet he had Ruby by her hair now and he held her there.

_I can see why she couldn't make me understand such a thing by telling it. The woman's hands and her tongue seem to be everywhere at once._

Spinel was groaning aloud, his voice eerily like the chanting the priests made inside the shrines. Ruby suddenly stood up, turned toward the curtain, looked directly into the shadows where Kurogane was watching, almost as if she could see him there. She smiled.

 _The little bitch is enjoying this,_ he thought angrily. _Like every great performer, she craves an audience._

She knelt slowly beside the futon once more, where Spinel lay sprawled like a sacrifice. She leaned over him and kissed him again. Then she stood up and removed her tunic. She was naked beneath it.

Her body had been carefully oiled and it glinted in the candlelight, accentuating the sinuous curve of her spine, the rounded swell of her hips. She let his guard kiss her belly and small breasts. He took a hard, red nipple between his lips, and she uttered a little cry like a wounded bird.

Kurogane swallowed hard. His hands were shaking. He felt as if he had despoiled a shrine, was watching something both sacred and profane. It was not as he had imagined at all, something that could be learned by instruction. He had seen the mating of horses and cattle, had even had a taste of it himself, and had imagined it was simply a matter of technique. Yet here he realized there was something more; a theatre of submission and passion.

There was an urgent warmth in his belly, wetness between his legs. He put a hand to his mouth, his teeth sunk into the flesh of his palm.

The guard had the courtesan pinned beneath him on the futon, and Ruby writhed her hips in rhythm with him, her hoarse whispers and sharp cries punctuating each thrust, scarlet fingernails raked the skin of his back and the clenched muscles of his buttocks. The courtesan threw her head back, her mouth open. But then she turned her head to the side and smiled into the shadows. Ruby, for all her feigned submission, was still in control.

Perfect love, perfect theatre.

Kurogane felt a burning heat in his own loins, a deep ache in his stomach. He felt physically sick with his own desire. He wasn't sure if he could watch much more.

Ruby now sat astride her lover, riding him, letting his hands roam across her oiled body. But she seemed to know the time, for suddenly and without warning she lifted herself away and held him in her hands as the seed spilled out of him, onto his belly. He lay gasping, his mouth open, his fists clenched.

She rose from the futon and went to the table to fetch some wine. She tapped the great hourglass beside the wine flask. The sand had run only half through. It seemed there was yet more of the performance to come.

Kurogane knew he did not want to see anymore, but he was determined to see this through and learn all that he could. So he settled down into his chair, his hand hovering over his own sex, to suffer through the rest of Ruby's performance.


	9. Whole Life Long

"Kuro-tan! Kuro-tan! Look at me! I'm all the way on top!"

"I SEE YOU, YOU MORON! GET YOUR SKINNY ASS DOWN HERE BEFORE YOU BREAK YOUR NECK!"

"Aww, Kuro-rin's worried about me. I'm blushing. See! See how I'm blushing!"

"Higher! Higher, Fai-kun!" Tomoyo cheered.

"Really, Kurogane-kun, it's a simple spell. You don't have to worry about him."

Fai was currently floating just above the tallest tree on Tsubasa Island, twirling several balls of multi-colored light around his head. The twins had just turned fifteen and the friends had decided to spend the day on Tsubasa Island to celebrate. Plus, it had been excellent practice for Fai and Yuui to levitate all of their picnic items across the lake to the island. Now that they'd finished lunch, Fai had decided it was the perfect time to show off his new skills. So there he floated, who knew how high above the ground.

"IDIOT! IF YOU DON'T COME DOWN, I'M COMING UP!" Kurogane yelled furiously, scrambling up onto the first branch.

"Now how will you reach me, dear Kuro-pyon? You can only go as high as the tallest branch."

"I'll try," he muttered to himself as he climbed. "I'll never stop trying."

"Aww, isn't Nii-sama sweet? Going after Fai-kun like that?" Tomoyo cooed.

"Kuro-prince is sooooo strong!" Soel sang.

"He'll catch Fai for sure," Larg echoed.

Yuui suddenly got a very devious look on her face. "I think I know a way to make it even sweeter."

Souma got a very _nervous_ look on her face. "It…it won't hurt them, will it? This idea of yours?"

"Nope," she said, twirling her fingers lazily through the air. "Not if Kurogane-kun behaves according to plan. Besides, I'll make sure nothing goes wrong." All of a sudden, her fingers began to twirl faster and a small spark appeared between her hands. The spark exploded and the balls of light vanished from around Fai. He seemed suspended there for a brief moment, a look of surprise frozen on his face, before he fell.

For Kurogane, it was a moment lasted for an eternity. Once that eternity had passed, time seemed to move in slow motion as he watched Fai's small, helpless form plummet toward the ground. The cries of his friends were lost on him. His senses were suddenly on hyper-alert, all of them focused on Fai. He could hear the _whooshing_ sound Fai made as he fell. He could clearly see the surprised fear etched into every aspect of his perfect face. He could smell the wild roses that Fai always smelt of (he had never realized it before) as he fell toward him. He could almost feel his spine snap in sympathy as he visualized the blond's tiny body broken mercilessly against the hard, unfeeling ground. He could just picture the way his own heart would shatter as the last breath left those pale lips…

Without wasting a second thought, Kurogane flung himself out of the tree. He praised heaven as he felt Fai's body smash into his chest, knocking the wind out of him. He wrapped his arms around him, opening his eyes against the wind and catching a glimpse of the blond's shocked blue eyes. Good. He could level with that being the last sight he ever saw. If someone had to die today, at least it was him and not Fai.

However, instead of feeling the bone-shattering force of the earth at the end of the fall, Kurogane landed on what felt like a giant cloud. Was he dead already? Had it happened so fast he hadn't even had time to feel the pain?

"Kuro-rin? KURO-RIN?!" he suddenly heard Fai's panicked voice somewhere above him. _No!_ The idiot couldn't be dead, too, could he?

"Are...you all right?" he suddenly heard himself asking, still out of breath. "Are you…hurt?"

"What about _you_ , Kuro-min?"

The confused prince opened his eyes to find Fai sitting on top of him, shaking him, his eyes bright with fear. It didn't take him long to come to the conclusion that neither of them was dead. He said nothing, just enjoyed the feeling of Fai sitting on top of him.

"Goddess damn you, Kuro-woof! You're a great big idiot! You know that?! Yuui could have saved me on her own! You didn't _need_ to do that!"

_But I wanted to._

"That's my line. I just didn't want to listen to your prissy sister complain about how lazy I am," he replied, realizing that Yuui must have cast some kind of cushioning spell on the ground before they hit. Immediately, he felt like a fool for forgetting she could do that. All he'd been able to think about in that moment was Fai.

_Hell's Bells, Kurogane-kun! If you don't kiss him now, I'm really going to-_

Yuui's thoughts were cut off by the glare Fai was giving her. Before he had a chance to accuse her of causing the fall, she turned to the others.

"Souma-chan, Tomoyo? I think I saw a wonderful new patch of blueberries when we were here last week. Let's go look for them."

"Yay! Blueberries!" Tomoyo cheered, instantly catching onto the ruse and following Yuui out of the clearing. Larg hopped onto her shoulder and Souma followed hesitantly a few moments later.

"Hey! Wait!" Kurogane shouted after them.

"We'll come, too," Fai called. Inside, they were both screaming, _Don't leave me alone with him!_

"Oh, no you don't!" Yuui shouted back, her voice still echoing, though she was already out of sight. "Kurogane-kun, you have to stay behind and make sure my poor brother didn't break anything in that terrible fall. We'll be back soon, kids. Play nice."

Both boys stared at the spot where the girls had disappeared. After a moment, Fai's eyes darted around the forest, looking for Soel, but the little creature had somehow managed to disappear as well. They were completely alone!

"Did you?" Kurogane asked. "Break anything, I mean?"

"How could I have when I have my big, soft Kuro-puppy beneath me?" he teased, leaning forward and hugging him. When he realized the implications of his words, he blushed furiously. He was so preoccupied with his own flushed face, he didn't feel the similar heat rising off of the body beneath him. Kurogane himself was much too caught up in his own heated blush and the feeling of Fai's arms around him to notice Fai's blush. After debating with himself for several bated moments, he awkwardly clamped his own arms around Fai. Both boys turned even redder, but neither of them realized it. Fai's heart was racing and his breathing had sped up considerably. He couldn't help but nuzzle his face into Kurogane's chest. It felt so warm and inviting in his arms. If only he could stay there forever.

Kurogane swallowed nervously, actively attempting to keep his heart from beating its way out of his chest. He wanted to keep holding Fai in his arms, alive, but if he sat like _that_ much longer, it was going to become a problem. He could feel the small bottle of rose oil that Ruby had given him practically burning a hole in his pocket. He could hear her words echoing in his head as clear as a bell.

" _When you finally_ _ **do**_ _get your little sweet one into bed, you're going to need this. Trust me."_

He carried the small glass bottle with him now like a talisman. Every time he thought of it he felt like a complete fool. He was being awfully presumptuous wasn't he? Assuming he would need it? His thoughts were suddenly drawn back into the present by Fai mumbling into his chest.

"Say what?" he asked.

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" Fai repeated, snuggling even closer. "When you caught me?"

"Nah," he said, nervously kneading his fingers into Fai's back. "I'm harder to get rid of than that. At least you made the day a little more interesting. But why didn't you listen to me? I _told_ you to come down!"

"I…I wanted to show Kuro-pin how strong I am," Fai whispered, clinging to Kurogane as if he would never let go. "Kuro-prince is such a powerful ninja. I wanted to prove to him that I'm strong, too."

"Well, you're a dummy," he whispered into Fai's hair.

"But…it's who I _am_ , Kuro-pon," Fai murmured, glancing up at him.

"I know that. But you don't need to risk your neck to prove your own strength. I don't hold your Fey blood against you. You know that, don't you?" he asked, holding the blond at arm's length.

"I know…but, Kuro-puu, it's not just that. I…I…" he started to stutter, hesitantly placing his hands on Kurogane's shoulders. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears.

"Yes?" Kurogane asked. He could feel his hands start to shake as they held Fai. Oh, God, he didn't notice, did he?!

"I…I…"

_I love you. I love you so much, but I just don't deserve you! You're a prince, Kuro-chan! I'm nothing but a half-blood peasant boy! You deserve so much better than me! You deserve a wonderful girl with noble blood who can be a councilor and friend to you. Someone who will love you and bear your children for you. I wish to Goddess I could be with you forever. I want to know what it feels like to kiss your lips, to hold you close and know you're mine. But I know I can never cross that line. I love you with all my heart…and I can never have you!_

"Fai?" he suddenly heard Kurogane's voice. Their faces were mere inches apart.

"No," he whispered through dry lips.

"N-no?"

Fai didn't look to see the devastation in his friend's eyes. Almost before either was aware of it, Fai was off of Kurogane and running off into the forest, tears streaming down his face. Kurogane was after him just as fast.

" _Fai!_ " he screamed after him. But the blond was much too fast and quickly disappeared into the foliage.

" _FAI!_ "

_He was...crying. Why?_

"What happened?!" Soel demanded, appearing on the prince's shoulder out of nowhere.

"Fai's gone!" he answered tersely.

"Gone?!" Soel panicked. "Where did he go?!"

"I don't know! Find the others! Help me look!"

As Soel flew off to find the others, Kurogane continued his desperate search.

" _FAI!_ "

Fai could still hear Kurogane's voice from where he lay facedown on the shore of the island.

"I can't," he sobbed into the sand. "I'm too scared to ask."

Just as he was about to surrender himself to a fresh wave of tears, the boy heard a sound. The others hadn't found him already, had they?

Fai glanced toward the shore of the lake…and saw a sight that caused his heart to leap into his throat.

XxX

Doumeki's expression did not change as he surveyed the two horses tethered to the tree. They were both truly magnificent animals, especially the black stallion.

"You've raced the winds, haven't you?" he whispered to the stallion, running his fingers through the powerful creature's mane as he cast a spell of invisibility over the two. He supposed that Leval would be with them sometimes, but the white Fey horse was with Himawari today.

"At last we meet," he said, glancing toward the island.

"You know," a cold voice suddenly came from right beside him. "You needn't have bothered trying to hide them. I could see them perfectly well."

"I'm aware of it," the assassin said calmly as he turned to face the dark prince. "You are not the one they're meant to be hidden from."

"Expecting more help?" Seishiro asked nonchalantly as he divested himself of his cloak, revealing that he had Assassin's Hand sheathed securely against his side. Then he smiled, more to himself than to Doumeki. "No. You couldn't have any hope left."

"Do you really think we're going to make it easy for you?" Doumeki challenged, casting aside his own cloak and drawing his bow, fitting it with an arrow faster than the eye could track.

"I've come for what's mine, nothing more and nothing less," the banished prince explained, drawing his sword in one fluid motion.

"There's nothing here that belongs to you. Just some innocent children at their games."

"Oh, I think they're a bit more than children," Seishiro said with a secretive smile. "And they're in my way."

Doumeki raised an eyebrow. "In your way?"

Seishiro tilted his head curiously to one side. "You don't know? My father made you give up fifteen years of your life and you don't even know what it is you're guarding? Fai and Yuui are-"

The dark prince was cut off by a sharp blow to the back of his head. He went flying through the air, only to land smoothly several feet away. He addressed his attacker without actually turning to face him.

" _You_ know…don't you, Kimihiro Watanuki?"

"I don't see how it's any of your business," the nature sprite replied as he massaged his sore wrist, his blue eyes filled with barely contained rage.

"Their existence is an affront to my mother, to my bloodline."

"But you don't care about _that_ , do you? You will _not_ take them away from us! We intend to give the full eighteen years we promised."

"Fool. Do not stand between me and what I seek. I will win. I will always win."

"As long as they remain on Tsubasa Island, they are safe," Doumeki reminded him. "You cannot cross Spirit Lake."

"That isn't so, Darkness. I know my own limitations and they do not prevent me from reaching your precious baggage. While it _is_ true I cannot _enter_ Spirit Lake, I am free to cross it; and while my own power is nullified here at the gates of Faerie, I am formidable enough without it, and Assassin's Hand is still viable no matter what my father's command is."

"We will never allow you to reach them," Doumeki warned.

"There is not a thing you can do to stop me."

Wasting no more words, Seishiro lashed out with his blade. Doumeki leapt high into the air, firing an arrow as he moved. The projectile flew true, striking the dark faerie in the heart. He did not so much as blink.

"After so many years, your chest must be empty," the archer remarked as he drew another arrow.

"It is more full than you will ever know, Darkness," he said, turning and catching Doumeki in the shoulder with the blade. The weather sprite could not manage to suppress a cry of pain as he felt the dark sword's power course in through the wound.

"With what?! Hate?! Anger?! Greed?!" Watanuki shouted, not bothering to disguise his worry for Doumeki's wound as the taller faerie collapsed to his knees. Assassin's Hand was a different type of magic altogether. A nick like that wouldn't kill him, but if he was stabbed somewhere vital…he would die.

As Seishiro moved in on the downed assassin, Watanuki summoned up his own magic. Tree roots shot up from the earth, imprisoning the prince in their embrace. They did not hold him long, but Watanuki was only trying to buy enough time for Doumeki to regain control. As the two battled, Doumeki was working to counteract the sword's magic with his own unique brand of half light and half dark. As he worked, he happened to glance toward the island…and see Fai standing, defenseless, on the shore. Their eyes locked for a brief instant…and the boy made a beeline for the lake.

"FAI! NO!" he shouted desperately. "DON'T COME OUT HERE!"

That moment of distraction was all it took. Several things happened at once. When he heard Doumeki's cry, Seishiro glanced toward the defenseless prince and smiled lasciviously to himself before delivering a vicious slash to Watanuki's side. His cry alerted Doumeki to his own peril and he turned to see the dark prince swooping toward him. The next moment, something heavy smashed into him and he heard a scream of terrible pain…and the feeling of warm blood splashing onto his face. Before he could gather his wits enough to figure out what was going on, Seishiro was lifting him up by the collar of his tunic.

"Fine," he hissed amusedly in his face as he licked some of the blood off. "Have your little bitch. I care not." Then the dark faerie threw him down on top of something that was warm and barely breathing.

It was Watanuki. The right half of his face had been destroyed and a slash wound in his left side was bleeding uncontrollably. His remaining eye focused itself on Doumeki.

"F-Fai…y-you…have to-"

Then he was gone.

"KIMIHIRO!" He could hardly believe that the voice that cried out in such anguish was his own. But his attention was divided by yet another scream.

"NO!"

Again, he looked to Tsubasa Island. Fai was standing, frozen to the spot, as Seishiro swept across the lake toward him. Yuui was the one who had screamed. She, the Mokona, and two other girls had just burst out of the forest a good thirty feet from where Fai stood. They would never reach him in time!

Fai couldn't move. He had just seen Watanuki _and_ Doumeki cut down like wheat beneath a sickle. He'd left his bow back with their other things. What could _he_ do against this _thing_? It was above him in moments, sweeping down to cleave his skull in two.

_I never told him. I never told him how much I-_

But just as the sword was about to complete the attack and end his short life, something big and black was standing directly in front of him and the clash of swords could be heard. The scene quickly came together in Fai's mind and he realized that Kurogane had thrown himself between him and his attacker at the last possible moment. The prince's arms shook with the effort of holding back the assailant's blow.

"RUN!" Kurogane screamed at him as the faerie drew back for another attack. "RUN!"

Fai shook his head. "What about you?" he whispered breathlessly.

"I'M FINE!" he shouted, warding off another blow. "IT'S _YOU_ HE WANTS! RUN, DAMN YOU!"

Fai was about to protest when he suddenly felt arms around him, dragging him back into the woods. Yuui and Souma.

"NO! LET ME GO!" he screamed, fighting to escape them. "KUROGANE NEEDS HELP!"

"Fai-kun," Tomoyo's soothing voice was suddenly whispering in his ear. "You have no weapon. He did that for _you_. Nii-sama is much more vulnerable when you're there with him. Honor his decision to fight for you. Trust him."

The others watched anxiously as Kurogane grappled with the dark faerie. It soon became apparent to all of them that his opponent was just toying with him. Kurogane realized this and, instead of getting angry as he normally would have, he felt fear fill his gut. There was _nothing_ standing between Fai and this _creature_ …nothing at all.

"You want him?" he challenged, barely able to keep up the maneuverability to block his opponent's fast moves. "Then you're taking him over my dead body!"

The dark faerie gave him a cruel smile. "If you insist." Then he brought the sword up faster than the human eye could track and slapped Kurogane hard across the face with the flat of the blade. The only thing he could hear as the world spun before his eyes was Fai screaming. He hit the sand without a sound. The god damn world just wouldn't stop spinning.

"KURO-SAMA!" Fai tried to run to him, but stopped in his tracks when he saw the dark sword move again.

"F-Fai," he tried to whisper back, figuring it would be the last word he ever spoke when he felt the enemy's blade, cold against his neck. This weapon defied all logic. It felt like ice against his throat. He could almost swear he felt its very essence seeping into his body. The blade itself seemed to swallow even the sun's rays. It was like a slash of darkness in the afternoon light.

"However," he suddenly heard the silky, cold voice of his opponent, "my intention was not for you to die, young prince. You have a lot of spirit. I will grant you that…challenging that which is older than even the ground on which you lay…and a great deal more powerful. You _knew_ you could not defeat me, and yet you threw yourself in the path of my blade just the same. Why? Was it for _him?_ " the faerie asked, kneeling down beside him. "Because you _love_ him?" he whispered.

"That's…none…of your…Consort damn…business!" he hissed.

"My, but we are a feisty human, aren't we? From one prince to another, I can't say I blame you. Your little toy is quite a catch."

The faerie's lewd comment about Fai was not quite enough to drive the shock from Kurogane's face. Prince? He could only be…Seishiro, prince of the Dark Court…son of the one who killed his father!

"What do you want with Fai?" he asked, lucidity returning to him for a few brief moments. He had already lost his father to the Dark Court. He wouldn't let them take Fai away, too.

"Ah, that. Well, between you and me, I suppose I should want him dead."

Kurogane lashed out at him, even though his head was still reeling and his body was freezing cold.

"You…will never… _touch_ him!" he hissed, though his head was spinning worse than ever. Seishiro laughed.

"Are you _threatening_ me, little prince? That's cute. Though, again, I suppose I can't blame you. I'd threaten anyone who dared to touch _my_ things."

"He's…not mine," the downed prince muttered, the admission causing his chest to hurt just as much as his head.

"Really?" Seishiro asked, raising a curious eyebrow. "Clearly you would like him to be. A word of advice, little one…what you will not let go of, no one will take from you. You should pay closer attention to your pretty angel. If you let go of _him_ , even for a moment, you will _lose_ him…forever. I suppose I can forgive you this one lapse. For today, I will let you go. But the next time I see you, you'd better be holding onto him." The dark prince gave him an amiable smile before leaping high into the air and bounding away across the lake and into the forest.

_What did he mean? Holding onto him?_

"KURO-TAN!" he heard Fai's cry as the world returned to some semblance of real time. The next thing he knew, Fai was kneeling over him, cradling his head in his lap. "Kuro-sama! Are you all right? He didn't hurt you, did he? You _are_ hurt! You shouldn't have done it!"

" 'm cold," he mumbled as he tried to suppress a shiver. Fai immediately wrapped his arms around him.

"Don't worry, Kuro-puppy. I'll keep you warm," he whispered into his dark hair. "I'll never tease you or make you eat sweets again. Just, please…don't die."

Kurogane wasn't quite coherent enough to take the words to heart.

"There isn't a scratch on him," Souma declared, sounding somewhat confused. The next thing Kurogane was aware of was a warm, furry something next to his head.

"Thank you, Prince Kurogane-sama," a tiny voice whispered in his ear. Soel?

As the group fussed over Kurogane, Doumeki suddenly appeared in their midst with a bloody something slung over his shoulder.

"WATANUKI!" Yuui screamed, running toward her guardians. "Is he-"

"He's alive," Doumeki muttered tersely. "But not for much longer. We have to hurry." He blinked once and all of their gear appeared on the beach. He blinked again and they were no longer standing on Tsubasa Island, but back on the opposite shore of the lake.

"Where are our horses?" Souma asked, sounding a bit panicky. Again, Doumeki blinked and Suwa and Kendappa appeared. Fai was barely conscious of any of this. He was desperately trying to keep Kurogane from slipping away.

"Kuro-rin, listen to me! You can't fall asleep. This is faerie magic…dark magic! If you fall asleep now, you might not wake up!"

" 'm still here," he murmured sleepily. "Won't…let him…touch you…ever."

"Kuro-pin, I'm _fine_! Please! We need to worry about _you_ right now."

"Doumeki, please!" Yuui begged her tallest guardian. "You've got to do something! He's dying!"

"He's not," he said, not bothering to set Watanuki down as he knelt beside Kurogane and Fai. "The blade didn't pierce him. No human could have any hope of surviving that. It only touched his skin. He'll keep breathing, but the sword's magic is casting his mind into a cold stillness. If it continues…he will be lost."

"Can you…do anything?" Fai whispered, his eyes bright with unshed tears. Doumeki just nodded and placed a hand on the prince's forehead. With one swift push, he poured enough of his own light into the boy to keep him from fading. Red eyes opened and gazed fiercely up at him.

"What does he want with Fai?" he asked weakly. Doumeki shook his head.

"I can only begin to guess. You should take him home now," he said to Tomoyo and Souma. Between them and the twins, they managed to get Kurogane up onto Suwa, who remained calm throughout.

"Wait!" Kurogane mumbled, trying to lift his head from where it rested against Suwa's black mane. "I can't leave…not with that maniac running around! I can't leave him," he said seriously, staring right at Doumeki.

"Trust me, Kurogane, our home is better protected against dark magic than you can possibly conceive. There is no safer place for him and his sister. But you need to get out of here…now."

"How do you know my name?"

"I have my ways."

"Even so," Kurogane said, trying to fight back his weakness. "I'll stay."

Again, Doumeki shook his head. "Listen to me. All of you. I will not tell any of the other guardians about your meetings. I will not order you to do anything. I will not forbid Fai and Yuui to see the three of you. I will not forbid you to come near them. But you should know, as their friends, if you care about them at all, that it would be best for _them_ if you did not return to this place."

"But-" Yuui started to protest.

"Yuui!" Tomoyo cried out, running to the other girl and hugging her.

"Doumeki, you can't-" Fai started.

"You're hiding something from us," Kurogane accused, his eyes narrowing as he finally voiced aloud all of their thoughts.

"Perhaps," Doumeki responded coolly. "But trust me when I say that everything I have done, everything I do, or will do in the future is for the safety of Fai and Yuui. I thank you for saving Fai's life when I could not, but you must say your goodbyes. Whether or not you meet again after today is entirely up to you."

The five remained silent for a moment, none wanting to look at any of the others. Their wonderful game was up. They'd been discovered. After today…would they ever see each other again? Could they _bear_ to be apart?

Yuui was the first to move. She hugged Tomoyo to her and placed a tiny, chaste kiss on the top of her head. Then she went to Souma and hugged her, too. Tomoyo went to hug Fai as Yuui moved to Kurogane, taking both of his hands in hers. She locked eyes with him, trying her hardest to convey her message without words.

_No matter what happens after this moment, I expect you to come back for him._

Once Souma had given Fai a hug, she went and climbed on Suwa behind Kurogane in order to help him stay on and Yuui helped Tomoyo climb onto Kendappa. Fai was the last to move toward Kurogane. He took his hand in his, his eyes pleading with Kurogane to understand him. He would never stop trying to see him. Even if they could only meet at the border between Celes and Nihon for the rest of their lives, he would _never_ give up. He was not strong enough to give up Kurogane. Kurogane, however, was having different thoughts.

_I'm…a danger to you? I may not see you again. You_ _**have** _ _to know what you mean to me._

Kurogane slowly raised their clasped hands to his face and gently pressed his lips to the palm of Fai's hand. The blond's eyes widened and his pulse sped up, but he did not pull away. In fact, he wished he could freeze time and keep the world forever as it was in this moment.

'I will see you again,' Fai mouthed to him as Kurogane finally pulled himself away from him. The next moment, the horses were galloping away through the forest.

"Doumeki," Fai whispered, clenching his hands into fists. "I don't understand."

"There's no time right now," Doumeki replied, his composure hovering on the edge of breaking as he gathered them all together. "We have to get back."

As the assassin used his magic to transport them all back to the cottage, a single overwhelming thought pounded through his head and his heart.

_I let this happen._

XxX

Doumeki sat, exhausted, beside Watanuki's bed, watching the shorter faerie sleep. He had worked tirelessly for hours, but he had finally managed to pull him back from the grave.

When they had first arrived at home, Yuui and Fai had been constantly underfoot.

"Is there anything we can do?" Yuui'd asked.

"Yes," he answered succinctly as he laid Watanuki out on his bed. "Go upstairs with Soel and Larg and wait for Kunogi to get back."

The twins had been terrified of his almost anger, but they had eventually complied, trooping up to their room with tears of worry in their eyes.

Doumeki had poured all of his art into restoring Watanuki's face and his side. The problem was that the magic of Assassin's Hand was something even _he_ could not fully combat, so he could not use light magic. It had to be dark magic. It would mark him forever.

Himawari had, thankfully, not arrived back from her shopping until the worst of their comrade's injuries had been healed. Doumeki had given her a quick rundown of the situation as he worked, omitting the parts involving Kurogane and the others. Himawari listened, then disappeared upstairs to comfort the twins, leaving the weather sprite to his work. He had not heard from them since.

The one thing Doumeki had been unable to repair was his eye. The eye had been obliterated by the attack and not even his own magic could fix it. So the last thing he had done was take half of his own amber left eye and place it into Watanuki's head, splitting the eye between them. He sealed the spell with a kiss to the reconstructed eyelid.

"Don't die, damn you," he muttered as he sat down beside the bed. If he died, Watanuki would take something much more precious than just his eye into the grave with him.

"How long have you known?" he suddenly heard Fai's voice. Instead of looking at him, he moved to adjust Watanuki's pillows.

"How are Yuui and Kunogi?" he asked.

"They fell asleep on Yuui's bed awhile ago. Himawari kept talking about making us some dinner, but we said we weren't hungry." He had tucked his sister and surrogate mother in himself and tucked Soel in with them next to Larg before coming down. He had sworn to himself that he would not rest until he found out what exactly Doumeki knew and how he knew it.

"I've known for almost two years…ever since you threw that birthday party for Kurogane. He was the one, wasn't he? The one in your heart…when you asked me what it felt like to be in love?"

Fai nodded. "How?"

"It's a power of mine. I was gifted with the magic of the Dark a long time ago. If I seek them, I can hear words spoken in the dark from miles away. The dark of night does not fool my sight. I was keeping an eye on you that night and I saw all of the friends you and Yuui had made."

"But…you've always told us to stay away from strangers. Why didn't you tell Watanuki and Himawari?"

Doumeki sighed. "Your whole lives…you two have never known anything but these four walls and this forest. The three of us…have known a much wider world. Kunogi and Watanuki liked to imagine we were all enough for each other, but I knew better. If they had meant you any harm when you first met, however long ago that was, Soel and Larg would have sensed it immediately. I trust their judgment when it comes to the two of you. I suppose I kept it to myself for the same reasons they did. I didn't want to see you deprived of your only friends."

_Even though I_ _**knew** _ _how dangerous it was._

"And…we're still allowed to see them?"

"That…is entirely up to you. You should know that if you continue to involve him in your life, it will only put him in more danger."

"I don't care," Fai insisted. "Kuro-sama and I can take care of each other."

"Like you did today? Kurogane's sacrifice was noble, but Seishiro could have killed you both if he'd really wanted to."

Fai hung his head at this. "Doumeki…today, why did that faerie come?"

Doumeki remained silent.

"He was after _me_ , wasn't he?"

The assassin nodded. "You and your sister."

"Why?"

"It's better you don't know. It isn't safe."

"This is my _life_ we're talking about here, Doumeki. Mine and Yuui's. I have a right to know."

"You're right. You do. Just not yet. When you're eighteen, we'll tell you everything, not a day before."

"Three years?"

"Yes."

"And I can still see Kuro-chan?"

"Yes, assuming _he_ will consent to see you after what happened today."

Fai fell silent for a moment. _Kuro-pan wouldn't turn his back on me…would he?_

"Will…Watanuki be okay?" he asked, glancing nervously toward the unmoving figure on the bed. He was well aware this had happened in defense of his life. Was it possible to lose his friends _and_ Watanuki?

"He should be."

"He'd want you to get some sleep, you know?"

"Hmm," Doumeki mumbled, turning his attention back to the comatose faerie. They both knew he was not going to sleep a wink until Watanuki woke up. He didn't even look up when Fai headed back up to his own room. He didn't have the heart to tell him his heart's one true desire was already taken…by his own sister. They were royalty. They had concerns much greater than themselves. When the time came, those children might not be able to choose love.

"You know, I really do think he'd be able to see me if he worked at it," the shadow in the corner said with a small laugh.

"He has no reason to think you're there," Doumeki said with a tired smile of his own.

"You could say something."

"Hmm, yes, that will go over well. 'Fai, Yuui, I'd like you to meet my father. He's been dropping by every so often over the past fifteen years to check on you. Did I mention he's been dead for about a thousand years?'"

"Humph. I think I like talking to Kimihiro better. He actually enjoys talking to me," the shadow replied as it finally took form as his father, Haruka Doumeki.

Doumeki fell silent at the comment, glancing down at Watanuki's still form.

"What's it like?"

"If you're worried about him dying, don't. You pulled him back in time."

"Who said anything about that? I asked you what it felt like to die."

"I've been dead since the end of the Last War and you're only now getting around to asking me that? Dying itself is painless. Everything just sort of…stops. What matters is the manner of death. I suffered a fair bit before actually dying. Kyle Rondart may be a stuck up upstart, but he's handy enough with dark magic."

"I know."

"We Fey like to think we're immortal. Some even fancy themselves gods," Haruka said softly, remembering their previous king. "But we are just as mortal as the next human. It's just much harder to kill us. I'm…well, not living proof…more like dead proof of that," he finished with a chuckle.

"There's something…I never understood," Doumeki said slowly, not looking up at his father. "You were the first Darkness. How did you reconcile what you were?"

Like Watanuki, Haruka Doumeki had been a spirit of nature. He was born to bring life to that which was barren…and yet he was the first chosen to receive the mark of the blood spiller. Doumeki himself was much the same. As a spirit of the weather, he was also, by birth, a life giver. And yet, upon his father's death, he had been chosen as the new Darkness. He had never been able to reconcile his own brand of magic with the powers that had been bestowed upon him. Light and darkness existed within him in equal measure.

"I believe…that the powers of the Darkness _need_ to bond with a life giver. Death does not come from death. Death comes from life. Without life, there can be no death; and without death, there can be no life. That is the difference between the Darkness and the Sakurazukamori. The Sakurazukamori _was_ death. A death giver cannot truly appreciate his gift without the contrast of life giving. Balance exists within the Darkness. You and I were born with the power to grant life, which is why we can fully appreciate the power of what we hold. It is a gift of great power coupled with a healthy respect for what that power can do. Does that help at all?"

Doumeki said nothing as he continued to stare down at Watanuki.

"Shizuka," Haruka half-reprimanded him, "if you did not have your dark magic…you would not have been able to save him. Aren't you even the least bit grateful for it?"

"The question is," the assassin began softly. "Whether or not _he_ will be grateful to live with only half a face?"

XxX

He wasn't certain how long he drifted in that static space between waking and dreaming, but as he finally started to lean toward waking, he began to feel different. His face felt different. It wasn't as if he could feel a physical difference, it just felt…off somehow.

"You awake?"

He slowly blinked his eyes open and found the owner of the voice sitting beside him…the weather sprite…his friend practically from the moment he was born, though one wouldn't know it to see the way he treated him.

"Sh-Shizuka?" he whispered, his voice strangely hoarse. The next thing he felt was a warm, tingling pressure against his forehead. Was he…? The next thing he knew, a fist was colliding with the left side of his face.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

"Shh. It's late. You'll wake the others."

At the mentioning of the others, Watanuki suddenly remembered why he'd been out cold.

"Fai! Yuui! What happened?! Are they all right?!"

"They're both fine."

"You mean… _you_ defeated Seishiro?"

"No. He just…left. He spared them," Doumeki said. It was essentially true, after all. "He was just toying with us."

"How are they?" he asked, glancing toward the door.

"They're getting suspicious. I promised Fai we'd tell them everything when they turn eighteen."

"It's not like we have a choice," he muttered, allowing a note of bitterness to creep into his voice. _May as well tell them we've lied to them for eighteen years before selling them down the river into a life of political servitude._

"But seriously, what was that punch for? I was injured, you know? If you don't have _me_ around, how do you expect to feed yourselves?"

"It was _because_ you were injured," Doumeki replied, a trace of annoyance evident in his voice. "Why did you do it?"

"What?"

"Throw yourself between Seishiro and I? You almost got yourself killed."

"What? That matters to you?"

"Yes."

Watanuki was silenced by this. After awhile, he began to mumble, "You saved _my_ life. I didn't like owing it to you. We're even."

"That's _really_ what you were thinking when you threw yourself on his sword?"

"I didn't _think_ ," he muttered, more to himself than to Doumeki.

The taller sprite massaged his temples in exasperation.

"What's going on?"

"What are you tal-"

" _Who are_ Fai and Yuui?! Tell me the truth. Seishiro pulled Assassin's Hand on us. _You_ almost died. We're _all_ in danger here. I _need_ to _know_. What does Yuuko really want with them?"

"Doumeki, we've talked about this."

"No, we haven't. Ten years ago, I promised you I'd wait. I can't wait anymore. People's _lives_ are in danger. The stakes are too high."

"You'll _have_ to wait. I have orders from the king."

"What good are those orders? Clearly Seishiro knows something about them that I don't. If it's meant for secrecy, you're keeping secrets from the wrong people."

"He knows because Yuuko knows. I don't imagine the secret's spread beyond her top generals. She stands to lose just as much if the secret is revealed too soon."

"Who do you think I'll tell? If this is such a big secret, who do you think could possibly pull the information from me?"

Watanuki looked thoughtful for a moment.

"They're my children, too," he added after a heart beat. This finally seemed to convince the former vizier.

"All right. I'll tell you. But you mustn't tell Himawari anything."

XxX

" _He won't eat."_

" _He hasn't left his room in weeks."_

" _I don't understand it. The physicians say there's nothing wrong with him."_

" _But he's so cold…"_

" _He hasn't spoken a word."_

" _I don't think he sleeps anymore."_

" _Maybe he's possessed."_

" _What if he dies?"_

He heard the voices outside his chamber. He could always hear them. Most of the things they said were true. He'd been cold ever since that day in the forest. Not even the spark of the sun pendant could warm him anymore. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten anything. He didn't feel hunger anymore, or thirst, or the need to sleep. All he felt was cold…and a great aching hollowness in his chest. Every time he remembered the reason for his condition, a bolt of pain would fill the empty space. He had shut himself up in his quarters and he hadn't emerged once. He would sit on his balcony and stare off into the distance toward Celes. The one thing that wasn't true was the bit about speaking. He still spoke to Tomoyo, but only if she spoke to him first. He slept very little, but when Tomoyo made him sleep, he dreamt only of that day.

 _I can't be near him._ The hopeless litany repeated itself in his head over and over again. _I can't be there, even if he needs me._

"Nii-sama?" he suddenly heard a voice behind him. He turned his hollow eyes back into his room and found his little sister standing in the doorway with a blanket in one arm and a steaming mug in the other. "It's night. You should come inside before you catch cold."

Was it night? He hadn't noticed. He stood and moved stiffly toward Tomoyo. She wrapped the blanket around him and tried to press the cup of tea into his cold hands, but he wouldn't take it. A bowl of cold miso soup was sitting untouched on a small table. He walked past it and flopped down on his futon. He and Tomoyo both knew he would be back out on the balcony within the hour after he awoke from his nightmares.

_He's…crying. Why is he crying? I promised him I would never make him cry._

"Nii-sama, please," Tomoyo begged as she knelt beside him. "You must eat something. Do you have any idea how awful you look?"

"Does it matter?" he mumbled into his pillow.

"Of course it matters. Do you want to look like a dead man walking when you see Fai-kun again?"

"I _can't_ see him. Doumeki said he might get hurt."

_But Seishiro said that if you let go of him, you'll lose him forever. What did he mean? I can't go to him. I can't_ _**not** _ _go to him. I can't…_

"It's hurting him more _not_ to see you. I've spoken to Yuui. Do you know what you're doing to him?"

"Keeping him safe."

"Ridiculous. We've been friends for five years and nothing's ever happened. You're much stronger together. Apart, you're nothing."

"But Doumeki said-" he started to repeat.

" _Who cares what Doumeki said?!_ " she cried desperately. "You're killing the both of you. I don't want to see you hurt yourself anymore. He's dying _right now!_ So are you! I feel your pain and his every night when I go to sleep. It's hurting Yuui and Souma-chan, too. How do you think all of this makes _me_ feel?"

"Don't you _care_ that Yuui might be hurt if you keep seeing her?" he shot back as best he could in his malnourished state.

"I care. But I also believe in Yuui. I believe in _us_ …all of us, our friendship. We can protect each other. You _can't_ let this tear us apart."

"You didn't fight Seishiro," he said despairingly. "You didn't see the look in his eye. If he'd wanted to…he could have killed me. Nothing could have stopped him. If I don't stay away from Fai…he'll kill him."

"You honestly believe that? Fai-kun hasn't spoken a word since Yuui told him you weren't coming back. He's not eating either. Are you just going to lie here and let him die while you die yourself?"

"Maybe…it would be better if I died."

"How can you even _say_ that?! Fai-kun _needs_ you! _I_ need you. Your _country_ needs you."

"You know, I always thought…that you would make a better ruler."

"Who are you and what have you done with my brother? The Kurogane _I_ know would never admit defeat like this! He would _fight_ for what he loves!"

"I _am_ fighting. I'm fighting myself. The only thing keeping me here is that I know that if I go to him, I'll be putting him in danger. So…I'll just stay here until I rot."

Tomoyo shook her head. "I don't believe what I'm hearing. Yuui was right. The sword's power is still affecting you. Kurogane, listen to me. You are under a spell."

"No'm not," he mumbled. Wouldn't he _know_ if he were under a spell?

"Fai-kun wants to help you. He's been coming to the border every day to wait for you, as weak as he is. He thinks he might know a way to break the spell. He's waiting there now. You _have_ to go to him."

"Tell him not to waste his time." Fai would get over it fast enough when he died. He still had Yuui. At least he wouldn't be alone.

"Nii-sama, I really hate to do this to you, but you're not leaving me much of a choice."

Kurogane glanced up, confused by what she said. Then he felt a sharp jab to the back of his neck and knew nothing more.

"Sorry, Kurogane, but this is for your own good," Souma said as she rolled him out of the futon and toward the balcony. "I've got the ropes, Tomoyo-chan. Are the horses ready?"

"Sorata-san's with them, ready and waiting. He knows how important this is."

XxX

Yuui rubbed Fai's hand reassuringly. The two of them were sitting side by side beneath the branches of a tree at the edge of Celes. Leval was grazing nearby. Yuui could see the lights of Shirasagi burning in the distance.

"What if…he doesn't come?" Fai asked nervously. He was noticeably skinnier than he already had been and his hair was lacking its usual luster. There were dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. He had spoken for the first time in weeks when they'd reached the border. Small, muttered worries, but they were still words.

"He'll be here. Tomoyo promised they'd come." She and Tomoyo had been talking over the last few weeks. All of their plans thus far had failed and now both of their brothers were miserable. She had run the list of Kurogane's symptoms by Doumeki and his diagnosis was that he was still suffering from the effects of the dark sword. Its magic tended to affect one's will. Fai's own condition had worsened when he'd heard the news. He'd taken to spending his days at the border, waiting for his best friend to return. At first, only Soel had been with him, but after a week, Yuui and Larg had started to come with him because Watanuki and Himawari were worried sick about him. They'd even talked about locking him in his room and forcing him to eat, but Doumeki had talked them out of it. He knew the reason for Fai's sickness. He told them it would pass eventually. But Yuui was no longer content to wait for eventually. She was tired of waiting for Kurogane to come for her brother. She couldn't bear to watch him suffer anymore. And since Fai couldn't go to Kurogane, they would have to bring Kurogane to him. Tomoyo had promised that Kurogane would come tonight.

"What if he doesn't _want_ to see me?"

"Fai, you can't fathom how much he _does_ want to see you. I'm not going to watch the two of you beat yourselves up anymore."

"Kuro-prince and Fai will kiss and make up, and Soel and Larg will bring everyone a big feast," Larg announced proudly.

"Kiss?" Fai whispered bitterly. _If only it could be so._

Fai was drawn from his bitter musings by the pounding of hoof beats against the earth. He looked up and the light of the full moon revealed two horses riding toward them.

"It's them!" Yuui shouted excitedly. As the riders came closer, the true horror that had been wrought that day at the lake was revealed. Kurogane rode heavily in Suwa's saddle with Souma behind him to support him. His skin was pale and his normally watchful eyes were empty and shadowed. His hands shook and he could not seem to hold his head up. He was slowly wasting away to nothing. Where was the proud prince of Nihon they'd known all these years?

"Tomoyo!" Yuui cried joyfully, racing toward Kendappa and pulling the princess down from the saddle.

"Yuui!" Tomoyo returned the embrace just as enthusiastically.

"It's been so long. You're fourteen now, aren't you?"

"Uh-huh," Tomoyo said with a happy smile. Unfortunately, the two girls were drawn out of their happy reunion by the sounds of Fai and Souma struggling to get Kurogane down from Suwa.

"No!" he mumbled, trying to struggle against them but too weak to do so. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Because we wanted to save your life," Fai whispered to him as he finally fell from the saddle. He tried to stand on his own feet but couldn't quite manage it. Fai supported his weight as he lowered him to the ground. Souma backed away.

"Idiot? No! You shouldn't be here," he cried, his voice containing none of its usual bite.

"You're cold, Kuro-sama," Fai whispered sadly as he held the once mighty ninja prince close to his chest. "How did you become so cold?"

"It…hurts…to feel anything else," he moaned weakly, unable to keep his traitorous hands from clutching desperately at the warm body that held him. He needed this too much.

"I can make it go away…if you'll let me," he said gently.

"Shouldn't…be here," he tried to repeat. "You're… in danger."

"I'm in no more danger than you are."

In a failed attempt to summon up his usual anger, Kurogane seized Fai's head and pulled his ear close to his mouth.

"I don't…want to _lose_ you…he said I would…but I…I don't…want to see you get hurt…either. I'm not…strong enough. How can I…hold onto you…if I have to let you go?" he whispered deliriously.

"You won't lose me, Kuro-chan," the blonde murmured soothingly. "No matter what happens, you'll always have me. I'm right here…and I'm _not_ letting go."

With that, the young man placed his lips against the spot on Kurogane's neck where he knew Seishiro's blade had touched. The skin was as cold as ice but Fai did not flinch at the contact. Through his magic, he forged a connection between them. He poured every ounce of love and devotion into that kiss…every aspect of their shared existence, both good and bad… _everything_ Kurogane had ever made him feel. In that moment…he gave him everything.

Kurogane felt the heat of that one wish spread through him and begin to warm him from the inside out. The glooming, despairing fog that had filled his heart and mind for so many weeks seemed to lift all at once. The color began to return to his ashen skin and his dull, listless eyes brightened and sharpened all in an instant.

_He's coming back._

Kurogane wanted to say so many things to Fai in that moment, but the first thing that slipped out of his mouth was, "Why are you holding me?"

Souma blushed. Tomoyo could have slapped her brother. Yuui really did smack her _own_ face. Those two…

Fai hid the sting of the question well. He smiled brightly, cradling the prince closer like a little baby. The scene suddenly looked more like a mother and her naughty child than two best friends standing on the edge of becoming something much more.

"You've been sick, Kuro-puppy. Fai-kitty used his magic to drive the sickness away," he meowed playfully.

"Let go!" he snapped, pushing himself out of the shorter's embrace, his face already flushed with embarrassment. Even as he hit the ground, he was already mentally thrashing his ass.

_Goddess! I'm such a damn fool! Why am I pushing him away…when all I want is to hold him close and kiss those beautiful eyes and_ _**know** _ _, beyond doubt, that he's mine and-_

Okay, so maybe it was a bit too much to ask…but it was what he wanted.

Fai, meanwhile, had gotten to his feet, clenching his hands into fists. He stared resolutely at the ground as his cheeks colored with shame and hurt. But his smile stayed on.

_I_ _**knew** _ _it! He doesn't want me at all. But…if he wants me to…I'll still smile this pretty, empty-headed smile for him. If I can bring him even the tiniest bit of happiness…then it's worth all my pain and suffering. I will always be his_ _**friend** _ _. Nothing more…no matter how much it hurts._

"Back to your old self, I see, Kuro-wan-wan. Good. I missed you."

"Yay! Kuro-meanie and Fai kissed and made up and now there will be food for everyone!" Soel announced. Fai felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest at the mention of the word 'kiss' and Kurogane didn't quite grasp the significance of it, having been only semi-conscious when his heart's desire had been so freely given to him.

Soel opened its mouth wide and a full picnic dinner came flying out. Fai and Kurogane both fell upon the offering like ravenous wolves. They were oblivious to the fact, but the three girls were still watching them.

"Honestly, we give them every opportunity! How could they mess _that_ up?" Yuui hissed with a sigh of frustration.

"We'll just have to keep trying," Tomoyo said with a reassuring smile. "Otherwise they'll never truly be happy."

Souma remained silent, gently brushing her fingers through Kendappa's mane as she watched her friends plot. She couldn't help but notice the way their hands had remained intertwined this whole time.

As the two boys sat together, plowing through the meal, Fai kept saying to himself, over and over, _It's all right. It's fine. I'll be okay so long as I can still be by his side. I don't want to drive him away._ _I want to be with him always…even if it is no closer than a handshake or a small hug._

Whenever he thought Fai wasn't looking, Kurogane would steal glances at his face. Why? Why was it so hard to tell him how he felt? Perhaps he was afraid of being dismissed…that he would give him another teasing smile, dismiss his confession as just another joke, and dance out of his reach once again. Even so, how could he hold onto Fai without endangering him? The curse might have been gone, but the dilemma that suddenly filled his life remained. Which way was right?

As the prince mulled things over, he began to notice something about Fai's smile. On the surface it looked exactly the same, but beneath that…something was gone, or something was added. He couldn't tell. What he _could_ see was the lack of sincerity or anything like true warmth. He felt that tonight, somehow, he had already lost Fai. Somewhere between his arrival and this moment, something in him had died, had fallen into darkness and gone someplace far beyond his power to save him.

He _hated_ that smile.


	10. Melody

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry I've gotten behind on this. The real world calls and all. I believe I owe you all about six chapters. Let's see how many I can get out today.

_She's being held, safe and warm in someone's arms. Strong, soft fingers are intertwined in her long hair. She can feel warm skin beneath her own fingertips. There's long, blonde hair in her eyes. She trembles as a tender kiss is placed on her forehead. The trembling intensifies as those soft lips hover inches from her own. It takes her a moment to realize they do not have the barrier of clothing to separate them, and she also realizes she's completely okay with that. There is nothing wrong with this._

_New and wonderful feelings fill her body as the other's lips finally meet hers…thoughts she has had only once or twice in her young life. A thrill of delight shoots down her spine. The taste of apples and honey fills her mouth. An insistent warmth fills the pit of her belly as their two bodies press together. In this embrace…all is right with the world._

" _Tomoyo," a familiar voice whispers in her ear._

" _Yuui?" she whispers back. It's not Yuui herself…merely a dream avatar. The next moment, both Fai and Yuui are standing before her, clothed in robes of shimmering, royal blue. Their very skin seems to cast off a pale, ethereal glow. The very next instant the vision melts away to reveal Souma kneeling before her on a field of battle. The ninja girl takes her hand in both of hers and places a kiss on the back of it. The very bend of her body screams that she's in pain._

" _Souma-chan?"_

" _You are my only princess," she says as she climbs to her feet._

" _I don't understand."_

" _My only princess." Then, with a last sad smile, Souma melts away, too._

" _SOUMA-CHAN!"_

_The scenery changes again - a dark, forbidding cavern. Fai and Kurogane are standing on a bridge that spans a black, bottomless chasm. Actually, the bridge is more like the edge of a knife than any bridge she's ever seen. One wrong move and they will both fall to their deaths._

_Her brother is holding Fai close, whispering something in his ear. Tomoyo is standing on one side of the bridge. When she glances to her side, she finds Yuui and Souma standing there as well. On the other side stands their mother, and a man and woman she's never seen before. But she can tell just by looking at them that they are faeries._

_The man has dark hair and white robes. His smile is benign, but sad at the same time. He seems to be surrounded by a fading light. The woman has black hair and eyes the color of blood. She feels like she's seen those eyes somewhere before, but she doesn't know where. She is surrounded by a much darker aura, but the princess can sense a deep ache within her as well._

_Fai shakes his head and takes a step back from Kurogane. A great tremor sweeps the ground and the bridge shakes. It seems it will break at any moment, but Kurogane remains calm. He reaches out for Fai and cups his face in his hands. Tomoyo still can't hear their words. Fai looks terrified for a moment, but he finally nods and moves back into the circle of Kurogane's arms. The prince gives a rare smile and pulls the younger boy into a tender kiss._

_A shriek of rage echoes from the other side of the bridge and the vision dissolves before she has a chance to see whom it came from._

_The new vision is much brighter. She is back in Celes, on the shores of Spirit Lake. Yuui is…well, not_ _**standing** _ _before her. She's hovering just above the surface of the water. A crown of light is settled about her brow and her stomach is swollen with child. Her eyes have a strangely empty look to them._

" _Yuui?" she asks nervously. Then the blonde begins to speak in a voice that's not her own._

" _ **I am at the beginning as I am at the end. I am the sacred circle, spinner of the web of space and time. I am the Cosmic "And": life and death, order and chaos, eternal and finite. I am Earth and all things of it."**_

_It is a voice beyond all imagining, a power stronger than the foundations of the world itself. In this moment, Tomoyo knows it isn't Yuui before her, but the Goddess Herself…and instead of feeling humbled, the little princess is terrified. She falls to her knees, staring directly into the eyes of the Great Mother._

" _Please," she begs. "Give Yuui back to me."_

_Yuui-who-isn't blinks her eyes…and Tomoyo immediately recognizes her precious person behind them. She looks scared and confused. She reaches her hands out toward her, seeking comfort._

" _Tomoyo?" she whispers._

" _Yuui!" she cries joyfully as she rushes out into the water. A tentative smile appears on the other girl's face as she, too, starts to move toward her. But then she stops. Her face looks as though someone has stabbed her through the heart. Then she is gone, swallowed up by the water._

" _YUUI!" she screams. She's about to dive under the water when arms suddenly wrap around her waist._

" _Let me go! I have to save Yuui!"_

" _You can't save her. No one can save her."_

" _But…I-I love her," Tomoyo admits. Dream or no dream, it's the first time she's spoken the words aloud. "There has to be something I can do."_

" _There is nothing," the woman who holds her says calmly. "She must face her destiny, the same as the rest of us. But you can be part of that destiny…if you are brave enough to choose that road."_

" _What do you mean?" she asks, twisting around. The woman who grabbed her is very beautiful. Long brown hair flows unbound past her waist and she has the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes. She is clothed in a dress of flowing emerald green. She is a faerie._

" _Who are you?"_

" _I am the Lady Kotori Monou. I am like you."_

" _I know. What were you talking about before?"_

" _Yuui-chan has a destiny on her heavier than most. You cannot save her from her fate, but you_ _ **can**_ _be part of her destiny. But you must have the courage to take that step. I don't doubt your heart but there are some who would, some who would think that you are not worthy of Yuui-chan. Just as they would think that your brother is not worthy of Fai-kun," she explains sadly._

" _What are you talking about? There's no one better for Fai-kun," she insists._

" _Beware, little princess. The right to Yuui-chan's heart is of interest to more people than you might realize. The same goes for the ownership of Fai-kun's love."_

" _How can you talk about a person's heart like that? Yuui and Fai-kun aren't property."_

_Kotori sighs. "You should know better than anyone that that is how a court works. Love is a commodity sold to the highest bidder."_

_Tomoyo turns from the faerie woman. She knows she speaks the truth, but she hates to face it. "I know. I wish it didn't have to be that way."_

_Kotori gently takes her face in her hands. "It doesn't have to. You don't_ _**have** _ _to play their game. Not if you hold true to each other. The five of you: you, Kurogane-kun, Fai-kun, Yuui-chan, and Souma-chan. The love you have for each other can change the future of this world…in fact, it will. All you have to do…is take her hand."_

"Wait. Wha-" Tomoyo stopped talking when she realized she was talking to the curtains on her canopy and not Lady Kotori Monou.

_What did she mean?_

"Tomoyo-sama!" she suddenly heard Chitose's voice calling as she opened the door to her chambers. "Still in bed, Hime? I'm surprised. You're usually up by now. We must hurry and get you dressed. You don't want to miss the tournament, do you?"

"No," Tomoyo said absently as she climbed out of her futon. It was Kurogane's nineteenth birthday and a tournament was being held for all of the ninja apprentices in his honor. Of course, her brother was the favorite to triumph.

The violet-eyed princess mulled over her dreams as Chitose brought her her formal robes. She was of the age to start wearing a furisode, advertising that she was "up for grabs". The Lords were already starting to clamor after her mother to pair their sons up with her. In truth, the whole business sickened her. The one who held her heart in her hands could never ask for her hand. She was a pawn to be sold in marriage at the queen's convenience. But…could that change?

Could she really alter her own fate? Could she _choose_ to create a new destiny…with Yuui?

XxX

"Well, my friends, it's been a long day. All of our young ninja have fought very hard and done great honor to their training, but now…we have come down to the final match. First, we have a remarkable young woman who defeated many older competitors to be here this evening. She began training late, but made up for that with an unparalleled devotion to learning. The Lady Souma Kuzuki!" Kusanagi announced to the cheering crowd as Souma entered the small arena. She gave a few small waves to the crowd, but public appearances really weren't her thing. Instead, she focused her attention on her opponent as he entered from the opposite side.

"Now, people of Nihon, the challenger. A very skilled young ninja, a master with a blade, my own student, your prince, who will someday be emperor here…KUROGANE YOUOU!" Kusanagi grinned as he stepped off of the field.

Kurogane did not acknowledge his adoring public. He was much too intent on the battle at hand. He had dominated the competition today, only to come up against his best friend. That did not mean, however, that he was going to hold back.

Their two sensei watched them approach each other from the sidelines.

What do you think, Arashi-san?" Kusanagi asked his rival sensei.

"I think Souma-chan can defeat the prince if she keeps her wits about her. She has been working very hard of late," Arashi stated impassively.

"Plus, no one who's been trained by my sweet little honey bunch could be beaten so easily," a new voice put in from somewhere behind them. Arashi did not even have to turn to see who it was.

"Go _away_ , Sorata."

"Aww, but I wanted to get a good seat to watch the last match," he whined. "And where better to sit than with the powerful, beautiful Arashi-sensei, whom I love so very, very much?"

Kusanagi laughed at the man's antics. Arashi just sighed. The guard had been lusting after her for years. His advances were mostly harmless, just really annoying most of the time. While the ninja mistress did have a bit of a soft spot for him, she would _never_ tell him that.

"I just don't understand it, Arashi-san. How can you not fall for a face like that?" a new voice inquired, referring to the pathetic puppy dog face Sorata was wearing.

"Hello, Yuzuriha-chan," Arashi greeted, not acknowledging her question. "Come to watch the match?"

"Of course, sensei. Where better to sit than with this little lover boy?" the younger woman teased as she wrapped her arms around Kusanagi. The ninja master grinned, blushing lightly. The two had been "officially" seeing each other for a few months now. Yuzuriha had had a crush on the older man ever since the day she had begun ninja training. Kusanagi had tried not to encourage those feelings, but it hadn't taken him long to notice her in that way as well. The age difference was at least ten years, but neither cared. The moment she had finished her training under Arashi, things had started moving and they hadn't looked back since.

"How many times must I tell you?" Arashi asked with a wry smile. "I'm not your sensei anymore."

"Sweet, kind, wonderful Yuzuriha-chan!" Sorata implored. "You _must_ tell me your secrets. How do you get your one perfect mate to fall in love with you?"

"Hush!" Arashi hissed. "The match is beginning."

Kurogane and Souma bowed to each other.

"Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're a girl," he muttered to her with a grin.

"Yeah? Don't expect _me_ to go easy on _you_ just because you're the prince," she returned with a teasing smile. Then they separated, drawing their swords and slowly circling each other.

"Go for it, Souma-chan!" Yuzuriha cheered.

"You can beat her, Kurogane-sama!" Sorata immediately countered. The two sensei just watched the proceedings impassively. Souma made the first move, testing the waters with her twin dao, Sumomo and Kotoko. Kurogane blocked the twin swipes fairly easily. Souma stepped back as they continued their circle. She made several fancy slashes with Sumomo, trying to draw Kurogane's attention with it, but the prince knew better. It was a signature move of hers. He kept his attention on Kotoko, waiting for the strike. Sure enough, it came. Souma lashed out with Kotoko and he raised Sohi, blocking the swipe, quickly drawing back and catching a secondary blow from Sumomo. Once she had disengaged, Souma leapt high into the air and did several backward flips, landing easily on the roof of the royal dais.

"Go, Souma-chan!" Tomoyo cheered, receiving a severe glare from many of the other occupants for it…especially Kyle Rondart.

"The Lady Souma is most skilled," the stuck-up councilor noted. "Perhaps she would make a good wife for the prince?" he suggested to the empress in what was meant to be a casual voice.

The empress seemed to consider the idea for a moment, but then, somewhere deep in her memory, a voice called out to her.

_Remember the promise you made to your friends._

"She would…if the prince were not already promised to another," she said, sounding for all the world as if she were struggling to get the words out.

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Is he now? Why haven't you mentioned this to me before? I thought we had no secrets," he said suggestively, placing a hand on the empress' knee. He, of course, already knew whom she spoke of, but it would be so much more delicious if he could get her to spill her most closely guarded secret to him.

"An empress may keep her own council if she chooses. You are not entitled to every thought in Her Majesty's head, Rondart," Lord Kakyo said, barely containing his anger. Normally he made a point of not attending Souma's matches, but Kyle had insisted, by order of the empress, of course, that all of her councilors be present this evening. Tomoyo was on the arm of Master Nokoru, son of Lord Imonoyama. There were already whispers of a marriage and the councilors were gathering to observe the two, see if they made a nice match. Tomoyo herself was miserable, of course, but no one else seemed to notice or care. Nokoru was nice enough, but she didn't much like the idea of being married to him. Of course, her mother didn't seem to notice this. Normally her mother listened to her opinions, but ever since Kyle had shown up about a year ago, she had spoken less and less. Kyle spoke for her. She had even named him her official royal consort. Some of the lords were afraid he was making a bid for the throne. All he needed was to get one child on the empress. In truth, many of them were expecting to hear news of a pregnancy any day now. It was plain to be heard that they were together every night, what with all of the noise Kyle made. But the empress' voice seemed to fade a little more each day. Tomoyo was not one to hate easily, but she could honestly say she hated the control that Kyle exerted over her mother. Amaterasu had always been such a strong woman, but now she was bending over backward for Kyle…in every possible sense of the words. The princess couldn't stand how overtly sexual Kyle was with her mother in public, as if he had actually won her. Everyone could see that the empress was his toy, a prize to show off. Unfortunately, no one could find any evidence of foul play. As far as anyone could see, the woman was simply submitting to his will. No one could understand what charm the worm held for her.

"Of course not, Lord Kuzuki. I would never be so presumptuous as to think so. It's just that…I have no secrets from her. Amaterasu trusts me _explicitly_ ," he sneered, deliberately sliding his hand from the empress' knee to her inner thigh.

"And yet you presume to be worthy enough to speak her name?" Kakyo glared.

"It's…all right…Kakyo-san," the empress said, sounding half-asleep.

Kyle smirked. "Heh-heh, Lord Kuzuki, I am miles more worthy than you are. If Tera makes me worthy, who are you to reject me?"

Everyone seated on the dais went cold at the sound of the nickname. Even Tomoyo and Nokoru, who had never heard it applied before. They all knew it was the former emperor's name for the empress. Had she fallen so far that she would give its use to this wretched slime?

"Please, all of you," Tomoyo broke in calmly. "This day is for my brother. He has fought hard. Has he not earned your respect these last nineteen years? Does he not deserve your undivided attention?"

"As you wish, my princess," Kakyo said, trying to contain his anger. "If only for the sake of the _prince_."

When the quarreling nobles turned their attention back to the match, they found that it was still going full swing. Both combatants had made their way back to the field and were going at each other with everything they had. Kurogane had just dealt a powerful blow that Souma had just barely managed to catch between her twin blades. Kurogane made a move as if to pull back and Souma slackened her grip just a little. That little bit was all Kurogane needed. He thrust forward again, putting all of his power into a slanted blow and knocking Kotoko from Souma's grip. The young noble made a move to grab it but Kurogane blocked her. They stayed locked together like that for several moments, trading furious blows. The prince finally managed to knock Sumomo from her hand as well but the girl managed to evade him with a series of nimble back flips. The match was not over until he touched her skin with his blade.

Souma removed several small shuriken from her belt and threw them toward her opponent. Kurogane blocked each one with Sohi.

"She's getting desperate," Kusanagi noted.

"Souma-chan still has a few more tricks," Arashi warned him.

_Whatever you do, Kurogane-sama, don't let her get behind you._

Souma stood still as Kurogane rushed toward her, sword held high. But when he came within spitting distance…she vanished. Then the prince felt a sharp jab in his shoulder blade and his left arm fell, useless, at his side…just as he'd expected. The second he felt the attack, he spun around, and placed the flat of his blade against Souma's neck. A moment of silence followed, then…

"PRINCE KUROGANE YOUOU IS THE VICTOR!" Kusanagi shouted to the screaming crowd. Applause and cheering echoed throughout the grounds. Souma and Kurogane both smiled wryly as they bowed, first to each other and then to the audience and the royal dais.

"Good match," Kurogane said, shaking her hand.

"It would have been better if I'd been faster," she muttered, though she was still smiling.

"You couldn't have beaten me. That's your strongest unarmed move. I saw that attack coming a mile away. I just let you think you had the upper hand."

"Fooled me good. On the subject of hands, I'm sorry about your arm."

"It's fine. It'll only be useless for another _hour_ ," he grumbled.

Tomoyo, meanwhile, was cheering her heart out from up on the dais.

"YAY NII-SAMA! YAY SOUMA-CHAN!"

"You want to go to them, don't you?" the princess suddenly heard a silky voice from beside her. She turned to see Nokoru smiling sadly at her. "I can't bear to see a beautiful young lady unhappy. I can tell that the last place in the world you want to be right now is on my arm. Please, migoto otome, go to your loved ones."

Tomoyo smiled at the young noble. He was truly a wonderful young man…she just couldn't bring herself to love him the way she loved Yuui.

"Thank you, Nokoru-san," she whispered to him, giving him a light kiss on the cheek before practically leaping off of the dais and running out onto the field.

"Nii-sama! Souma-chan!" she cried as she ran up to them. "You were both brilliant! I wish that you could have both won."

The three embraced tightly, though Tomoyo was still in her formal robes and Kurogane and Souma were hot and sweaty from their battle.

"I can't wait to tell the others," Tomoyo squealed excitedly.

"Excellent work…my son."

A hush fell over the crowd as it parted to allow the empress through to the field. When Amaterasu finally reached her children and Souma, Kurogane bowed low before his mother.

"My empress, does it please you?" he asked formally. "I have proven my strength to our people this day."

"I am…most pleased. Rise…Kurogane. I would…speak with you."

A slightly surprised look appeared on Kurogane's face as he climbed to his feet. What was so important that it could not wait? Now was the time for the post-tournament festivities to begin.

"As you wish, Kaa-san," he said, sheathing his sword and holding his good arm out for the empress. She leaned on him and they slowly made their way off of the field. "What is it you would like to speak to me about?"

Amaterasu leaned heavily into him as they walked. Sometimes she seemed almost sickly. Away from Kyle, the affects tended to lessen, but she still seemed so frail, as if she were a woman nearly twice her age.

"You are, doubtless…aware that you are…long since of the age…to marry."

Kurogane stiffened at these words. If there was one thing he did not want to talk about, it was marriage.

"I'm aware of it."

"You will be…emperor here one day…my child. It is…high time you had a wife."

"This is Kyle's doing, isn't it?" he asked angrily.

"Kyle has nothing…to do with this."

"Well, then," Kurogane started, with a note of bitterness in his voice. "Who are you considering _buying_ for me?"

"No consideration…Kurogane. All the arrangements are made. You will wed…King Syaoran's daughter…the princess of Valeria…in two years' time."

Kurogane snickered at this. "Old wives' tales, Kaa-san? Kyle must be getting to you even more than you realize. Aren't the prince and princess of Valeria just a myth?"

"Hardly. They are as real…as you or I."

Again, dread started to fill the young prince. "But…surely they must have died a long time ago…if the stories are true."

"They are very true. They have been…hidden…kept safe…from Yuuko. No one…not even Sakura-sama and Syaoran-sama…know where they were taken. The princess will…remain in hiding…until the night of the wedding."

"Where is all of this coming from?" Kurogane asked, anger starting to fill his voice again.

"This was…always the plan, my son. For…sixteen years. Your marriage to her…will unite our two kingdoms."

"What if…I don't _want_ to marry her?" he asked, pulling away from his mother and leaving her to stand on her own. The empress' face turned hard at the insinuation.

"I'm afraid…you do not have a choice in the matter. It is decided."

"Forgive me, Kaa-san, but marriage to a complete stranger never made anyone in this empire very happy."

"Your father-"

"No!" he snapped. "I don't want to hear about your _tragic_ love life! You _knew_ my father! You said he was your best friend. I've never met this girl! I won't even _see_ her until the night we marry! You expect me to spend my life with someone I might not even _like_?"

"I do," his mother said calmly, her eyes seeming to clear for the first time in many months. "I expect you to do your duty. You are prince of Nihon. Without a wife, you cannot have an heir. You _must_ have a bride."

Kurogane said nothing. He had always known this to be the case, but he had always dreaded the day when it would finally happen. He'd been dreading the announcement of his bride-to-be ever since the moment he had admitted to himself that he was in love with Fai. He _knew_ they could not be together, but it hurt just the same.

Fai…he had to see Fai _right now_. He needed to be with him. No more of this ridiculous court bullshit! He turned on his heels and ran.

"Kurogane!" his mother screamed after him. " _Come back here!_ "

Kurogane was too angry and upset to be ashamed of his flight. The only thing in his head was Fai. Almost before he realized it, he was in the stables, bolting toward Suwa's stall. Souma and Tomoyo were already there. Suwa was saddled and ready to go.

"Run, Kurogane. Go," Souma told him reassuringly.

"Go to him, Nii-sama," Tomoyo said, handing him the reigns.

Kurogane didn't take the time to question how they knew what he needed. He just nodded, taking the reigns from his sister and leaping into Suwa's saddle, all with one arm. Then the horse and rider bolted out of the stable together, heading for the city gates. When he reached them, he was relieved to find they were still open. The gates had been left open to allow spectators through to the tournament. He'd been afraid his mother would order them closed to detain him. He'd made it in time.

Suwa easily cleared the gate. When Shirasagi was long out of sight and he could barely see the setting sun over the horizon, only then did Kurogane begin to feel shame. He had never run away from anything in his life. But…this was somehow different.

"Fai. Fai will understand," he muttered to himself as Suwa galloped into Celes.

_Fai…I need you._

XxX

A sharp cry alerted Yuui that her brother was in trouble. She raced out the front door with Doumeki hot on her heels. They found Fai collapsed just around the side of the cottage, his hands clutched to his chest. The basket of dry laundry he'd been bringing in was spilled out next to him. Soel was hopping about, fervently demanding to know what was wrong.

"Fai?!" Yuui asked urgently as she knelt next to her twin. "What's the matter?"

He reached out his arms, desperately grabbing onto her shoulders.

"He…he needs me, Yuui," he whispered in her ear. "I have to go to him."

Doumeki just nodded as they helped Fai to his feet. They knew whom he meant.

"Then go. But take your cloak, and Soel goes with you."

"Fine," he consented as the three moved inside. Himawari was waiting in the kitchen. Watanuki was asleep already.

"What happened?"

"Nothing," Fai replied as he gathered his cloak from the hook beside the door. Then he went to the pantry and started to gather some food.

"Where are you going?"

"Out," he replied tersely before stepping out the door. Himawari made to follow him, but Doumeki stopped her.

"Let him go."

"Where's he going?"

"Where he said. Out."

"But…it's night. It's dangerous."

"He'll be fine, Kunogi. Soel's with him. He's a teenage boy. He needs his space."

"Well…if you're sure-"

"He'll be okay," he repeated one final time before releasing her.

XxX

_Kuro-pii? Can you hear me?_

_Fai?_

_Meet me at Faerie Falls._

XxX

Fai had been waiting at the base of the falls for only five minutes when Kurogane came riding toward him. Upon reaching him, the prince half fell out of the saddle trying to get to Fai. He had a wild, hunted air about him.

"Kuro-tan?" Fai whispered, worry evident in his voice. "What's wrong?"

"I-I just…I-something happened and I…I can't…oh, Consort!" he moaned.

"Hey. Hey. Calm down," Fai said soothingly as he enfolded his friend in a hug, gently massaging his back. Without thinking, the prince buried his face in Fai's shoulder, returning the hug easily. "Hold on tight," Fai warned him before casting a levitation spell. The distraught ninja did as he was told as the pair floated up through the night air. The next moment they were both standing on solid ground. Kurogane looked around and found himself standing at the mouth of a cave. The cave extended far back into the earth, but the front was lit with balls of soft golden light. Fai had laid out a blanket with food and drink on it. The smiling blond quickly got him to sit down on the soft blue quilt.

"Wait a minute. Where's the manjuu?" he asked suspiciously.

"Fooling around back there somewhere," Fai responded, waving his hand toward the long stone corridor. "Go on. Eat up, Big Puppy. You must be famished."

Kurogane was about to protest when his stomach spoke for him, growling loudly. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Fai handed him a flask of water as he sat down beside him. He waited patiently for the ruby-eyed prince to eat and drink his fill, only occasionally stealing a bite for himself. When Kurogane had polished off the last of the food, Fai pulled out a small chocolate cupcake.

"Happy birthday, Kuro-chuu."

"You know I don't like chocolate," he reminded him, even as he took the confection from him. It _was_ a birthday present, after all.

"But this is _dark_ chocolate, Kuro-woof. I think you'll like it. Just try it," Fai encouraged. The prince eyed the cupcake warily before taking a small bite. He was surprised not to be attacked by the intense sugary sensations that usually accompanied Fai giving him any type of food. The chocolaty taste was tempered by a lingering bitterness that he found he actually kind of liked.

"Well?"

"It's good," he admitted grudgingly.

"I _knew_ you'd like it. Watanuki made cupcakes yesterday and Yuui asked him to make a few with dark chocolate. I guess she knew we'd be needing them." Fai waited for Kurogane to polish off the cupcake before continuing.

"Tell me what happened, Kuro-min."

Kurogane stilled at the request. In Fai's company, he had actually started to forget why he had come in the first place. Now it all came rushing back with painful clarity.

"I'm…betrothed…engaged to be married."

Fai felt his heart twist painfully with grief when he heard the news. Of course, he had always known it would happen. Kurogane was a prince. He _must_ have a consort. No matter how much it would hurt him in the end, he knew he would have to let Kurogane go. Even if he _could_ return his feelings, even if they _could_ be together, Fai, as a man, could not give Kurogane what he needed. He would always have to watch him from afar, loving him in secret.

"Say something," Kurogane mumbled, not looking at him. When Fai listened to his voice, he suddenly realized he was not the only one who was unhappy.

"That's…good news, I guess. But…I can tell by your voice that it isn't. You…don't _want_ to be married?"

"No!" the young man snarled. "I don't even _know_ this girl! I won't meet her until the night we marry, two years from now."

"But…Kuro-prince, you _do_ have a responsibility to your people," Fai whispered, his voice breaking.

"I…I know. But I…I just _can't_!"

Fai's breath caught in his throat when he heard the protests. "Could it be…that there is someone else Kuro-rin loves?" he suggested tentatively. He looked away as Kurogane glanced up at him.

"There is," he said simply, taking Fai's hand in his. Fai's already mangled heart gave another unbearably painful twist.

"She…she must be a truly wonderful girl…to have attracted the mighty Kuro-puppy," he whispered, barely managing to hold back the flood of his sorrow. Kurogane tried to catch a glimpse of his face, but he just turned further away.

_Don't you understand? Can't you see? It's_ _**you** _ _, Fai! You, and only you._

Unfortunately, the other half of his heart, the one that chose fear, called a little louder.

_But you can never love me, can you? You're too beautiful…too wonderful. I'm not worthy of you. How could you possibly love me? I was such a fool…to think I could just come here and tell you how I felt and everything would be all right. It doesn't work like that, does it? I'll just have…to let you go._

"The one I love…is the most wonderful, beautiful person in the world…and I can never be with that person."

_I'm trapped…with no way out._

Fai could feel his heart breaking as he listened to Kurogane speak of his beloved. He had never heard such warm tenderness in the prince's voice. It was the truest of true loves. He almost wanted to meet this girl, this bright, shining creature who was worthy of Kurogane's love…but, at the same time, his heart knew he could not bear it. Upon seeing their happiness, a part of him would die. He could only ever be a shadow of what he might have been with Kurogane.

Fai's eyes opened wide when he felt a hot tear trickle down his face. He couldn't let Kurogane see! Quickly, he seized the prince in a tight hug.

"You should rest now, Kuro-myuu. You must be exhausted."

Kurogane just nodded. He was too tired and too heartsick to protest. He lay down on his side, resting his head in Fai's lap and clumsily wrapping his right arm around the blond's waist.

"Can I…can I stay with you tonight? I don't want to go back," he whispered, seizing Fai's right hand in his, seeking comfort.

"Yes, Kuro-chii. You can stay here as long as you want," Fai replied, grabbing at the edges of the quilt and pulling it over Kurogane's body.

"What am I supposed to do?" he mumbled against Fai's stomach, too sad to be ashamed of his weakness.

"I suppose…you just have to make the best of the time you _do_ have left," he whispered, running the fingers of his free hand through Kurogane's dark hair and returning the pressure of his fingers just as fiercely. Kurogane made no sound or movement as he wept, but Fai could feel the wetness of his tears soaking through his clothing. He said nothing. More than knowing that Kurogane loved another, it hurt him to know that he was in pain and he could do nothing for him. He could not stop the marriage. He could not make certain that his only love could have his beloved. He could only hold him close and let him cry when there was no one else to turn to, never letting his own pain show.

Kurogane clung just as tightly to him. He would do what Fai said. He would make the best of their remaining time together. He would somehow fit a lifetime into two short years. He could not tell him how he felt, but he _could_ give Fai all of the tenderness and devotion he'd neglected to give him over the course of their friendship. And he would _personally_ see to it that his Fai found someone to love…a kind, beautiful girl who could be truly worthy of his love. No one could ever be worthy of his beauty, but there had to be _someone_ out there who would be perfect for the love of his life. Fai _would_ be happy…even if he could not be. Kurogane smiled to himself, even as he let the tears flow freely down his face. At least he could dream of a future where Fai was loved and happy.

As he waited for Kurogane to drift off to sleep, Fai leaned his head back against the wall of the cave and began to sing in a sweet, clear voice.

_I keep recalling_

_How life used to be._

_Now and then,_

_I wonder_

_Have we changed?_

_With your hand in mine,_

_Oh, the moments shine._

_Like the pictures_

_In a storybook,_

_We will turn the pages,_

_Sharing pieces of_

_The memory._

_I care for you now_

_As I did then,_

_At our beginning,_

_Our beginning._

Fai sang until he could sing no more, until the pain in his chest forced the music out of him. When his voice finally failed him, he glanced down and saw that Kurogane was fast asleep. He had shifted slightly in his dreams, with his head facing up toward Fai. The distraught blond could clearly see the dried salty tracks that his tears had scarred his face with. Shaking his head slightly, he wet his thumb and used it to wipe away the offending marks. As he worked, his fingers accidentally brushed across Kurogane's lips.

_What would it feel like? Just this once. Nobody has to know…not even him._

"Forgive me…Kurogane," he whispered breathlessly as he leaned down close to his face…and stole a tender, heartbreaking kiss from those warm, full lips. He took it a step further, trailing another kiss down onto his stubbly jaw…but then he mentally slapped himself and pulled away, leaving behind a small trail of saliva in his haste.

"Forgive me… _my love_! Please, forgive me!" he cried as he finally allowed the tears to flow from his eyes.

_He was never mine to lose. Why regret what could not be? Those warm words…words of love…those are words he'll never say…not to me…never to me!_

" _Goddess_ , I'm a fool!" he sobbed quietly. Silent sobs wracked his body long into the night. And somewhere far down the corridor, hidden from sight, Soel watched the scene unfold with tears in its eyes.

XxX

Yuuko was sprawled naked on her bed, nursing a cup of sake. Most queens probably wouldn't have held official meetings in such a state of dishevelment, but she was well aware that only one of the four present desired her. That would be Kyle, and he had been getting plenty and enough from Nihon's empress. She would never call for him anyway. One was her son. Another, her top general, hadn't slept with anyone for almost two years now…a new record for him. The longest Kokuyo had been rumored to be celibate prior to this sudden withdrawal was about a month. The last…well, she didn't think that Yue was really capable of desire. She only kept him imprisoned here because she knew it disgusted him to be made to watch her excesses.

"Things are going well in Nihon, I take it?" she asked Kyle. "I hear Amaterasu's made you her new royal consort. Tell me, is she pregnant yet?"

"Not yet, my queen," the spy simpered. "But I'm hopeful. I take her to my bed every night. The moment she is with child I can make a bid for the crown and strip the prince of his birthright."

"Don't you mean she takes _you_ to _her_ bed?" Kokuyo sneered. "It must have taken quite a powerful charm to get her to spread her legs for _you_."

"Did it ever occur to you that I _might_ be able to seduce a _human_ woman to my bed without magic?"

"No, actually, it hadn't."

"You're just jealous," Kyle blustered. "Because _I_ shall be ruler of Nihon."

Yuuko smirked to herself as she listened to the general tease her puppet. Everyone knew, of course, that Kyle had used magic to seduce the queen. It would certainly be _nice_ if they could push the young Nihon prince aside, but it wasn't absolutely crucial to the plan. He would die, either way. In fact, Yuuko was beginning to have doubts about Kyle's fertility. But it would still be oh so delicious for Amaterasu to die in shame…to wake her from the spell the moment before she was killed only to realize that she had been conquered and grown fat with the enemy's child, that she had been the instrument of her son's death and her empire's fall. It would be so wonderful…the wife of that human emperor who had dared to defy her…utterly destroyed.

"And you, Kokuyo?" she asked, twitching her hips a little to draw his attention. When the tactic failed, she pouted to herself. He was keeping something from her. _He_ would be the one she bedded tonight.

"Syaoran grows nervous, Your Highness. We have burned several of the border villages. Refugees are pouring into the capital. It will cause problems for them when we finally make our move," he reported absently. It was true that he was keeping something from his queen, but it wasn't exactly what she thought. He was simply meeting up with the same wind sprite he'd been seeing for two years later on and he wanted to be away from here as soon as possible. The light faerie drove him crazy. It had been two years and he hadn't even asked her her name. For a while he hadn't thought it was important. At first, all he'd wanted was to bed her, but after the first few meetings, it had been more about…actually enjoying _being_ with her. He kept telling himself he would stop seeing her, but it just kept happening. Before he knew it, two years had passed away and he hadn't slept with anyone. It just seemed…less important, somehow.

"Tell me, Seishiro, what are _your_ plans this evening? Do they involve Subaru? I suppose I can forgive that you haven't killed him yet. He sounds like _such_ an excellent fuck toy."

"No, Mother, they don't involve Subaru. There will be sex though," he answered languidly.

"Ooh, can I watch? You never let me watch you and Subaru. You always put up those nasty barriers," she whined.

"I've told you a thousand times, Mother, if I didn't erect the barriers, Kamui would never let me get anywhere near Subaru. He still doesn't trust me, you know. But you can watch tonight if you finish up your own _activities_ on time. I'm going to give Prince Fai a little sixteenth birthday present."

"Oh?" Yuuko sat up, suddenly curious. "Why now?"

"I'm merely going to claim a pretty toy that someone carelessly left lying around. I gave a little boy an ultimatum about a year ago and he didn't heed my warning. Now he must pay the price by forfeiting his prize. To the victor go the spoils, as they say."

"Well, I hope your labors prove _fruitful_. I can't believe I didn't think to do it myself. But you're not to touch Yuui. Are we clear on that point?"

"Crystal, Mother."

"Good. You and Kyle may go."

The two dark faeries bowed and left the royal bedchamber, one growling to himself, the other smirking.

"Now, Kokuyo," Yuuko whispered, spreading her legs apart none too subtly. "Come to me."

"Now, my queen?"

"Yes, now," she said with a pout. "You _used_ to like being called to my bed. What's changed? Have you got a secret lover somewhere?"

Yuuko didn't fail to notice the faint blush on her stud's face.

"Of course not, Highness. I just have…other things on my mind right now. You wouldn't enjoy me very much."

"Other lays on your mind, you mean," she sniffed. "You always had time for sex before."

"I…I just-"

"No! No more excuses. Strip!" she ordered. It wasn't that she actually _needed_ to lie with him. She just wanted to watch him squirm. In moments, he was on top of her, naked and kissing her neck. "Let's break that irritating fast of yours."

"How can it be that a queen of Faerie has fallen so far?" a cold voice suddenly knifed through the heat building between them.

"Dribble virtue all you want, Yue. I'm still going to fuck him. You can close your eyes but you can never close your ears," Yuuko responded without even turning her attention away from her current lover. Yue was thoroughly chained to the wall beside her expansive bed and had been so for the past fifteen hundred years. He had made a lot of noise about it at first, but he had eventually fallen silent. However, he still felt the need to lecture her on occasion.

"Why do you keep me here?" he asked for the umpteenth time.

"I've told you before, my little moon brain. When the time comes, you _will_ deem my son worthy to sit on the throne."

"Never," the moon guardian hissed.

"You _will_ do it. Mm…I will _make_ you," she moaned as Kokuyo worked his way down her body.

"You were worthy once, Yuuko," Yue said to himself, closing his eyes as the queen's cries of pleasure filled the room once again.

_What happened?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lullaby this chapter is 'Our Beginning' from Care Bears II: The Next Generation.


	11. Sleeping Beauty Fair

The twins' sixteenth birthday had been a wonderful event. Watanuki had made all of their favorite dishes and their guardians had insisted that they not do any chores. Doumeki had presented them with sleek new bows and Himawari made them new sable cloaks. Soel and Larg even liberated some of Doumeki's wine store and the party lasted well into the night. However, it was not merely a birthday party. It was an attempt by all of them to cheer Fai up. He had been spiraling ever deeper into depression ever since the night at Faerie Falls. The worst thing about it was that his smile never faltered. He went about his days, did his chores, played with Soel, talked with Yuui, lived his life…but beneath his disarming smile, he was nothing more than a doll going through the motions of living.

Doumeki and Fai wouldn't tell Yuui what happened that night, but she had finally managed to drag the information out of Soel about a month ago. They hadn't seen their friends since, but Yuui had half a mind to kill the Nihon prince when next she saw him. The next time they were all together, she was just going to seal the two of them in a cave and not let them out until they had worked everything out. Damn it, but she was not going to watch her poor brother suffer anymore! Not when the one he loved so clearly loved him in return and he refused to see it.

Yuui went to bed that night thinking that she would ask Tomoyo to bring the others for a small visit tomorrow.

If she had known…if she had only known what was about to happen, she never would have waited. She would have taken Fai to Kurogane that very night.

As Fai drifted off to sleep in the bed next to hers, his thoughts were as black as usual. As much as it hurt, he was hoping that maybe he would dream of Kurogane again. In his dreams, they could be together…even if it was only an illusion.

But it would not be Kurogane who visited him in his dreams this night.

" _Oh, dear. It seems he didn't hold onto you. I warned him. **"**_

_He's sitting on a large bed in a darkened room. It's cold…so cold._

" _Where am I?" he whispers, curling into a ball. "I'm so cold."_

" _Don't worry, little prince," a chilling voice sounds out of the darkness. "_ _ **I'll**_ _make you warm again."_

" _Who…who are you?" he asks weakly. He can't quite summon the energy to look up._

" _I?" the voice asks, chuckling. "I am he to whom you will give all that you are."_

_Fai curls even more tightly in on himself when he feels the owner of the voice crawling onto the bed. He can hardly breathe for his terror. Then he feels a cold hand running through his hair._

" _Look at me," the voice commands._

" _No," he whimpers._

" _Why not?"_

" _I'm scared."_

" _Don't be. Look at me."_

_Fai finds he cannot resist the voice's command this time. He slowly looks up…and finds himself staring into a single grey eye._

" _It's you," he breathes in horror. "You're the one…from the lake! Seishiro!" He has to run! He has to escape! Seishiro will kill him! But he can't make his body move. No matter how hard he tries, his limbs will not obey his commands._

" _Don't be scared," he whispers soothingly, taking Fai's face in his hands. "Relax."_

_Instantly, his traitorous body harkens to the dark faerie's voice. His limbs go slack and he ends up sprawled across the bed. Seishiro leans down over him and places a tender kiss on his lips._

" _Your skin is so soft, pretty one," he breathes in his ear._

" _What do you want with me?" Fai cries, his mouth dry with terror._

" _I want to take full advantage of your beauty, like your friend refused to do. You are sixteen now. Ripe. The perfect age to be taken to someone's bed," he replies, trailing heated kisses down the boy's neck. A shiver of disgust runs through his unresponsive body._

" _What are you talking about?"_

" _I warned the Nihon prince that if he didn't hold onto you, he would lose you. He let go of you. He had the perfect opportunity to take you for his own and he let you slip through his fingers. Finders keepers."_

" _Why would Kurogane want to hold onto_ _ **me**_ _?" Fai asks bitterly. "He's in love with someone else."_

" _Mm, poor little boy. You just don't want to see it." Fai's imprisoned between his legs now. Seishiro suddenly plunges his hand into his pants and seizes his length, easily ripping his shirt off with his free hand._

" _ **Stop!** " Fai shouts as the cold air hits his chest and the cold hand wraps around him. His body still won't respond._

" _All right," Seishiro says silkily as he stands up on the bed, towering over Fai. "Perhaps you need a moment. I'll undress instead."_

_Seishiro makes good his word, stripping slowly and allowing Fai's terrified eyes to take in every detail._

" _Tell me, Fai-kun," he starts as he falls upon the boy once again, allowing his aroused manhood to brush against his pale stomach. "Do you find me sexy?" Then he takes one of Fai's limp hands and wraps it around his throbbing member, holding it there, allowing his victim to feel the raw power of the thing. "Do you want this? Do you want to feel me…inside you…_ _ **fucking**_ _you?" He emphasizes the word 'fucking' by forcing Fai's hand to rub up and down his erect length._

" _NO!" he screams in terror, desperately trying to make his body move._

_His screams are suddenly muffled as Seishiro thoroughly ravishes his mouth. When he's finished with his face, he moves slowly down his neck toward his chest, taking one erect nipple in his mouth and grazing it with his teeth._

_**NO! I don't want this! Why can't I move? Why is my body reacting to him?** _

" _Please!" he begs. "Please! St-stop!"_

" _Why? You've dreamed of doing this with Kurogane-kun_ _ **so**_ _many times. Why not me? It's true, Fai-kun. I've seen your dreams. I've watched you when you thought you were alone. I've watched you touch yourself, crying out so desperately for the one you wish was truly there making love to you. Why not let me be the one to grant your wish? I'll open you up and make you blossom like the sweet little flower you are." As he talks, Seishiro languidly trails kisses down his stomach…right up until Fai's pants block his way. Then he uses his tongue, stroking the boy's flaccid member through the cloth. Fai feels like he's going to be sick, even as Seishiro's ministrations force him to grow hard._

" _I d-don't_ _ **want**_ _this!" Fai cries as tears start to flow down his face. "P-please…_ _ **don't do this!**_ _"_

" _Still not resigned to your fate, little Fai-kun? Were you hoping to save yourself for Kurogane-kun? Most unfortunate. You should have worked harder to get him to hold onto you. You're mine now." Then he slowly starts to pull Fai's pants down, stopping just as he's about to lay the poor boy bare. He ravishes the white skin of his pelvis with his teeth and tongue, leaving behind a ring of dark purple bruises._

" _Stop!" Fai screams. "Dear Goddess! **Please stop!** " He tries to fight. Sweet Goddess, he tries, but he cannot move. His body feels like lead._

" _Need more time, my pretty little doll? I suppose I can give you a few more minutes, but I'm not going to wait much longer," he warns, settling Fai's pants back around his hips. Then he crawls up behind his prone body and lifts his head so that it rests in his lap…right against his unclothed erection. "However, you and I_ _ **are**_ _going to have sex tonight whether you like it or not. I'd much prefer it if you enjoyed it, but I can level with raping you. So you'd better get used to the idea of_ _ **me**_ _being the one to take your virginity…not him."_

_Fai can't stop the tears as they flow, hot and fast, down his face. He can no more stop the tears than he can move his own body. The only thing under his control is his voice._

" _Why?" he whimpers as Seishiro's hand trails down his stomach and back into his pants, playing with him in his helplessness. "Why m-me?"_

" _Because you really are quite beautiful. A pretty thing like you should not go unenjoyed. You are wasted on a mortal oaf like that prince," he replies, leaning down and kissing his lips, invading his mouth with his tongue, pillaging every unexplored crevice. When he's finished tongue-fucking him, he nuzzles his lips right up against his ear. "You're almost as beautiful as Subaru-kun. No one else will have you. I want this," he purs, giving Fai's manhood a rough jerk. "You're quite well-endowed for someone so young. Even_ _ **bigger**_ _than Subaru-kun. I'm almost tempted to let you top. To have_ _ **that**_ _in me…" he says matter-of-factly as he destroys the boy's innocence._

_Ragged sobs tear loose from Fai's throat as the dark prince continues to stroke him. Why can't he stop his body's reactions? Does some part of him…want this?_

" _No!" he screams. " **I don't want this!** "_

" _I'm sorry, my darling, but I really can't wait anymore," Seishiro continues as if Fai hasn't spoken at all. Then he lets Fai's head flop back down on the bed as he moves back to the area he desires to claim. He swiftly pulls the rest of his clothing off and tosses it away._

" _St-stop," he whimpers. He can feel Seishiro positioning himself. "P-please stop. Just g-go away."_

" _But you want this," Seishiro taunts him as he fondles his rear. "Deep down…you know you do."_

_Fai screams as he's never screamed in his life when Seishiro tears him open from behind. His entire existence becomes an unending stream of pain as the dark faerie moves in him again and again, thrust after thrust._

" _AAAAGH!" he screams in pain. "Please! Dear God! Make it stop! STOP!_ _ **STOP!**_ _" No matter how hard his tormentor slams into him, no matter how much pain he's in, his body does not yield. It stands firm against the onslaught. Goddess, but he wishes it_ _ **would**_ _break. To faint, to sleep, to die…anything to take away the pain…the hurt…the shame. In his suffering, he screams for help: to the parents who left him, Watanuki, Himawari, Doumeki, Yuui, Soel, Larg, Tomoyo, Souma…_ _ **Kurogane**_ _…_ _ **anyone**_ _who still cares!_

" _K-Kuro-sama!" he cries out weakly as the tears stream down his face. "S-save me, Kuro-sama!"_

" _You_ _ **still**_ _want your Kurogane-kun?" Seishiro taunts, never once lessening his pace or force. "He's in the next room, you know. We can call him if you want…but do you really want him to see you like this? Defiled? Deflowered? Desecrated? Shamed? Sinner and whore that you are? You're clearly not fighting me. Whatever will he think of you? Do you want him to see how ugly you've become? Do you_ _ **really**_ _want to show him the hideous sin you truly are?"_

_No sooner do the words leave his mouth than Kurogane is standing in front of the bed. When he sees what's happening, he takes a step back, his face stricken with revulsion. Fai weakly reaches a hand out to him._

" _Kuro-tan! P-please! **This isn't the real me!** "_

_Kurogane shakes his head. "You're disgusting, Fai! You have no shame at all! I can't stand the sight of you!" he accuses._

_A look of pure horror spreads across the defiled blond's face. His hand drops back to its place on the bed._

" _P-please," he begs as fresh tears spatter the sheets beneath him. "Please h-help me, K-kuro-r-rin. It h-hurts! I'm scared…I'm s-so s-scared!"_

" _I never want to see you again," Kurogane says calmly, his eyes narrowing in disgust as he vanishes._

" _You see?" Seishiro whispers in his ear. "He can see what you really are. He doesn't want you. You're mine now."_

" _NOOO!" the defeated boy screams as his captor finally finishes in him with a last triumphant cry. After that, his mind shuts down. It's all too much._

_X_

" _What's wrong, Kurogane-kun?" Yuui asks as she and Tomoyo stroll up behind him. They had been walking in Celes, making plans for an outing, when they'd spotted the prince standing before a large black door._

_Kurogane turns to look at them…and doesn't seem to recognize either of them. "It won't open."_

" _Why do you need to open it, Nii-sama?"_

" _Something's wrong," he mumbles. "Something called me here. I think…Fai's in danger. The door won't open."_

_Suddenly growing nervous herself, Yuui moves toward the door. The instant she places her hand against the black wood, she hears her brother screaming._

" _Fai!" she shouts, pounding her fists against the door. "FAI!"_

_X_

_Fai is summoned from his haze when he thinks he hears someone calling his name. As awareness returns, he feels the stickiness of blood and semen on him. His backside feels as if someone shoved a flaming brand up it. Everything comes rushing back with painful clarity and he begins to cry again. Then he feels a pair of arms wrap around him and lift him up. Another small scream escapes his lips as Seishiro sets him down in his lap. White-hot pain shoots through his body._

" _That's yours, you know," Seishiro mocks, pointing to a spot on the bed. Fai glances at the spot…and realizes that it's a puddle of his own seed. Even after all of that, Seishiro had still made him…_

" _Oh, G-goddess!" he sobs, curling into a ball in Seishiro's arms. "Kuro-min was r-right. I really_ _ **am**_ _d-disgusting!"_

" _Mm, yes. Yes, you are," Seishiro whispers into his ear as he runs his fingers through blond hair and presses kisses to the back of his neck. "But you're_ _ **mine**_ _. With a little more practice, you'll make the perfect pet to adorn my bed with. Perhaps I could even talk Subaru-kun into a threesome sometime," he adds to himself._

" _K-Kuro-tan!" he sobs helplessly as his heart breaks anew. "Kuro-t-tan!"_

" _Still hoping for a knight in shining armor to come and rescue you? Who could ever love_ _ **you**_ _? You're nothing, after all. But I_ _ **will**_ _keep you warm if you want. It can be cold here in the dark. All you have to do…is submit to me, and me alone."_

" _Submit?" Fai whispers, staring down at the bruises on his hips._

" _Yes. Give your will to me. Be mine…to control…and I will take your pain away forever."_

" _I…" Fai starts, but he can't finish. He wants so badly to lose his pain, but…can he live in a world without his beloved sister, his family, his friends…without Kurogane? Does it matter now? Kurogane doesn't want to see him anymore. Will the others turn from him, too, when they see what he's become? Perhaps it would be better to give himself over to this creature of the darkness…and fade away into nothingness?_

" _I'll let you think on it," he says as he stands from the bed, allowing the boy's wasted body to flop uselessly onto the stained sheets. "The next time you fall asleep, I will come for you, and I will take you away with me…because you_ _ **will**_ _choose to be my doll. I am your master now."_

" _M-master?" Fai whispers, uncomprehending._

" _Yes," Seishiro explains as he dresses himself. "Your body, your soul, your heart, your love…you gave everything to me when you let me come inside you. There is nothing left of you for anyone else to have."_

" _I…I didn't…"_

" _Hush, my pretty little whore," the dark prince says, leaning over Fai's stomach and kissing him lightly on his belly button as he possessively runs a hand over his limp groin. "You should rest now. You'll need your strength when you wake…when your life dissolves around you."_

_Then Seishiro quickly runs his hand through the puddle of Fai's rapidly cooling semen and disappears…leaving Fai, alone and dying, on his bed._

_X_

" _So tell me, how's that new eye working out for you?"_

_Watanuki grimaces. As if he doesn't have to deal with this bastard enough when he's awake._

" _It works just fine," he answers civilly. "What are you doing here?"_

" _I came to tell you that your blue-eyed boy is dead."_

_Watanuki feels his blood run cold. It…it can't be! He has to be lying. He just has to be!_

" _You lie!" he hisses, finally turning to face Seishiro._

" _It really depends on how you interpret my words when I say that he's dead. He still draws breath. This is true. But_ _ **he**_ _is gone. I took his soul away from him. No light can reach him where he is. Nothing can bring him back from where I've sent him. You will never see him smile again."_

" _What have you done? I swear, Seishiro, if you've hurt Fai-"_

" _I stole something very precious to him. The innocence in his heart has been turned to bitter darkness."_

" _I don't understand."_

" _His innocence, you fool! I went inside him and I tore it out of him in the most painful way possible. He's just a broken doll now."_

" _You can't!" Watanuki shouts. "He's a **child!** "_

_" _I already have. Prince Fai Fluorite is mine now,"_ he taunts as he holds his right hand out toward Watanuki. Fai's moon pendant is clutched there, tarnished and battered…and the dark faerie's hand is coated with semen. The nature sprite's breath catches in his throat as he watches Seishiro throw the pendant down, shattering it into a million pieces against the stone floor. _

Watanuki could still hear Seishiro's laughter echoing in his head as he shot up in bed. To his horror, he found the moon pendant sitting in his lap. He was already half way up the stairs when he heard a scream of anguish echo from the twins' room.

"Fai! Fai! Look at me. _Please!_ " he heard Yuui shouting.

"Doumeki! Watanuki! Himawari! HELP! HELP! HELP!" The Mokona cried out together. The other two guardians were already by his side as he flung the door open. His voice died in his throat when he saw the scene he'd walked in on. Fai was curled up in a little ball, cowering on his bed, and Yuui was kneeling beside him, trying to coax him into looking up.

"Please, Fai…tell me what happened. Let me help you."

"Don't look at me!" the terrified boy shrieked, withdrawing further and further into himself. "I'm ugly now! I don't want you to see. Ugly, filthy, and disgusting!" he sobbed pitifully. Yuui reached a hand out toward her brother, but the second it touched his skin, he slapped it away. "Don't touch me. _Please_ don't touch me, Yuui! It hurts so much! I don't want you to be ugly, too!"

"Dear Goddess," Himawari whispered in horror.

"Fai-kun? Please…tell us what he did to you," Watanuki said softly, kneeling beside Fai's bed with trembling hands.

"He sh-showed me what I r-really am!" he sobbed. "I'm a s-slut! I'm h-hideous! I'm _ugly_ inside! I'm t-trash! I'm a s-sin! I'm unclean! I'm _not right_! I sh-should b-be _dead_!"

"Listen to me, Fai-kun!" Watanuki had to shout to be heard over his surrogate son's cries of pain and anguish. "You're not like that at all! You're a _good person_! Seishiro is the bad one!" He grabbed for Fai's wrists in an attempt to calm him, but again, the moment he touched his skin, Fai tore himself away.

"NO!" he screamed in agony. "Stay away! I don't want it to hurt anymore! _I can't **stand** it!_ "

As he retreated from them once more, his nightshirt fell open, revealing angry red welts where his nipples should have been.

"Fai!" Soel cried in worry upon spotting the wounds. The teenager tumbled out of his bed in his quest to escape human contact. Another scream of pain was torn from his lips when his bottom hit the floor. As he crawled away from them, he left a trail of red and white. The sheets and his pants were covered in the stuff…semen and blood.

"Oh, God," Yuui breathed, terrified at the sight.

"It's mine! _It's mine!_ " the incensed blonde shrieked. "He  _made_ me do it! He was right! God, I'm a whore! I'm so awful! I must have wanted it! _How could I want something like **that?**_ "

"Fai-kun, you have to listen! It _wasn't your fault_! _He_ attacked _you_!"

Fai wasn't listening. He had dragged himself all the way to the window. "I can't stand it! I can't stand it!" he cried over and over again, his whole body shaking as he leaned his head forward and vomited all over himself.

"Fai-chan!" Himawari cried out.

"I'm s-so ugly! I'm so awful! I c-can't s-stand it! It h-hurts too m-much! I can't _stand_ it! I'm so d-disgusting! I WISH I WERE _DEAD_!" he shrieked as he grabbed at his quiver of arrows, lying beside the window. Everyone moved at once when he seized one of the arrows and raised it above his heart. Yuui dove for him, grappling with him to get the arrow away.

"Let me _go_ , Yuui! _Please_ let me die! I don't _want_ to be ugly anymore!"

"Fai! Please!" she cried as they struggled for the arrow. "You're _not ugly_!"

" _I am! I am!_ " he insisted. "Can't you see it? Can't you see how horrible I am? If you don't get away from me, you'll be dirty, too! You _can't_ be filthy, Yuui! You just can't be!"

Yuui finally managed to wrest the arrow from her desperate brother's hands and toss it far away. The second it was gone, Doumeki shouted a spell and Fai's body immediately went limp. When he realized he couldn't move, Fai started screaming to high Heaven.

"NOO! IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN! HE'S GOING TO TAKE ME AGAIN! I DON'T _WANT_ TO BE A WHORE! I DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE THIS! I HATE IT! I HATE IT SO MUCH! IT WON'T STOP HURTING!"

The three faeries and the two Mokona could only watch as the screaming got worse, could only listen in agony as the tormented boy screamed himself to exhaustion. Yuui held her twin close as she rode out the storm with him. She held onto him, despite all of the filth he was covered in: blood, vomit, saliva, semen. She held onto him, even though she was half-certain the sound of his screams in her ears would cause her to go deaf…and she half _wanted_ to lose her sight after seeing her poor twin hurt so badly. She held him in her arms, even though the very scent of the blood and the vomit made her want to throw up herself.

Fai screamed until he had screamed his throat raw. When he could no longer scream his horror and anguish, he resorted to crying. Yuui wanted to cry herself when she felt the weak, whimpering sobs shake Fai's small body, but she remained steadfast, a rock for him in all of his pain.

"I…I b-betrayed him," he cried softly in her ear so that only she could hear. "I c-can't stand it. I don't w-wanna be like this. I want t-to be c-clean again."

"I don't think you're ugly, Fai," she whispered to him with tears in her own voice as she held him even more tightly against her chest. "You're beautiful. You're so beautiful that he was jealous enough to try and take it all away from you." She knew who had done it. She had caught a glimpse of that familiar face as they all passed from the dream realm.

"He _did_!" Fai hissed in pain as more tears slipped down his cheeks. "H-he t-took _everything_ away. He _made_ me a s-sinner. He m- _made_ me a slut. Y-you just c-can't see. You can't s-see how t-truly _foul_ I am."

"Then let me see," she said soothingly. "Let me see what he did to you and we can make it go away," she continued, reaching for his pants.

"NO!" he sobbed. "It won't go away. I d-don't want you to s-see what I am. I don't w-want you t-to see what he d-did to me. You'll think I'm disgusting!"

"No, I won't," she promised. "Please. If you're hurt, you have to let me help you."

"LEAVE THEM ON!" he screamed, feeling as though his throat was being torn to shreds as he did it. Yuui remained completely still after that, simply holding her brother close to her as he sobbed helplessly. She could feel the warm blood pooling in her lap as it dribbled through the cloth from his backside. It wasn't that hard to guess what Seishiro had done to him…had taken away from him. A tremor of rage and sorrow passed through her. She had been lying in the bed right next to him…and she hadn't been able to save him. Why? Why had she waited? Perhaps…if she had claimed Kurogane for her brother sooner…maybe _he_ would have been able to save him?

When Fai had finally exhausted all of his tears, Doumeki approached them and knelt next to them. Before Fai could protest, he placed a hand against his forehead and the boy passed out instantly.

"It's better that he's not awake while we do this," Doumeki explained as he took Fai's limp body from her arms and carried him over to her bed. "He's hysterical."

Once Doumeki had his surrogate son laid out comfortably, he carefully removed first his shirt, then his pants. They had already seen the injuries to his neck and chest. What the pants had concealed was much worse. A circle of ugly purple bruises ringed its way around his pelvis. Some of the bite wounds were still bleeding. Yuui turned away as Doumeki turned him over to see the damage done to his backside. She had felt the blood. She didn't need…couldn't bear…to see such an awful reminder of just how badly he'd been hurt. She covered her mouth to prevent her cry of horror from being heard.

"Fai! Fai!" Soel sobbed.

"Who…who did this to him?" Himawari choked out, tears streaming silently down her face.

"Seishiro," Doumeki answered shortly as he laid Fai back on his back. Like Watanuki and Yuui, he hadn't needed to ask. The scent of darkness hung heavy in the room…the room that was meant to be a sanctuary…and which had now become a tomb. The semen staining Fai was not just his own.

"We failed," Himawari cried. "We swore to protect them and we failed."

"He's not dead, Kunogi."

"What that bastard did to him…he may as well be," Watanuki said bitterly.

"Did it…did it actually happen? Or was it just a dream…an illusion?" Himawari wondered.

"Does it matter?" Doumeki asked, the same bitterness that laced Watanuki's voice finding an edge in his own. "He will remember this every day until he dies. He bears the scars on his body as if Seishiro had actually laid hands on him. Whether it truly happened or not…this will scar him forever, both mentally and physically. That dreamless sleep will protect him for now, but it won't last."

Yuui heard none of this. She had eyes solely for her twin in that moment, lying, helpless and broken, on her bed. It was unbearable…to think he would always be in so much pain…to think she might never see him smile again…to think this might destroy his chance at true love…to think he might have to bear the scars that monster had forced on him for an eternity. No! That couldn't happen! She wouldn't let it! These were the thoughts in her head as she placed her hands on her brother's body. She felt warmth flow through her own body as her wish overwhelmed her senses and called down her power.

The three guardians stopped arguing as the warm, soft glow of Yuui's magic filled the room. When it dissipated, they rushed toward the twins. Yuui had collapsed beside her bed, still clutching one of Fai's hands in hers. Every single mark on his body had vanished. There were no marks on his neck, his chest had returned to normal, and the grievous wounds on his hips were completely healed. Doumeki was willing to bet that the extensive tearing to his backside had been healed as well.

"It's a miracle," Himawari whispered.

"No," Watanuki said in just as reverent a tone. "It's her Hand."

"Her Hand? Is it even possible for her to _have_ a Hand?"

"What are you talking about?" Yuui asked weakly, a little confused, but staring contentedly at her twin's unmarred face. "Hand?"

"Your Hand of Power," Watanuki explained. "Each faerie has at least one. Some even have two. It would appear that you have enough fey blood to receive a Hand. It is _your_ special gift. You possess a Hand of Healing."

"But I could heal already. Two years ago…when Fai and I healed my snakebite…"

"You had Fai-kun's help then. As such, the spell was indeed quite strong. But you healed all of his wounds with a single touch and not a single scar. Besides, this is dark magic. Those injuries couldn't be healed by just anyone. It must be a Hand of Power."

"Yuui made everything better!" Larg cheered.

"Did I…take away the memory?" she asked hopefully.

"No," Doumeki answered stoically. "That's not quite how this Hand works. Nothing can heal the scars on his heart."

Yuui turned from her guardians, holding onto Fai's hand for all she was worth. What good was such power if she could not take his pain away?

"How long will he sleep like this?" Himawari asked.

"The spell will last no more than twelve hours. Beyond that, I can't say. But we have to be ready. Fai is vulnerable. Seishiro will come for him again. We have to cleanse this room completely. Seishiro can use the seed he left in Fai's body to trace him here. I'll take Fai to Spirit Lake. The water will cleanse him of the darkness. Kunogi, you wash out all of the bedding. Watanuki, you're in charge of cleansing the room itself."

Under normal circumstances, Watanuki would have griped about being ordered around by Doumeki, but the situation was critical. Fai's life hung in the balance. The nature sprite immediately went about setting up a magic circle as Himawari gathered up all of the dirty bedding. Doumeki wrapped a blanket around Fai and whisked him away from Yuui, who sat motionless in the midst of all the hustle and bustle. They hadn't seen what she had. They didn't realize just how much danger he was really in.

Yuui had seen into Fai's heart when she had healed him. His memories of the rape were now hers, as well. She felt his pain, his shame, and his despair as acutely as if they were her own. She had seen the offer Seishiro had made…to take his pain away…to take _him_ away…for good.

Once all of the insanity had died down, she would put her own plan into action. She couldn't let Fai sleep again. He was protected in a cocoon of dreamless sleep for now, but that wouldn't last. Yuui knew the one thing that could truly save Fai from the horrible fate that lay before him…the only person who could truly take away his pain. No more games. She had to bring them together _now_! Kurogane had to confess his love _now_ and pull her brother back from the darkness…or he would surely die.

XxX

Sorata had to admit he had never seen anything quite like the magnificent white horse and its rider as the two rode toward the gates of Shirasagi. The animal was pure white and its rider was cloaked all in black. Size suggested that the rider was young, but other than that, the cloak gave away no details as to gender.

"What is your business in Shirasagi?" his fellow guard, Saiki, asked. The gates of the city had not yet been opened for the day. The rider remained silent as the two guards regarded…it.

"I'm sorry, traveler, but you cannot enter Shirasagi unless you identify yourself and state your business," Sorata explained. The rider remained silent and unmoving.

"Stranger, if you do not stand down, we will have to use force," Saiki warned, reaching for the hilt of his sword. The rider still did not react, even as the ninja drew his blade.

"How can the traveler stand down if there was no weapon drawn?" Tomoyo asked as her head appeared over the top of the gate. "Stand down yourself, Saiki-san. Is that any way to treat a guest? Shirasagi has a reputation to uphold."

"That's so, my princess. But our city also has a reputation for security," Saiki replied, not lowering his sword. "This stranger refuses to identify himself."

"'This stranger' is here as my personal guest. Lower your weapon and open the gates," Tomoyo said, her voice taking on a more commanding tone.

"As you wish, Princess," Sorata responded cheerfully, quickly following her orders and allowing the black rider and the white horse to enter the city. Tomoyo was waiting inside, mounted on Suwa. The two horses nuzzled a fond greeting. Tomoyo placed a hand on the rider's shoulder.

"Just follow me," she said softly, leading Suwa back up the main street of Shirasagi. The rider followed the princess through the city, silent as ever. Once the two horses were safely in Suwa's stall, the young princess led the rider into the castle, still cloaked. Tomoyo peaked around every corner as the two snuck through the castle. A hand clad in a black riding glove suddenly snaked out of the cloak and seized the princess's hand, stopping her in her tracks. The moment the hand grabbed hers, Tomoyo heard a voice in her head.

_Danger._

"And who is _this_ , little Tomoyo-chan?" the nasally voice of Kyle Rondart suddenly sounded in her ears. Tomoyo felt her blood run cold. The hand gripping hers tightened in fear as they turned to face the owner of the voice.

"A medicine woman from Gohou Province. I feel guilty for not cooperating with my honorable mother's plans to arrange a marriage for me to her glory. I've summoned Kujaku-san to help me assess my quality. No doubt a report of my fertility would help any plans to move faster."

"Do not make light of the rich worth of a princess' virginity, Tomoyo-chan," Kyle lectured as a lascivious leer crossed his face. "You must make certain to guard your virtue, even against the _skilled_ hands of this learned woman."

Tomoyo shivered at the way he said 'skilled'. It was rife with perversion. She had never told anyone, but she suspected he somehow knew she was a lover of women. It was something he might be able to use against her. Besides, after hearing of last night's horrible events, Tomoyo really did not want to hear about virtue just now.

"I would appreciate it, Rondart-san, if you would use my proper title. Your familiarity has not been earned."

"If you insist, _Hime_. I hope you don't mind my saying so, but is it not rude for a guest of the royal family to go about hooded and cloaked? Why not show your face, wise one? I am certain you are quite fair beneath that dark hood." Kyle was perfectly aware of who hid within the folds of the cloak. It would be so easy to reach out now and claim this prize for his own…seduce her to his hand and carry her straight into the presence of his queen. But at the same time, he didn't believe she was foolish enough to come here without protection. Still…it would be so much fun to toy with her mind. He allowed his magic to slip into his voice…his Hand…his gift for hypnotism.

" _Let me see your face,"_ he said in a gentle, soothing voice, holding out an inviting hand.

Tomoyo almost panicked when she felt her companion's grip slacken, followed by the small displacement of air next to her as the other hand made a slow move to cast aside the cloak. She tightened her grip on her companion's hand, willing sense to travel through that touch.

_Don't do it!_

"Her face is not for the eyes of men," Tomoyo said sternly as she moved to stand between the black-clad rider and the deceiver, never once relinquishing her hold. She felt reassured when her companion's grip became firm once again.

"As you wish, _my lady_. Keep in mind my warning about your chastity." With that, he turned and went back the way he had come.

XxX

" _You failed…Prince Kurogane Youou."_

_It's that single grey eye again. As he watches, the face it belongs to slowly begins to materialize out of the darkness._

" _What are you talking about?"_

" _You failed. I warned you to hold onto him. You did not heed my warning…and now he has paid the price for your fear."_

" _I don't understand!"_

_As the rest of Seishiro's body melts out of the darkness, Kurogane realizes he is holding something. When he sees what it is, his heart stops and his body goes cold._

_It's Fai, broken and bloody. His eyes are wide and empty and tears are streaming down his face._

_**Oh, God…** _

" _FAI!" he screams. He wants to run to him, take him in his arms and make all of that pain go away, but he can't make his body move._

" _You let him down," Seishiro taunts, releasing Fai's body and allowing it to fall forward into Kurogane's trembling arms. "You can confess your love to him all you want now. You can give him a thousand kisses. You can make love to him until the end of time, but you'll never be able to make him forget my touch. He'll never be able to see or hear you again. The boy is lost to this world. You've lost him forever…because you were too afraid to take him for your own. Fai is dead to you."_

" _NO!" Kurogane screams, cradling Fai close to his chest as he falls to his knees. There's so much blood…blood everywhere…and…something…dear Goddess, what's this monster done to him?_

" _I'm sorry, Fai!" he cries. He'd promised to protect him…promised he would never have to cry again…and he'd failed. "Forgive me! Please…look at me! Say something!"_

" _You didn't protect me," Fai's accusing voice suddenly sounds in his ear. Kurogane glances toward his face and, instead of emptiness, sees pain and sorrow in his blue eyes. No…wait…they aren't blue anymore. Fai's once beautiful eyes are the same grey color as Seishiro's. "He stole it from me. I meant it for you. I was so scared. It hurt so much. He wouldn't stop hurting me. I cried and cried for help…but you never came. It won't stop hurting. You never came to rescue me!"_

_Kurogane can't stand to hear the pain in his voice. "I'm sorry! I didn't know!"_

_Fai clings to him weakly. "I'm scared, Kuro-sama! I'm so frightened! It hurts so much! You promised to protect me! YOU PROMISED! Why didn't you rescue me?"_

" _I'M SORRY!" he cries out despairingly. But Fai doesn't hear him. In that moment, he vanishes._

" _Ah, now you regret," Seishiro says, continuing to mock him._

" _WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM?" Kurogane demands, leaping back to his feet._

" _Simply claiming my prize. You gave him up that night in the cave. Your precious Fai belongs to_ _ **me**_ _now."_

" _Give him back!_ " the prince screamed as he shot up from his futon. He glanced around, breathing only slightly easier when he realized he'd been dreaming. Fai wasn't hurt. He was all right. He _had_ to be all right. Unfortunately, he was forced to think otherwise when he saw who was standing in the doorway to his balcony.

"Tell me, Kurogane-kun…do you enjoy torturing Fai? Do you _like_ watching him suffer?" Yuui asked. She was standing on the threshold, dressed all in black and bathed in the glow from the rising sun, flanked by Tomoyo and Souma, each holding a Mokona in her arms. To someone truly capable of being attracted to her, Yuui would have resembled a goddess in human form…both beautiful and terrible to behold in this moment.

"Of _course not_! What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, shooting to his feet. The next moment, he was flat on his back again because Yuui had delivered a crunching blow to his face. She was on him in seconds.

"Do you love him, or don't you?" she asked as she seized his shoulders, her eyes wide with an insane desperation.

"What?"

"DO. YOU. LOVE. MY. BROTHER?" she shouted, shaking him with every syllable. He gazed up at her for a moment, eyes wide with shock, but then he turned his head listlessly to the side, glancing away from her. Anywhere would do, so long as he did not have to look at that face that looked so much like Fai's begging to know if he loved him or not.

"Does it matter? I can never be with him."

"Damn it, Kurogane-kun! I _need_ to know. Don't think about what is, what was, or what will be. Nothing else matters right now. Just tell me the truth. What do you feel…when you look into his eyes?"

Defeated, the dark-haired prince finally looked up at his assailant, going slack in her grip as the words left his lips.

"I love him."

"Then why didn't you tell him that night at Faerie Falls? You said there was someone else you loved. Why didn't you tell him it was him?" she asked quietly.

"Because I was _scared_!" he admitted angrily. "I'm…not good enough for him. I was afraid…he would say no…and that I would have destroyed what we _did_ have, all for nothing!"

Yuui shook her head sadly as she released him and backed away.

_Would it have made a difference…if he had spoken that night? Yes, yes it would have. But who's to blame for this? Everyone will suffer for it in their turn. I hate to think what he will do when I tell him what's happened to Fai._

"You're both fools," she said with a bitter laugh. "My brother loves you, Kurogane-kun."

Kurogane's breath caught in his throat and a flash of warmth snapped through his body when he heard Yuui's words.

"What did you say?" he whispered.

"Fai _loves_ you, Kurogane-kun. _He loves you!_ He wants to be with you so badly, but you broke his heart that night. He thinks you're in love with someone else. Do you have any idea how much it _pains_ him to see you when he believes he can never tell you how much he loves you? You consign him to Hell every time you look into his eyes and say nothing!"

"Why…didn't…he say anything?" Kurogane finally managed to get out. His throat was clenched so tightly it threatened to choke him.

"The same reason you never did. He was afraid you would say no…that you did not feel as he did. He doesn't think he's worthy of your love. He was afraid of destroying your friendship."

"Then…why are you telling me this now?" he asked, a small, dazed smile beginning to appear on his face.

"It wasn't my heart to lay bare, now was it? That…or it could be I just don't think you're good enough for my brother. However, he only wants you."

Kurogane felt light-headed, almost sick with joy. Fai loved him? Fai loved him! _Fai loved him!_ It was almost too good to be true. But…could he live without hearing those words from Fai himself? He should go to Celes…as soon as possible…today! Nothing would stop him this time! Not fear, not duty, not his mother, not Kyle, not some princess he'd never even met! He would take him in his arms, kiss his lips, and tell him just how much he loved him.

However, at the very height of his euphoria, Kurogane remembered something odd.

"Yuui…why did you come here? Isn't it dangerous?"

The blonde hung her head. Every line and bend of her body radiated despair. Dread began to fill the pit of his stomach.

"Yuui? What's happened? Is Fai all right? He's not hurt, is he?" he asked, a slight tremor entering into his voice.

"Kurogane-kun…last night…Fai was raped."

Kurogane's happiness died in an instant. He glanced toward Tomoyo and Souma for confirmation. Both nodded their heads sadly. Soel and Larg had tears in their eyes. His breath stilled…his heart felt like it would shatter at any moment…rage and guilt boiled, intertwined, within his chest. A single, overwhelming cry streamed through his mind.

_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_

Almost faster than the eye could track, the incensed prince had the forest girl by the shoulders.

"Where is he?" he demanded, his eyes alight with demonic fire.

"What?"

"Nii-sama, stop it!" Tomoyo tried to intervene.

"Let her go!" Souma also tried, but Kurogane was deaf to all but Yuui.

"SHOW ME THE BASTARD WHO DID THIS! I'LL TEAR HIS _HEAD_ OFF! I'LL BREAK EVERY BONE IN HIS BODY!" he screamed, leaping to his feet and dragging Yuui with him.

"Stop, Kurogane-kun! _Stop!_ " Yuui shouted, desperately trying to be heard. "It won't help him if you go off and get yourself killed! He _needs_ you now!"

At the mention of Fai, Kurogane finally managed to reign in his temper. He released Yuui and backed away from her, taking several slow, deep breaths.

"Who did this?" he asked calmly. "Who hurt Fai?"

"It was Seishiro," Yuui whispered, her throat tightening as she spoke.

_Oh, God! That's what he was talking about!_

The next thing Kurogane knew, he was lying on the floor with Yuui leaning over him.

"What…just happened?" he mumbled.

"You just…collapsed," Yuui explained as she checked his pulse and temperature. "It was only a moment. We thought you'd tripped or something, but…I think you fainted, Kurogane-kun."

_Fainted? Fainted! Fucking fainted! What the_ _**fuck** _ _kind of ninja faints? You call yourself a prince? Where's your pride?_

_You_ _**have** _ _no pride! You have no honor! You're the one who let Fai get hurt like that! If you had only_ _**listened** _ _to Seishiro's warning, none of this would have happened! But no! You were_ _**scared** _ _!_

_And now he's…he's…That dream! It…it must have been…what really happened. All that blood…it was spilled because of you! You should have known! You should have been there for him! You should have protected him! You_ _**let** _ _him get hurt! It's **your** fault! All your fault!  
_

"It's my fault," he said aloud as he sat up.

"What are you talking about? Of _course_ it's not your fault! You didn't know! You _couldn't_ have!" Yuui insisted vehemently, helping Tomoyo steady him.

"It _is_ my fault! He gave me a chance to tell Fai I love him. He said…that if I didn't, I would _lose_ him…forever. If I'd said something that night…that son of a bitch never would have touched him!"

"Strictly speaking, he didn't."

"What do you mean?"

"It was a mind rape. He never actually laid hands on him. He came to him in a dream. But he still woke up bloody, scarred, and covered in _his_ seed. I was able to heal his physical wounds…but the scars on his heart won't be so easy to heal. That memory lives in him as if it actually happened."

"It _did_ happen," Kurogane muttered angrily. _It happened because of_ _ **me**_ _!_

Yuui's shoulders slumped as she gazed up at Kurogane again. Could Kurogane really help Fai? Could she really take the prince to him, wracked with guilt as he was? Would it only make the two of them feel worse? Was their love strong enough?

"Tell me how you love him, Kurogane-kun," she finally whispered. "Tell me what you feel when you look into my brother's eyes."

Kurogane sighed, glancing away from her as he thought about it. He had been asked to do this once before…by Fai himself. The poetry he'd spouted in his dream deserted him in this moment, but the words he chose were just as heartfelt. They sprang from a place just as deep within him.

"When he cries…I want to change the world so it doesn't hurt him anymore. And when I look into his eyes I feel…I feel like I'm the only person in his world, and he's the only person in mine. He makes me feel…wanted…like I'm really worth something. He makes me feel like I'm somebody special…that maybe I'm someone really worth loving. He…he makes me happy." The prince felt a great weight ease from his chest as the confession poured out of him. It was like those exact words had been bottled up inside of him for eons and by finally saying them out loud, he had set himself free.

Yuui felt a few tears fall from her eyes as she listened to Kurogane's description of his love for her twin. They would be the truest of lovers. Made for each other…if they were not doomed for it first.

"You might still be able to save his life."

"What are you talking about?" Kurogane asked, instantly going cold again.

"I connected with him when I healed his injuries. I saw what happened. Seishiro told Fai…that he wasn't wanted…that we would all turn from him when we learned he'd been raped."

"That's not true!" Tomoyo cried out.

"And he believed him?" Souma whispered, horrified.

"After _that_ nightmare, I'm betting Fai would have believed anything Seishiro told him. That mind rape was very thorough," Yuui said with a shudder of disgust. "He told him…that next time he went to sleep, he would take him away…for good."

"No!" Kurogane seethed. _He_ _ **can't**_ _take him away from me! I won't let him!_

"If Seishiro succeeds…if he takes him…Fai will die by his hand. I saw the truth in his eyes. He will spend what life he has left as that monster's pet. He will die defiled and alone. He will die… _weeping_."

_No!_ _**God** _ _, no!_

"He means to do it, Kurogane-kun. He thinks he has nothing left. Seishiro made him believe he's dirty…that the only reason he exists is to be a _sex toy_ for anyone who'll have him…to be used and cast aside! He feels like he betrayed you. He doesn't want to _live_ anymore! He's going to let Seishiro bear him away to the Dark Court and have his way with him until he's _dead_! He means to fade away into the darkness!" Yuui cried, notes of hysteria entering her voice as the words spilled out of her.

"What can I do?" Kurogane asked, his voice an equal mixture of anger and despair. Normally such a surrender would have disgusted him, but really, what other choice did Fai have? Seishiro had defeated and defiled him utterly…and he thought that Kurogane didn't care. More than anything else, that realization hurt him. If he could not save him…if he lost him now…

…he would die.

"You can go to him. You can tell him how much you love him…how much you want him in your life. You can tell him how much you _need_ him. You can pull him back from the grave!"

"I'll do it," he said, climbing resolutely to his feet. _I can't lose him. I_ _ **can't**_ _!_

"Hooray!" Larg cheered with relief, leaping from Souma's arms and into Kurogane's.

"Prince Kurogane is a hero!" Soel shouted, following its twin's example. For once, the ninja did not bat them away. Already, he was physically and emotionally exhausted. He could hardly begin to imagine how Fai was feeling.

"Yuui?" he asked sharply as Tomoyo helped her stand. "You said you…saw his memories?"

"Yes," she replied, not liking where this was going.

"Is there any way you could…show them to me? I need to know what I'm dealing with."

A pained look crossed Yuui's face as she took the prince's hands in hers. "You must promise me something first."

"What?"

"Promise me you'll stay by Fai's side, no matter what happens. Promise me you will love and honor him forever…that you will never desert him. Promise to protect him."

"I swear it," he said without hesitation. "On my life, I swear it."

Yuui sighed, gripping his hands even tighter. "All right. I'll show you. But you're not going to like it."


	12. Someone to Sing to

"Why are we here?" Fai asked his sister in a calm, dead voice. He had awoken from his enchanted sleep late in the afternoon. Watanuki had tried to get him to eat, but he wouldn't. He just sat in Doumeki's bed, unmoving, staring at nothing with eyes as empty as a night without stars. He was a grave looking to be filled with the peace of death.

As the shadows lengthened, Yuui had told Doumeki she was going to take Fai to a place where he could be healed. Though her meaning was clear to him, he'd also expressed his doubts. Could the fickle love of a teenage boy, prince or no, oath or no oath, really be counted upon to make Fai want to live again? Whether or not it could, it was the only course left to them. Watanuki and Himawari had protested removing Fai from their sight, but Doumeki had convinced them to stand down. There were, he'd argued, some things that the bond between Fai and Yuui could accomplish that their magic could not. Soel and Larg would accompany them, as always, and only Yuui would be allowed to carry a bow. Doumeki had even opened the door to let the two sets of siblings out into the gathering shadows.

"Take him," he'd said, stoic as ever, his concern for Fai visible only in his amber eyes. "All our prayers go with you."

Yuui had led her brother through the forest by the hand. He would not move otherwise. The four had followed the Yume River a ways, to the point where Yuui knew Faerie Falls would be visible over the next rise. That was when Fai had stopped, gripping her hand with white knuckles and refusing to go a step further.

"We're here to make you better, Fai," she answered. The place where it had all gone wrong…here would it have to be made right again.

Fai released his twin's hand and went to sit on a fallen log beside the rushing river. The roar of the falls could be heard in the distance. When Yuui turned to face him, he slowly turned his face up to look her in the eyes.

"Do you know what would make me better, Yuui?" he asked, his voice so full of despair it made her want to stop her own ears. "If you would take one of those arrows from your quiver, fit it to your bow, and shoot it straight through my heart. _That_ would heal me."

"Stop it! Just stop it, Fai! I can't bear to hear you talk like this. Don't you care about me at all?" she asked, kneeling in front of him.

"Do _you_ care about _me_ , Yuui?" he whispered, the utter despair making twin black pools out of his beautiful blue eyes. "I can't _do_ this. Not anymore. It's better he's going to take me away."

"Don't say that! _Please_ don't say that!" she begged, laying her head in his lap and wrapping her arms around his waist. He started to run comforting fingers through her long hair.

"It's better this way. I think…if I were ever to see Kurogane again, I wouldn't be able to hold back. I'd tell him how much I love him…and that would kill me. He would see how ugly I am. I couldn't stand seeing that look in his eyes. It's better I'm going now…like this. Yuui, will you hold me…when I go to sleep…when it ends? I don't wanna be alone."

"NO!" she shouted, looking up at him with eyes shining with tears she refused to shed. "I'm not going to do that because it's not going to end! You're not going to die! Everything's going to be okay now! I promise you!"

"No, Yuui. I _am_ going to die. I _want_ to. If I'm going to be a faerie prince's concubine, I suppose I'll draw breath for many long years, but I'll be dead _inside_. That's what matters. After today, I won't have to feel anything ever again."

Yuui could tell he wanted to be happy about this, but she could still see his heart breaking in the way the tears gathered at the corners of his eyes.

_I won't have to feel this pain anymore…but I won't be able…to love him anymore, either. I won't be able to love anything anymore…not anymore! It all ends tonight._

"Do you know…what my fondest wish was?" he whispered. "That our places could have been exchanged. That I could have been born a girl. I could have been with Kurogane then. But…even if I _were_ a girl…it still wouldn't matter because he's truly in love with someone else," he said, his voice breaking. "Still, it would be nice to tell him how I feel. Maybe then…I'd feel better about things."

With that, the flood he'd been holding back since waking began to trickle down his face and hopeless, strangled sobs issued from his mouth. The Mokona could only watch with sad eyes, clutching each other's stubby paws.

"Oh, Fai!" Yuui cried out, enfolding her suffering twin in a tight hug. Fai buried his face in her shoulder and cried without reserve, clinging to her as if she were the last thing in the world. Yuui just held him, gently rubbing his back as he cried. "It's going to be all right, Otouto. I promise you. You won't ever have to cry again."

_It's going to be the happiest day of your life. I know it! If only Kurogane-kun would show up…_

As if her thoughts had summoned them, Kurogane, Souma, and Tomoyo came walking toward them, leading Suwa and Kendappa. Fai did not look up until he heard Suwa whinnying. When he saw Kurogane standing there, framed by the waning light of the setting sun, staring at him, he panicked. He tried to struggle away, but Yuui held him firmly in place. He couldn't stop the tears and he could no longer summon up the energy to smile his carefree smile for his love. When Yuui finally got him to sit still, she moved away and Kurogane took her place, standing over Fai's trembling form.

"Why?" the distraught teenager sobbed, unable to bring himself to look Kurogane in the eyes. "Why d-did you have t-to come here… _now?_ "

"I came because I don't want you to disappear," he responded gently.

"B-but…I thought you n-never wanted to s-see me again."

In that moment, Kurogane did something that shocked everyone. He got down on his knees in front of Fai and, just as Yuui had done before, laid his head in his lap and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"I'm sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

"I d-don't…understand," Fai sniffled.

"I'm so sorry I didn't protect you. Yuui told me what happened. I should have been there for you when you needed me."

"You shouldn't have come!" Fai shouted as he roughly shoved the other boy away from him. "You'll h-hate me now."

Instead of making him angry, as such a gesture normally would have, Kurogane was the very picture of patience and understanding as he knelt before Fai once more. He could see how fragile he was right now. Fai needed him to be gentle. "Why would I hate you? Haven't I told you I don't?"

"That was b-before! I've been d-defiled! I'm n-not clean anymore!"

"Fai, you have to believe me," Kurogane said softly as he pulled his love into a gentle hug. "It wasn't your fault. It was mine."

"How c-can it be your f-fault?" Fai sobbed, his treacherous hands clinging to Kurogane rather than shoving him back again as they should have done. "H-he d-did it to m-me because I'm…f-filthy! B-because I'm w-weak and easy!"

"No. It wasn't anything like that," Kurogane whispered, holding Fai tightly against his chest. "He chose you because of _me_. He warned me that if I didn't hold onto you, I would lose you forever. I was too scared the first time…and now he's trying to take you away from me!"

"W-why?" Fai sniffled as he finally gathered the strength of will to extricate himself from Kurogane's embrace. He stood and moved away from Kurogane, toward the riverbank. "Why w-would _you_ want t-to hold onto m-me?"

Kurogane went to stand before Fai. The blond's eyes were too full of tears to notice just how badly the prince was shaking. He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to hear Kurogane's mumbling.

_I can feel them…the words. They're just going to come pouring out of me any moment now and shame me…just like my seed did when Seishiro made it spill out of me. Nothing that comes out of me is any good. I'll say it. I'll tell him I love him…and he'll turn from me in disgust…and I'll die…on the spot where he broke my heart for the last time._

"Fai…I-I…just wanted…to tell…say you…something…I…you…I l-…I lo-…"

Sweet Goddess, it was happening again! The words…just wouldn't come. Why did they _always_ get stuck in his throat? Why was it so hard? All he had to do was say…

"I…I lo-"

_**Enough!** _

Kurogane might have actually gotten the words out that last time…were it not for the arrow that came flying out of the trees to strike Fai right in the heart at that moment. There was no pain on his face…just a small look of surprise and a tiny yelp as he fell into the river. Kurogane was diving in after him almost before he realized what had happened. He knew only that Fai had disappeared.

"KUROGANE! FAI!" He could hear the screams of the others as he swam, but they did not register in his mind. All of his being was focused on saving the life discarded so carelessly beneath the raging rapids.

"FAI!" he screamed as the current carried him to the unmoving blond. At the sound of his voice, the head of blond hair moved just a little. The next moment, his hand was closing around his slender wrist and pulling him close to hold him firmly against his chest as he tried to swim for shore. But now that he was working against it, the Yume's current was much too strong. It wouldn't be fought. The falls were only minutes away. They would both be tossed over the edge and dashed to pieces on the unfeeling rocks hundreds of feet below. It was now or never!

As they were swept closer and closer to their doom, Kurogane turned to the shivering blond in his arms, happy to see he was conscious. He _had_ to hear this.

"FAI!" He had to shout to be heard over the roaring water. "I LOVE YOU!"

Fai's eyes widened in shock. Had he heard that right? Kurogane…loved him? He could no longer distinguish between the river water and the tears on his face. It was all right if he died. He wanted to. But he couldn't let Kurogane die because of him.

 _Please! Don't let him die!_ he begged, uncertain whom he was screaming to. It was this wish that caused the moon pendant resting on his chest to react with his heart and the water around him. The water around the two became still as ice within moments. The Yume River continued to thunder past them on its way over Faerie Falls, but the two of them were suspended in a patch of calm water on the very edge of oblivion.

They could hear the cheers of their friends from the shore, but they were blind and deaf to all but each other. Fai breathed a sigh of relief…and allowed their life raft to carry them over the edge of the falls. Kurogane was about to shout when he found himself sitting on the dry floor of a cave. It…it was the same cave where…oh, God!

"Are you all right?" he asked worriedly as he crawled over to Fai, who was leaning against the cave wall.

"Fine," Fai muttered dejectedly. Kurogane glanced to his chest, amazed to find no injury there.

_It must have been a blunted arrow. It hit him dead on. But who could have fired it? Yuui was right there with us._

"Did…did you hear me…before?" he asked, suddenly getting nervous again.

"I heard you," Fai said bitterly. "Why would you say something like that?"

"What are you talking about? I said it because it's the truth! I _do_ love you!"

Fai glanced up at him…and promptly slapped him hard across the face. Kurogane fell backward, landing unceremoniously on his back.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" the boy screamed desperately as more tears flowed down his wet face. " _Yuui knows how much I love you! She must have **told** you to say it! __'Tell him_ _whatever he needs to hear_   _to keep him alive!'_ _Is that it?_ "

"CALM DOWN, YOU MORON!" Kurogane shouted just as loudly, seizing Fai's shoulders and pinning him to the wall. But then it registered in his mind what Fai had _actually_ said. "Wait. Did you just say…that you love me?"

Fai's eyes widened in horror when he realized that, indeed, that was exactly what he'd just confessed.

_Dear Consort, it's over! It's all over! I…I can't take it back now! I'm not…ready! I don't want it to be over yet!_

He nodded his head, the tears streaming ever faster down his face. "I…I do. Can you… _ever_ f-forgive me? I know…you could n-never love someone as…as _filthy_ as m-me!" he wailed.

"Fai, please listen. It's not like that. I said it because I _meant_ it. I've wanted to say it for years. I love you! I love you, Fai of Celes Forest. I love you so much."

"Liar," Fai breathed. "D-don't lie to me. Don't b-break my heart again…on the exact same s-spot you broke it the f-first time."

"What are you talking about?" Kurogane asked, desperately trying to wipe the tears from Fai's face.

"You t-told me… _that you l-loved s-someone else!_ " he howled in anguish. "What h-happened to your t-true love?"

Kurogane half-laughed in relief as he pulled Fai into another hug. "Damn it, Fai! I never said it was another _girl_ I was in love with. It was _you!_ "

Fai felt his heart stop. "R-really?"

"Who else could I love? It was you then. It's you now, and it will always be you."

Fai didn't know what to say, but he needn't have worried. What Kurogane did next was action enough for both of them. He took Fai's face in his hands and kissed him. For a moment, he remained slack in the ruby-eyed boy's embrace, feeling the utter shock, the relief, the uncertainty, the fierce love, the tender passion and burning desire, the moist feeling of Kurogane's lips against his…just feeling. But then, his body suddenly seemed to kick in and he was returning the kiss eagerly…hungrily. He wrapped his arms tightly around the prince's neck, pulling the two of them even deeper into the kiss. He felt his skin prickling as Kurogane tightened his hold on his back, pulling him even closer. Fai eagerly opened his mouth under Kurogane's when he felt the ninja's tongue lapping at his lips, asking for entrance. Kurogane plunged into the warm, moist cavern, greedily exploring every inch of the virgin territory. Fai moaned passionately against him, licking and dancing about his tongue with his own. He never wanted this to end.

"I love you," the older boy moaned into his mouth.

"Really?" Fai whispered back as they finally separated for air. Tears were still streaming down his face.

"Duh," Kurogane returned gruffly, still holding the blond close. "Can you think of _another_ reason why I'd kiss you like that?"

"Why are you only t-telling me this n-now?" he asked, his grip on the taller boy weakening just slightly.

"Because I thought we were gonna die!" Kurogane said fiercely, hugging Fai even tighter. "I wanted to tell you that night four months ago. I was trying to tell you before! I just…I didn't want Seishiro to hurt you anymore."

Fai shuddered at the mention of the name. "Why d-didn't you _tell_ m-me?" he cried, resting his forehead against Kurogane's. The prince reached a hand up to run his fingers through Fai's wet hair. Goddess, how many nights had he dreamed of doing it?

"You could have told _me_ ," he reprimanded, gently rubbing Fai's back. "I was just as scared as you were. But I…I didn't know…that my cowardice would have such consequences. Can you ever forgive me?"

"I n-never _blamed_ you, K-Kuro-min…not once. You c-couldn't have known…he was g-going to…going to…do... _that_...to me," he said, enjoying the feeling of finally being held by Kurogane, even though fresh tears were forcing their way out of his eyes as he remembered the events of last night.

_Was it really only last night? It feels like…I've been dirty for so long._

"B-but I…we h-haven't even been _us_ for f-five minutes yet…and I've already _betrayed_ you. I…I let him come _inside_ me!" he sobbed, clinging desperately to the dark-haired ninja. "I l-let him…take _everything!_ I'm a d-disgusting _slut_ , Kuro-p-pon! How c-could you l-love someone as _ugly_ as I am?"

"You're _not_ ugly, Fai. You're beautiful. You're the most beautiful person in the world. You didn't do anything wrong," Kurogane soothed, cradling the distraught boy against his chest and rocking him. "You didn't let that sick bastard do anything. He _forced_ his way inside you. _He_ raped _you_. He's the Dark Prince. You _couldn't_ have fought him. He's been alive for thousands of years, and you're still…so young. You _didn't_ betray me. If anything, _I_ betrayed _you_. I broke my promises to you. I promised I'd always protect you; that I'd never make you cry…that I'd never let him touch you. I broke them all. You've been hurt…so much, by him…and you're crying."

"It's n-not your…fault! Nngh…G-goddess, I l-love you!" Fai sobbed into his shoulder. "I love you…so m-much! I d-don't deserve you!"

"Don't talk like that," Kurogane hissed, briefly tightening his grip on his love. "I don't want to hear those words from your mouth ever again. I don't deserve you either. You're _miles_ above what I'll ever be. Even if we _could_ measure this in worth, even if you _weren't_ worthy, or some shit like that, I don't _want_ anyone else."

"But…I can n-never…be w-what you n-need. I c-can't… _ever_ …give you…children."

"I don't _need_ anything but you, Fai. You _are_ what I need. I don't _care_ about children. All I want is your love," he insisted, holding him at arm's length and staring directly into his shining blue eyes. "Why is that so hard for you to grasp?"

"You r-really l-love me…that much?"

Kurogane leaned forward and pressed a tender kiss to his lips. It wasn't a fit of passion like their first. This one was gentle, loving.

"More," he whispered, taking Fai's face in his hands again and pressing his forehead to his. They both closed their eyes, savoring the feeling of skin against skin. "I'd like to prove it to you someday…when you feel ready."

"I…I don't know if I c-can," he whimpered, moving his hands to grasp Kurogane's arms.

"Don't be afraid," Kurogane whispered against his lips. "I'll never make you do _anything_ you don't want to. It doesn't have to be painful. I want to show you what it can really be like. I want to be that close to you…but only if you're really ready. I want to be your first…your _real_ first. I'd never hurt you."

"I-it's not…that, Kuro-shita. I'd s-sleep with you right n-now. I'd… _love_ …to m-make love with you," he cried, placing a hesitant hand on Kurogane's inner thigh. Kurogane placed his own hand over Fai's, continuing to stroke his cheek with the other one. As he continued to give Fai the contact he needed, he gave the blond a confused look.

"Then…what's wrong? If you want to…why can't we?"

"Because…" he started to whimper as he glanced down at their intertwined hands. "I'm…dirty now. You…you'll think I'm gross. You won't want me…now that I'm…soiled."

Kurogane grinned with relief. If that was all, then…

"That's just stupid."

"It's _not stupid!_ " Fai cried, trying to pull his hand away from Kurogane's. "You won't! I _know_ you won't!"

Kurogane seized Fai's hand in his and used his other hand to grab his free hand. Slowly, he brought Fai's second hand up to his face and placed it against his cheek. Then he brought the first hand to his lips and gently kissed the palm. As he gloried in the look of wonder on Fai's face at the new sensations, he reached a hand forward and used his thumb to wipe away the last of Fai's tears.

"I could never turn from you. No matter how ugly or how beautiful you are…and you're beauty itself to me. I'll never be able to see this hideousness you see in yourself. If you'll let me…I want to make you feel beautiful again. I'll show you what _I_ see when I look at you. I'll make you forget all about him. So, please…don't cry anymore."

"Oh, Kuro-sama!" Fai cried out, half in joy, as he flung his arms around Kurogane and covered his face with kisses. "Yes. _Yes!_ I want this. I want _you!_ I want _us!_ I'll be happy if I can know you…just this once…Let me have this one night."

Kurogane cradled Fai's head against his chest. Why wouldn't he believe that he was stuck with him? Well…he would just have to _prove_ his devotion.

"I'm here…and I'm never going to run away."

Fai nodded…and instantly crouched down in front of him, nuzzling his groin with his head and fiddling with his belt.

"What are you doing?" Kurogane demanded, grabbing Fai's shoulders and pulling him back up. It felt good, but…he could tell something was wrong with the _way_ he was doing it.

"I…I thought we were going to…" he trailed off, his face coloring with shame as he glanced away.

"We are. But I want to know what _that_ was about."

"I just…thought that the whore should start things off," Fai whispered. "Don't you _want_ me to please you?"

Kurogane sighed. Seishiro had him thoroughly brainwashed. "You _will_ please me…the moment you stop thinking like that. Please…don't call yourself a slut or a whore or anything like that ever again. I don't want you for sex, Fai. I want you because I love you…just the way you are."

"I…I love you, too…Kuro-tachi," he whispered back, hands and voice both trembling.

"Then trust me," the prince said, placing a chaste kiss on his lover's forehead. "I'm going to make you forget everything he did to you. I'll make you feel the best you've ever felt. We're going to have sex, and it's going to be wonderful because we _love_ each other. Let me make love to you. You don't have to do anything. Tonight is all about you."

Fai hesitantly nodded his agreement as Kurogane enfolded him in another tender embrace. The kisses did not stop this time. The prince trailed hot kisses down his neck as he slowly lowered him to sit against the cave wall once again. He drew a tremulous breath as his lover slowly slid his hands under his wet tunic, running gentle fingers up and down his stomach. He pressed a tender kiss to his lips before lifting the tunic up and over Fai's head.

"Relax," he whispered in his ear, before placing another kiss on the point where his neck met his jaw. Fai stiffened briefly at the word, but he was able to convince himself to do just that as Kurogane trailed moist kisses all over his neck and face.

_It's all right. You're okay. He's not_ _**him** _ _. He's not going to hurt you. He loves you._

Fai loosely draped his arms around Kurogane's back as the warrior slowly kissed a trail down his chest, taking one pert nipple in his mouth as he moved. Fai gasped and started to pant heavily as he swirled his tongue around the sensitive nub. Already he was swimming in a sea of wonderful new sensations, all centered on what Kurogane was doing to his body. As he moved to lavish attention on the other nipple, Fai's fingers involuntarily started to dig into his back. As the warm, wet trail continued down his stomach, his legs curled up and he spread them to make room for Kurogane. When the prince finally reached the waistline of his pants, he stopped. He nuzzled his face against Fai's clothed manhood, rubbing back and forth, up and down, slowly starting to excite it, reveling in the moans he was able to draw from Fai's mouth with his movements. As he listened to the pants getting sharper, the moans getting louder, Kurogane began to feel himself growing hard. A small smirk played at the corners of his mouth as he slowly, gently laid Fai bare. He had to fight to control his blush as he tossed Fai's pants aside. The blond was just as big as, if not bigger, than he was. He almost felt…inadequate. But that thought was soon shunted aside by Fai's breathy moans of, "Please…keep going, Kuro-shita. I'm fine."

Kurogane first removed his shirt, then undid his belt, but left his pants on. Then he returned his heated attention to Fai's growing erection. He used one hand to rub up and down the hardening length of him while using the other to gently tease his balls, just as he had seen Ruby do. As his hands worked at that, his mouth returned to kissing Fai's chest. He loved the mewling sound his sweet lover made whenever he licked his nipples.

Fai leaned his head back against the cave wall. His blue eyes were rolled almost completely back into his head as he drowned in the myriad of _feelings_ …both emotional and physical. He had never felt anything like it. Touching _himself_ did not even compare. He began to notice a persistent warmth growing in his belly as Kurogane's mouth moved down once again. The same warmth was flowing, building between his legs.

"Oh! Mm! Nngh! K-Kuro-chuu!" he moaned desperately, trying very hard not to dig his fingernails into the prince's tanned flesh. It felt _so good_ when he touched him like this. Just when he thought he could endure no more of this blissful agony, when he thought it couldn't possibly feel any better, he felt something hot and moist slide over his straining member and a thousand new sensations coursed through his body, starting at Kurogane's mouth and spreading outward.

"Ha-oh…Nngh! Ah! Ah! Kuro…tachi…feels…so… _good_!" he panted, a loud moan escaping his lips when he felt the leaking head of his manhood hit the back of Kurogane's throat. By the Goddess, he was good at this!

More… _more…_ _ **MORE!**_

Kurogane roughly grabbed his hips as he sucked him, preventing him from involuntarily thrusting up into him. He _loved_ the feeling of Fai's hot, tense flesh in his mouth, but deep throating was hard enough for a first timer like him. He used his teeth sparingly, pricking him only occasionally to intensify the feeling. The feeling of Fai's fingers tangling in his hair, unwittingly holding his head in place, just turned him on even more.

"O-oh! God…Mm! Yes! Kuro…shita! I…ah… _I'm coming!_ " he shouted as his body curled in on itself. The heavy, warm pleasure that had been building between his legs burst outward like a blazing star, washing over him in waves. Fai screamed in ecstasy and Kurogane moaned, gripping his lover's hips tighter as his salty, hot essence shot down his throat and into his stomach, boiling with his own arousal. At the moment of orgasm, the scent of wild roses filled the air, overpowering the scent of sweat and seed. It was that same divine scent that always seemed to accompany Fai wherever he went.

Kurogane continued to suck him off long after the flow of seed had stopped and the hot, hard shaft had grown tender and soft in his mouth. Now that there was little danger of him choking, he allowed Fai to buck all he wanted as the last waves of the orgasm had their nasty way with him. When he finally let go of the velvety length of flesh he made sure to lap up all of the sticky, pearly white cum that had managed to escape his mouth, leaving Fai just as clean as before. Then he moved back up to his lover's face and kissed him deeply…passionately, leaving a trace of salt on his lips when they separated. Fai wrapped his arms around Kurogane's neck and buried his face in his warm, muscled chest.

"Sweet Goddess, Kuro-rin! That was wonderful. I've never…felt so good…in my entire life."

Kurogane gave him something between a smile and a smirk as he kissed his eyes. "That's only the beginning, koibito," he whispered teasingly in his ear.

"The beginning?" Fai asked, his eyes wide with wonder. "It can…feel even _better_?"

The ninja nodded as he reached to remove his own soaking wet pants, ready to show Fai what he could do. But Fai's hand on his own stopped him. He glanced up, suddenly worried again.

"What is it? Are you all right?"

"Yes, Kuro-rinta. It's just…there's something I want you to see." Having said so, Fai stood up, weaving just a little. As Kurogane helped steady him, Fai conjured streams of dim light in his hands and sent them to illuminate the ceiling. The sun was almost gone outside.

"Follow me," he said, beginning to walk away down the long corridor when he suddenly felt arms around his waist. The next thing he knew, he was being cradled against Kurogane's broad chest like a blushing bride and his lover was carrying him further into the cave.

"Just point the way."

Kurogane had swept him off his feet in more ways than one.

XxX

"I don't think they're going to be coming out anytime soon," Yuui said smugly, grinning from ear to ear. She was very attuned to what her twin was feeling and right now…he was enjoying himself _immensely_. Tomoyo's grin was identical to hers.

"You mean…it really worked? They're finally…together?"

Yuui nodded, her smile bordering on lascivious. Their years of hard work had finally paid off. Kurogane and Fai were where they belonged now.

"It's so wonderful," Souma said with a languid smile as she cuddled with the Mokona twins. The three girls, the Mokona, and the horses were lounging on the lip of the waterfall, gazing up at the stars. Unfortunately, the cave was too far down the cliff face for them to get a good look inside, but they could still catch glimpses of the flickering light within, dancing on the swiftly moving surface of the water.

The look in Tomoyo's eyes could only be described as 'enchanted'. "Ah. Is there any more romantic place to confess your undying devotion to your one true love? Surely the prince and his sweet koibito will live happily ever after."

"Soel bets that Fai and Kurogane are… _making sweet lo-ove_!" Soel sang.

"Making sweet love beneath the full moon's glow," Larg continued. "Making sweet love like there's no tomorrow!"

"Making sweet love down there on the soft, green grass! Kuro-prince is making love to Fai's sweet a-"

"And that's enough of that!" Souma hastily interrupted, placing a hand over Soel's mouth to prevent the last word from escaping.

"Why is it enough, Souma-chan? It's very true," Yuui teased as Souma's blush deepened. "Excellent rhyme, my Mokona brethren. Points for creativity."

"Soel and Larg are the best bards the world has ever seen," Larg stated proudly. "They will write ballads commemorating Fai and Kurogane's burning passion and tender romance for years to come. They will sing of how the evil faerie prince tried to steal the innocent Fai away and how Kuro-prince the mighty ninja was sooo brave and saved the life of his beloved, then made tender, burning looove to him, claiming his pure heart forever! Together, the ninja prince and his mystic fey lover will triumph over all evil!"

"Oh, what a beautiful story!" Tomoyo sighed dreamily. "And to think, we're _living_ it right now. It will be the most beautiful ballad ever composed. I look forward to the day when the court musicians will sing of the eternal love of Prince Kurogane Youou of Nihon and Fai Half-Fey of Celes Forest. It will be the greatest story ever told!"

"Our Tomoyo certainly has big plans," Yuui said. It seemed that nothing could wipe the smile from her face.

"Of course. The story of our brothers is…is an epic romance in the making! The songs they sing about their wedding will be even more glorious. It will be a magnificent affair with guests from all the lands…a lavish monument to their love and how they overcame every obstacle thrown at them in order to be together. Oh, and the wedding _night_ …"

"On the night of their wedding, Fai and Kurogane," Larg immediately started up. "Will consummate their love, though diff'rent as night and day."

"They'll gaze into each other's eyes, and _know_ they can only go forward," Soel smirked. "And Fai, lovely Fai, will submit himself to Kuro-rin's huge _sword!_ "

Everyone except Souma burst into raucous laughter at that. She blushed furiously and hid her face in her hands. "Tomoyo-chan, it's dark," she mumbled. "Maybe we should be heading back."

"Mm, I suppose you're right. We shouldn't disturb them, though. They both need this. We can just leave Suwa here for Nii-sama."

"The empress will be angry."

"That's never stopped him before. Besides…I don't know if my mother's capable of getting angry anymore," Tomoyo said sadly. Yuui glanced over at her and took her hand reassuringly. Tomoyo had explained her fears about Kyle Rondart and her mother to her and after her experience with the slimy councilor this morning, she was starting to believe that he more than likely had some fey blood. Maybe…he was even a pureblood faerie?

"True," Souma said, her tone going just as serious as the others'. "But still…we should probably…leave them to it." Having finally admitted what her two friends were doing below, her blush had started to lighten by degrees.

"That's the spirit, Souma-chan!" Yuui cheered as she helped Tomoyo to her feet. Soel and Larg bounded over to her as Souma stood up. As the two climbed onto Kendappa, Yuui lit a ball of magic light in her hands. "This should last you until you reach the border of the forest. Have a good night."

"We will," Tomoyo said with a grin, glancing down at Soel. "If you make sure that our brothers do the same."

"Soel will do Soel's best to make sure that Kuro-puppy _fucks_ his Fai-kitty senseless," Soel said with a devious smile. Tomoyo, Yuui, and Larg all had a good laugh and Souma blushed again. As Souma and Tomoyo rode away, Yuui whispered to Suwa to wait for Kurogane before she and Larg started to make their way back to the cottage. Soel, on the other hand, hopped down the cliff face and into the cave, bounding excitedly down the ancient stone corridor.

XxX

"What is this place?" Kurogane asked as he carried Fai into the circular chamber.

"Watanuki told us these caves are sacred to the faeries. He said faerie nobles come here to perform fertility rites and…consummate marriages."

Kurogane glanced down at Fai at the mention of the word 'marriage'. Fai was staring down at his chest and his face was turning a bright shade of red.

"It's said that…unions consummated here will be fruitful and happy."

When Fai still wouldn't look at him, Kurogane leaned down and pressed his forehead against Fai's, forcing him to look up into his intense red eyes. Then he kissed him…long and gentle. When he finally released Fai's lips, he pressed several light kisses to the blond's forehead.

"As far as I'm concerned, _this_ is our wedding night," he whispered into Fai's ear, sending a shiver of delight down his spine. "I don't need anyone's permission but yours to marry you. If it's consummation you want…I'll give it to you," he hissed, sliding his tongue into Fai's ear and flicking the soft skin over and over again. Fai let out a delicious moan, melting against Kurogane as his warm tongue moved in circles in and over his ear.

"Do you want to marry me, Fai?" he asked teasingly, blowing against the now wet skin and driving his lover wild.

"Mm…yes! Yes…I do…want to marry y-you…Kuro-koi! I want…to be your bride! I want to spend…the rest of my life…with _you!_ Just you…and me…Nngh…please! _More_ …Kuro-shita!"

"All right then. I'll hold you to that," he said as he carried Fai across the threshold and into the magic circle. Kurogane only felt a slight pressure against his shoulders, but Fai could feel the tingling intensity of power as the young couple passed into the ancient circle. There was no going back now.

Kurogane gently laid Fai down within the confines of the circle. Fai was amazed at how soft the stone here seemed to be. For a long moment, Kurogane just stood over him, staring, enraptured, at the angel below him. Creamy white skin, deceptively lithe limbs, a pale, flat stomach and chest, pert little nipples, nimble hands and feet, huge manhood resting on a bed of curly blond pubic hair, amazing hips and strong, shapely thighs, a slender neck and smooth jaw line, dimpled cheeks and full, kissable lips, a cute little nose and those achingly beautiful sapphire eyes that gazed up at him with such adoration and trust, his semi-wet golden hair fanning out around his pretty face as he smiled that I'm-so-in-love-with-you-I-just-can't-hold-it-in smile: perfect, it was all perfect. This moment couldn't be more wonderful if it tried. Not to mention, _of course_ , the firm, tight ass that was waiting for him. Hey, he was a man like any other. He was far from perfect. His groin wanted this just as much as his heart did.

God, but he could stare at Fai forever and never want for anything more. He was so… _fucking_ …beautiful.

_And he's all mine._

When Kurogane could finally divert his attention enough to remove his own pants, he was instantly distracted again by Fai's gasp of shock.

"What's wrong?"

"M-my God, Kuro-anaru! You're…huge," he whispered nervously, placing a self-conscious hand over his own sex. "Are you sure it will fit? It won't get stuck?"

Kurogane raised an eyebrow at this new nickname. It wasn't inaccurate or anything; he was just kind of surprised to hear it from Fai's lips. "I don't see why you're being so self-conscious. I seriously think you might be bigger. And yes, I _know_ it will fit."

"How do you know?" Fai asked, glancing ashamedly away. "Maybe…I'm too small to handle you?"

"You're not," Kurogane replied reassuringly as he leaned over Fai and kissed him. "I _know_ you're not."

"How can you be so sure?" Fai queried, feeling tears boiling up again. He didn't want to spoil this perfect moment by being…inadequate.

"I'm sure because you and I were made to be together," he answered, slowly trailing his hands down Fai's stomach, then further…allowing one hand to play with his slowly hardening member and the other to reach back and gently fondle his rear. "I know that now. I was made to be inside you and you were made to be inside me. We were born to be one like this."

_We are two halves of the same soul. There is no way in_ _**Hell** _ _we won't just…blend together._

Fai smiled again, all signs of tears passing. "My, but you're poetic tonight, Kuro-bard."

"Not really. That's just…how it is," he said, gently massaging Fai's nipples and drawing several small mewls from him. "You might as well say that it's poetic to breathe."

"But…it _is_ ," Fai groaned, curling into his touch, placing his hands on Kurogane's to make him apply more pressure.

"If you say so," Kurogane responded, leaning down and kissing Fai's neck. Considering how rough Fai was making him be with his nipples, he was almost tempted to leave a few marks on his neck, but he knew that wouldn't be a good idea right now. He was fairly certain Fai needed more time. He wouldn't react well to being bitten. Fai was too lost in the new sensations to realize how fragile he still was. No matter how much his lover was urging him on, Kurogane knew he still had to be gentle. No love bites tonight.

What started at Fai's neck spread to the rest of his body. Kurogane slowly kissed every inch of him. His face and neck, chest and stomach, shoulders, arms, hands and fingers, sex and ass, back and scalp, legs, feet, and toes, every inch of skin from head to toe. He paid special attention to his hips, where he remembered seeing those hideous bruises that Seishiro had left. By the time he had finished, Fai was almost completely hard again. He himself was fully aroused. As he reached for the bottle of oil in his discarded pocket, he suddenly felt Fai's limber hands wrap around his erection. He hissed in pleasure as Fai started to pump him.

"Hey…Nngh! Wait…ah! Wait…a second," he panted, setting the bottle down and placing his own hands on Fai's to still his movements.

"But, Kuro-tachi…I want…to make you feel good…too," he protested.

"I told you," he half-moaned as he lifted Fai's hands away. "It's all about you tonight. We have plenty of time to make me feel good. Just relax."

Fai nodded, lying back again as Kurogane uncorked the small glass bottle. When the stylized rose stopper was removed, the scent of roses wafted from it, immediately calming both of them. Kurogane dipped two fingers into the bottle, then set it aside, reaching for Fai's entrance. But the moment his first finger invaded the virgin opening, a small hell broke loose for Fai.

When he felt the probing finger entering him, he instantly remembered the fiery pain of Seishiro's entrance…the feeling that his entire backside was being torn open…the relentless thrusting…the pain that just _would not stop_!

"AAGH! NOO!" he shrieked, shoving Kurogane off of him. " _Please! Dear God! Make it stop! STOP!_ **_STOP!_** "

Kurogane stared up at Fai from where he'd fallen, horrified at what he'd done. Fai was on his knees now, clutching his head in his hands, screaming to high heaven. Almost instantly, Kurogane was up again, seizing Fai and pulling him into a tight embrace. Fai tried to struggle away, he screamed, he beat his fists against Kurogane's chest…but Kurogane would not relinquish his hold.

"Fai! Fai, calm down! It's me! I'm not _him!_ I'm not going to hurt you, Fai! _I love you!_ "

When Kurogane's voice finally got through to him, Fai's movements ceased.

"K…Kurogane?" he whispered.

"It's me, Fai. I love you. I love you. I love you so much," he whispered soothingly in his ear. "I'd _never_ hurt you."

Fai rested his head against Kurogane's chest, clinging desperately to him, seeking comfort from the beating of his heart. Kurogane just whispered soothing endearments to him and rubbed his back as a few small sobs shook his body.

"I'm…so s-sorry…Kuro-r-rin," he cried weakly. "I'm so w-weak!"

"It's not your fault," Kurogane whispered back, pressing several kisses to the top of his head. "It can't be a good feeling…to be so scared…to be in so much pain…when you're at your most vulnerable like this. I understand. We don't have to do this now…if you're not ready…"

"No!" Fai protested, tightening his hold on Kurogane and gazing directly into his concerned ruby eyes. "I…I _am_ ready! I want to _be_ with you, Kuro-sama! I…I need you. I need this. I need _us!_ "

"I know you do. I need us, too. But I'm not going to walk away from you if you don't lie with me. It's okay if you're not ready. Just tell me. We don't have to do anything but sleep tonight if that's what you want. I'll hold you…and I'll keep your nightmares away while you sleep."

"No. It's all right. I _do_ want to have sex with you. I _know_ you won't hurt me. I love you, too. I love you. You can't know how long I've dreamed of this," he murmured.

"Oh, I think I've got an idea," Kurogane said, giving Fai a smile as he wiped the stray tears from his face. "I want to have sex with you, too, but it's not going to be worth a damn if you're not mentally ready to have sex yet. Especially so soon after…what he did to you. I won't force you. I won't blame you or turn away from you if you aren't ready. I'll wait for you as long as you need me to," he said, kissing his forehead.

"I don't need you to wait for me. I'm ready now. I'm ready to be yours. I…I think…I _need_ to do this now…or I'll never be able to do it. The fear will just keep growing…until there's nothing else. I…I want you to make love to me…tonight…now."

"Are you _sure?_ " Kurogane asked, staring directly into his eyes.

Fai nodded. "This is what I want. We just…we have to go slow…in case I freak out again. But you can't stop. I _need_ you to keep going."

"All right…if it's what you want. But I'll hold onto you this time. I won't let you go," he said softly, kissing Fai on the lips once more before reaching for the bottle and re-wetting his fingers with oil. They stayed on their knees this time. Fai kept his arms around Kurogane's neck and Kurogane had his left arm around his shoulders. The other hand, dripping with rose oil, reached for his opening once more. Fai managed to keep himself calm this time when the first finger entered him. As Kurogane slowly worked the digit in up to the knuckle, he tightened his grip on the taller boy's neck. Kurogane slowly allowed him to become used to the sensation, moving his finger around, gently exploring Fai's insides. This first foray did not reveal to him the location of that one perfect spot in his sweet koibito that would cause him to melt with pleasure…but he was hopeful.

"We're going for two now," he warned as he withdrew the first finger. Then he slowly started to work his first and second finger into the tight hole. Fai whimpered and clutched him tighter. "Are you all right?" he asked worriedly, only halfway in at that point. Fai nodded weakly as he laid his head down on Kurogane's shoulder.

"Keep going," he whimpered. Kurogane nodded, pressing several kisses to the side of his face before continuing to work his way into Fai. When he had his two fingers firmly inserted he slowly started to scissor them. A few new sounds escaped Fai, some of pleasure, some of pain.

"I'm going to _try_ three," he whispered as he withdrew yet again. "Let me know if it's too much."

Again, Fai just nodded, trying to keep his whimpering in check. Kurogane leaned down, capturing Fai's lips in a tender kiss as he moved in him once again. Fai gasped into his mouth as his fingers fought for every centimeter they gained, stretching him wider and wider. A tiny scream escaped him about halfway through.

"Fai!" Kurogane cried out worriedly.

"Keep…going!" he ordered, his fingernails digging into Kurogane's skin just a little. The prince stared at his trembling form for a moment before placing another kiss on his forehead and moving the rest of the way into his body. His fingers found his prostate this time. The pained cry on its way out of Fai's mouth turned into a cry of surprise halfway through. Kurogane grinned and pumped his fingers gently against the spot. Fai's body curled against his with every movement.

"Mm…Kuro-pan!" he started to moan as he moved himself against Kurogane's hand. "Oh! Ah! Ah! What…what is that…Kuro…anaru?"

"That?" he teased, pumping a bit harder. "That's the spot I'm going to make love to until we cover this cave in your seed…until I make you forget all about Seishiro…until I give you the greatest pleasure you've ever _known_."

"Nngh! It feels…so… _good!_ " he moaned, bucking against Kurogane's nimble fingers. He half collapsed against him as he pulled his fingers out of him. Then Kurogane kissed his lips as he laid him back down on the ground. As Fai lay there, panting for more, he grabbed the bottle and quickly coated his member with the sweet-smelling oil. Then he moved back over to Fai and started to lift his legs up. Through his haze of desire, he suddenly looked confused.

"Kuro-mii? Wouldn't it…be easier for me to-"

"No," Kurogane interrupted harshly. "I'm not going to make you use that position."

Fai sighed in relief as he allowed his legs to be folded up against his body. He shivered with elation when he felt Kurogane planting little kisses around his opening. But when he suddenly felt his warm, wet tongue dart into it, he couldn't help but throw his head back at the sensation.

"Ah! Nngh! Please… _now!_ " he moaned. Kurogane's face slowly came back into his line of sight as his hands slid down his inner thighs, coming up to hook his knees on his elbows. Fai trembled, half in anticipation and half in fear, when he felt Kurogane position the swollen, wet tip of his manhood against his fragile entrance.

"I love you, Fai. I love you more than anything," he whispered as he leaned down close to him and pressed one last, loving kiss to his lips. They lingered like that for a moment, each savoring the sweetness of the other's kiss.

"I love you, too, Kuro-chuu. I _trust_ you."

"Tell me if it hurts, and I'll stop. I'm not going to hurt you. I refuse to."

Then…he was sliding into him…penetrating him…slowly, inexorably. Small whimpers forced their way out of his mouth as the wet shaft moved into his lithe body. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.

"Are you okay?" the warrior asked, stopping when he was about three quarters of the way in. Fai just nodded, squeezing his eyes and mouth shut in pain. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth now, he would betray himself to Kurogane and the prince would stop. Kurogane could see that Fai wasn't being entirely honest with him, but he let it go. If Fai really couldn't take it, then he would tell him. When he was fully sheathed in the tight heat of Fai's body, all the way up to his balls, he leaned forward again and Fai rose up to meet him, their lips joining in a passionate kiss.

Kurogane rested against him for a moment, allowing him to get used to the feeling of _him_ buried deep inside his body. He turned his attention, instead, to Fai's neglected arousal, pumping it with a slow, deep rhythm. Fai's loud moans of pleasure reassured him. Fai thanked the heavens that Kurogane hadn't noticed the few tears that had managed to escape his eyes. What he was doing to him in the front felt wonderful, but what he was doing in back…not so much…nothing like what he'd done with his fingers…Maybe he really was just too small to satisfy Kurogane? This feeling reminded him too much…of Seishiro. That horrid feeling of being impaled on a molten iron brand…

"Ready?" Kurogane asked.

"Yes," Fai whimpered. It was going to hurt even more. He knew it was. But he couldn't bear to disappoint Kurogane after he had made him feel so wonderful already. He _had_ to return the favor…even at the expense of his own pain.

Fai had been wrong. Kurogane _had_ seen the pain on his face…and already felt guilty for it, because this felt so _good_ to him. The hot, tight embrace of Fai's body on his hard member… _Sweet Goddess_ …nothing, absolutely nothing, could compare. But…this divine pleasure wasn't worth a single tear from his lover's blue eyes. He had promised to make him feel beautiful…to feel _good_ again. This _had_ to be about _Fai's_ pleasure, not his. He _had_ to make him _feel_ this. Slowly, he drew himself out, until only the tip of him remained embedded in Fai.

"I love you, Fai," he declared before thrusting himself back into the opening, hard and without mercy, impaling Fai on his swollen manhood.

Fai could not stop the screams that came…but the shrieks of pain instantly morphed into cries of ultimate pleasure. Kurogane had struck Fai's prostate dead on with his first thrust.

"Kuro-Anaru!" he cried out as the waves of pleasure swept over his body, washing away all coherent thought. This first wave of ecstasy deadened any more pain that might have come as Kurogane continued to thrust into him, hard and fast, striking his prostate every time and causing even wilder waves of pleasure to build upon the first one until he was completely lost in the unbridled sensations of ultimate bliss. "Oh! Oh, Goddess! Fuck me, Kuro-seme! _Fuck me!_ " he cried in wanton rapture, thrusting his own body up against Kurogane's.

"Nngh! Ah! Fai! _Fai!_ " he screamed out with him. He could hear the slippery, fleshy sounds that their bodies made as Fai's hot, tight hole sucked on his rock-hard member with every thrust and it just pushed him closer and closer to that inevitable release. _So tight…so warm_ …he thought deliriously. He was beyond being capable of coherent speech anymore; just loud moans and ecstatic cries of pleasure as he listened to Fai scream his name. There was nothing in the world anymore except the heat, the tightness, the fast, intense rhythm between the two of them, the orgasm between his legs threatening to burst, and his name on Fai's lips. He never wanted it to stop. He wanted this perfect union to last forever!

_Don't stop…don't stop…just a little bit more…a little bit longer!_

"Ah! Fai… _God_ …so…tight…so… _good_!" he panted, barely able to get the words out through his loud moans. The look on Fai's face was pure heaven. Perhaps he had died and was now gazing on the face of paradise? That look and his enraptured cries drove him even closer to the edge. Fai was utterly addicting and he wanted to see more of that divine abandon on his face. Still supporting his ramming body with one hand, he used the other to assault Fai's throbbing manhood. Cries of delight echoed from Fai's soft lips as the bliss mounted to new heights. What neither of them seemed to notice in the throes of their passion for each other was that Fai's skin had started to glow.

Fai himself was half dead from euphoria. His secret longings, his wildest dreams, had never come anywhere _close_ to the reality of _being_ with Kurogane. Bliss radiated through his entire body…and he hadn't even reached _climax_ yet! To think that this absolute rapture could reach even greater heights…Consort, he was close now…so close!

"Ah! Aagh! H-harder…Kuro…fuck! I…I'm… _I'm almost…_ _ **there!**_ "

The two lovers reached ecstasy almost simultaneously, bodies curling against each other. Kurogane came first, screaming Fai's name as his orgasm burst out of him, spilling his hot, sticky essence deep inside his lover. As he gazed down between them and saw his cum oozing out of Fai's opening around his still hard shaft, the thing twitched in excitement and caused him to shoot off a second round. He thrust into his lover's willing body again and again, filling Fai up until he was completely filled with his essence.

Fai came only seconds after him, screaming in elation as the orgasm shot him full of pleasure, bringing him to the very height of his bliss and very nearly killing him with how devastatingly wonderful it felt. Once again, at the moment of his orgasm, the scent of wild roses filled the air, instantly overpowering the tame rose oil. He threw his head back in utter rapture as semen gushed out of him for the second time. He could _not_ stop screaming until he'd spurted his seed all over Kurogane's chest and stomach. A few drops of the sticky cum even landed on his face.

Fai collapsed weakly against the soft stone floor, but he was soon leaning up again to meet Kurogane as the exhausted ninja leaned down toward him to give him a kiss. Fai giggled slightly into the kiss when he heard and felt his cooling semen squishing in between their bodies.

"Fuck," he heard Kurogane mutter when they finally separated. "Wow."

"That was…unbelievable," Fai exalted, keeping his eyes closed for a moment, savoring the aftershocks of their shared orgasm.

"Do you feel beautiful again?"

"After _that?_ Yes. I…I feel like the most…beautiful thing in the world…that you could make me feel so good…"

"That's good. I'd be worried if you didn't, because you're glowing," Kurogane said, sounding more than a little confused.

"I…well…thank you, Kuro-pyon," he replied, suddenly feeling flustered, even though they were both naked and Kurogane was still fully sheathed in his body.

"No, Fai. I mean, you're _really_ glowing. Open your eyes."

Confused, Fai did as he was asked and realized that Kurogane was right. His pale skin was glowing like he had swallowed the moon, casting off a warm, ethereal light. Confused as he was, Fai couldn't even _see_ everything. He couldn't see what Kurogane was seeing. His soft skin was glowing like a star, it was true, but it wasn't just that. The silken strands of hair on his head were no longer just blond. They glowed, too. They were like threads spun of gold, like rays of sunshine. And his eyes, he almost couldn't stand to look directly into them. If they had been sapphire- _like_ before, now they just _were_ sapphires, twinkling in his beautiful, glowing face…twin gemstones sparkling brighter and more beautiful by far than anything he had ever beheld in his life.

"My… _Goddess_ ," Kurogane whispered in rapture as he reached out a trembling hand to touch Fai's white cheek. "You're so… _beautiful_."

The white glow of his face was tinted red by a deep blush. The divine glow was already starting to fade away.

"Maybe…you have more fey blood than you thought," Kurogane suggested as Fai wrapped his legs around his waist and he wrapped his arms around Fai's back, pulling him up into a warm embrace. All the while, they remained connected intimately. As the glow slowly faded away, the young couple shared several tender kisses. When at last the magic glow had dissipated, Kurogane pulled back to look at Fai again…and realized he was more beautiful than ever. He couldn't quite figure out why. Perhaps it was because his pain was gone…because he knew what he wanted now…or maybe it was that his innocence had passed away and he had been reborn into something much better. Whatever the reason, Fai was no longer a pretty little boy. He was a beautiful young man now…the most beautiful Kurogane had ever seen…and he had seen many.

Fai was having similar thoughts about Kurogane. He had always thought him to be the most handsome person he knew, though he did not have too many standards of comparison. His only point of comparison was his guardian, Doumeki, and Doumeki was quite handsome. But in this moment, his guardian had no hope of matching Kurogane, strong, tender, and handsome as he held him in his arms and kissed him, taking away his pain and fear inch by inch. Now that Kurogane's doubts about _them_ were gone, a new light seemed to shine in his ruby eyes that spread out to enhance all of him and make him far more handsome than any mortal man had a right to be. A strong, handsome, determined man had grown to take the place of the uncertain teenager he'd been only this morning. Fai would never again call anything handsome unless it was him. He was Fai's whole world, and Fai was his whole world. In this moment, they knew and understood each other perfectly.

As they separated from one last passionate kiss, Fai leaned his forehead against Kurogane's and whispered nervously against his lips, "Can we stay like this…all night? I don't want to be separated from you yet. I like being this close to you…feeling you so deep inside me. Will you…stay inside me? Would you sleep inside me…Kuro-koibito?"

Kurogane smirked as he ran his fingers through Fai's silky hair. He liked the feeling of his soft member resting in Fai, too…like a sword resting in its sheath, waiting, silently, to protect what was his. It was so wonderfully warm and tight, even when they weren't having sex…so nice…so comforting. He, too, had been dreading the moment when they would have to separate, but now it appeared that he would not have to. Fai wanted to remain connected just as much as he did.

"Sure thing," he said, giving Fai a kiss on the forehead before the two of them began to shift. When they finally had everything figured out, they were lying on their sides within the magic circle, flush against each other. Fai had his back resting against Kurogane's chest and the prince had his arms wrapped tightly around him. Kurogane, of course, was still buried firmly in Fai's warm body.

"I told you we were a perfect fit," Kurogane whispered in his ear as he trailed the fingers of his right hand up and down Fai's stomach. The blond spasmed against his touch, giggling quietly. "You just can't live without my big, fat _manhood_ jammed up inside you," he teased, briefly tracing his wandering fingers over Fai's own manhood.

"I suppose that's a fair call," Fai teased right back, bouncing himself lightly against said manhood. "Because _you_ can't live without _my_ nice, tight _ass_ to shove that _big, fat_ manhood into."

 _Listen to me_ , Fai thought with a grin. _A virgin not two hours ago and I already sound like a streetwalker from Shirasagi._

"Kuro-prince," he started, suddenly becoming serious again. "Thank you. You…you made me better. You made me feel good again. I don't…think I'm dirty anymore."

"I _know_ you're not," Kurogane said gently, pressing a tender kiss right between Fai's shoulder blades. "You never were. Who would know better than me?"

Fai gave a small laugh at that, reaching for Kurogane's hands and holding them in his own, pulling the ninja's arms even tighter around himself.

"I still can't believe you did all that…for me…just because you wanted to make me feel good…"

"I'll do it every night if you want me to. If you _ever_ feel bad, I'm not keeping my promise."

"I feel good…just being with you," he whispered as sleep started to overtake him. "It's enough to know you'll be by my side."

"I _will_ ," Kurogane returned, tightening his grip on his little love as he felt sleep start to take his own mind. "I'll never leave you."

"I think…I think I'm ready to face him now," Fai whispered just before dropping off to sleep.

As the young couple slept, the magic circle and the inscription around it began to glow with a warm, white light. For a brief instant, the paintings on the walls seemed to move and breathe. Then a voice beyond imagining entered the cavern and the minds of the two sleeping lovers.

" _ **My children…your Mother has heard your prayer and She answers you. In my eyes, you are joined, for this life and beyond. You have become a complete soul once more. Nothing will part you or come between you so long as you hold true to each other."**_


	13. Someone Who'll Find Me

_He's sitting in front of a large mirror, staring at his reflection. In the mirror, he can see the reflection of a room. Most of it is in darkness, but the one thing that stands out is a large bed. The sheets are mussed and stained…with blood and semen._

_**Oh, dear God! This is the place where-** _

_However, when he turns to look behind him, there's nothing there. The room seems to only exist in the mirror. But then he feels a very real pair of arms wrap around his waist and a face appears in the mirror next to his. A face he knows._

" _Hello, my sweet," Seishiro says, resting his chin on his shoulder. He's naked. "Are you ready to come away with me? My bed is waiting for you. It is where you will spend the rest of your life."_

_For the longest time, he does not speak. Terror clogs his throat._

_**He's going to hurt me again! I can't stop him!** _

" _Are you looking forward to tonight's festivities?" Seishiro asks as he slides his hands beneath his shirt, reaching for his nipples. "We shall have to have a bed warming party. Last night was nothing."_

_Fai starts to whimper. It's happening again. He can't make his body move. But…he can't just give up! He can't betray Kurogane_ _**again** _ **_!_ **

" _N-no."_

" _Mm, no what?" the dark faerie asks, placing a lazy kiss on his neck._

" _I'm not…going anywhere…w-with you!" he whimpers defiantly. For a moment, he thinks he feels his hand twitch, but the next moment, there's nothing._

" _That's cute…that you think you can just say no. You don't seem to understand your situation," Seishiro teases as he pulls Fai's shirt off. "Your ability to choose is fading."_

" _No! It's not!" Fai says angrily. "I_ _ **choose**_ _Kurogane!"_

_Seishiro chuckles as he runs his hands all over Fai's chest and stomach. "Look in the mirror again, my lovely slut."_

_Fai does…and feels his breath catch in his throat. He's lying on Seishiro's bed, stripped naked. The reflection is faint, but it is there. Then he glances at his own reflection…and gasps in terror. His body is fading away, very slowly. As he slowly fades to transparency, the image on the bed is growing more solid._

" _No!" he whispers, his mouth going dry. "No! This isn't what I want!"_

" _But you're_ _ **mine**_ _now, Fai-kun. Don't you understand?" the Dark Prince asks, sounding as if he's explaining something to a child. "It doesn't matter what happened today. You consented to be my concubine last night when you let me fuck you. It doesn't matter how much you love him, or he you. You are_ _ **bound**_ _to this fate." Having said so, Seishiro slides his hands down into Fai's pants and the blond's traitorous body immediately begins reacting to him, bucking and throbbing as if he actually wants this. But the real Fai feels half dead with horror._

" _I didn't let you do anything!" he shouts. "You **...** you were the one who..._ _" His voice trails off. He can't say it. He just can't.  
_

" _You could have fought me. If you'd_ _ **really**_ _wanted to, you could have stood against me. You have just as much magic as I do. But you didn't fight. Somewhere deep down inside, you wanted me. Can you honestly give yourself to Kurogane knowing what a whore you are_ _? If you go back to him now, you'll betray him until the day you die. You'll sin with me in your heart everyday." As he speaks, Seishiro easily pulls the rest of Fai's clothing off._

" _IT'S NOT TRUE!" Fai shrieks, staring in horror at the image on Seishiro's bed that wears his face as it grows ever more solid. It's starting to move now…as if someone is pleasuring it._

" _Mm! Nngh! Ah! Master!" the doppelganger cries out. "Take me, Master! I'm yours!"_

" _NO!" Fai continues to scream as his body fades away and Seishiro continues to tease what's left of him. "This isn't the real me! It's a lie! I don't want this!_ _ **I love Kurogane!**_ _"_

" _It_ _ **is**_ _the real you, Fai-kun. You must accept it," Seishiro explains as he places his marks on Fai's fading hips once again. As they appear on his body, they also appear on the doppelganger's body. "That easy slut lying on my bed is what you really are. This dream here in front of the mirror is a fading wish…a wish for the man you could have been if Kurogane had loved you. You are nothing more than the foolish dreams of that wasted husk lying on the bed. Your night with Kurogane was nothing more than a dream._ _ **This**_ _is your reality."_

" _No! No! No!" Fai sobs. "It's not true! Kuro-sama made love to me. He promised that he would always love me…always protect me! He loves me!_ _ **He loves me!**_ _HE LOVES ME!" he cried out desperately._

" _Then where is he now?" Seishiro asks. "Nowhere to be found. He never loved you. You were so traumatized last night, you deluded yourself into thinking he'd finally come for you. He never came. Don't you remember? You spent the whole day lying in Shizuka's bed, sobbing like a little child."_

_The wonderful, warm memories of his night with Kurogane slowly slip away…only to be replaced by the bleak images Seishiro describes._

" _No!" Fai sobs weakly as Seishiro picks him up and sets him on what would be his knees. His face is still visible, but the rest of him is little more than a barely coherent outline. "I'm_ _ **not**_ _a slut! I'm_ _ **not**_ _your whore! I'm beautiful! Kuro-tan…said so."_

" _Stop dreaming, my pet," Seishiro orders as he seizes Fai's fading head. "It's very unattractive._ _Be a good little slut now and don't argue with me. I'll expect you to initiate things more in the future. You'd better hurry. You don't have much time left as yourself. The second you fade away completely and join with that toy there…you'll be my whore forever. I want to come in your mouth the instant you lose all your hope."_

" _NOO!" Fai screams as Seishiro plunges himself into his mouth. The second he tastes his flesh…he's gone. His body melts completely away and he finds himself lying on Seishiro's bed…the place where he'd been raped. He i_ _ **s**_ _the doll. He can't even speak anymore. All he can do is jerk his hips helplessly in the air, forever thrusting his eternally hard manhood up and down…up and down._

" _Fuck me, Master!_ _" he cries out in the doll's voice, a harsh, disgusting parody of his own voice. "Come break your little doll."_

" _You know, I may just have to take you up on that offer," Seishiro says as he crawls onto the bed and plants a kiss on Fai's lips. Fai can do nothing to stop his body from responding eagerly and kissing back. "Lovely, lovely slut. Pretty whore, just for me."_

_**I'm sorry, Kuro-koi. Maybe he was right? Maybe you and I were just a dream? Either way…I'm so sorry…sorry I betrayed you. I'm not strong enough to fight him. Maybe…I really** _ _**am** _ _**just his whore?** _

_But just as Seishiro is about to mount him, to settle his unrelenting weight down on Fai's pumping body and sentence him to an eternity of suffering…his head goes flying off._

" _LET HIM GO, YOU BASTARD!" a familiar voice shouts. "YOU WILL NOT_ _ **TOUCH**_ _HIM AGAIN!"_

_Seishiro's head flies straight into the mirror. A small crack appears in the glass and the head comes to rest facing the bed where Fai can still see it from his helpless position._

" _I was wondering when you'd show up," the severed head comments casually. "I was beginning to think I might actually get him."_

_Suddenly, Fai finds himself looking up into Kurogane's concerned face. Kurogane kneels beside the bed, dropping his bloodstained katana and pressing a kiss to his lips. The doll reacts to him, but only because it's programmed to respond to any potentially sexual act._

" _Are you all right, Fai? He didn't hurt you, did he?"_

" _Fai is only for Master! Fai doesn't **want** anyone else!"_ _Fai cries out helplessly in the doll's voice._

_Kurogane backs away, a look of shock and hurt on his face. Fai wants to scream out, 'NO! It's not me, Kuro-chan! It's_ _**him** _ _**!** This isn't me! I love you! Please! Save me! Rescue me!' But he can't. He's helpless in the grip of Seishiro's power._

_Kurogane looks like he's about to say something, when he suddenly seems to notice the mechanical way Fai's hips are jerking up and down…uncontrollably. He turns his attention back to Seishiro._

" _What have you done to him?" he demands, raising Sohi once more._

" _Nothing," Seishiro says as his body walks toward his head and calmly picks it up, placing it back on his neck. "He's simply giving in to what we both knew he wanted all along."_

" _THAT'S A LIE!" Kurogane screams angrily. "You're hurting him! I won't let you hurt him anymore!"_

" _Bold words," Seishiro replies, languidly examining his nails. "Any particular reason why?"_

" _Because I love him," Kurogane declares without hesitation. Fai would have cried in relief had he been able to do so.  
_

" _Really? You didn't seem so sure when I gave you my first warning."_

" _You're a sick, twisted fuck! Did you know that?! I would have proposed to him on the spot if I'd known you were going to_ _ **rape**_ _him!"_

" _My, aren't you cute. I'm almost tempted to add you to my little love nest. I could lay the two of you side by side for eternity and fuck both of you every night…but you would never be able to reach for each other. You would never be able to hold each other close in the night or kiss or make love or whisper of your devotion to each other ever again. You would only be able to watch_ _ **me**_ _enjoy what should be yours. So close…and yet further apart than ever. I can think of no torture more exquisite. Because after awhile, you would begin to wonder if the other hated you for trapping him in this cage and you would never be able to ask. Love and devotion would slowly transform into mistrust and anger until, after centuries of imprisonment, there would be nothing left but hatred. Then, one fine evening I'll come home and realize that the two of you no longer please me, so I'll release you from the spell and watch you kill each other. Would you like to do that, little prince?"_

" _I'll tell you what I want to do," Kurogane hisses. "I want to hack you to pieces if you don't take this curse off of Fai!"_

" _You honestly think you can hack a faerie to pieces? Go ahead and try it. I won't even fight you. I'll just stand here and laugh."_

_Kurogane lowers Sohi. Seishiro is right. He knows that…but he can't just stand here and do_ _**nothing** _ _._

" _Take me instead."_

" _Come again, my pet?"_

" _You know damn well what I said! Take me in Fai's place. He goes free…and you can have me as your sex slave…or whatever it is you're going to do." He will never be able to avenge his father and Tomoyo will be forced to step into the role of heir, it's true…but Fai is more important than these things._

_**Kuro-min, no! You don't know what you're doing! Don't do this for me! Save yourself!** _

" _He'll hate you forever if you do this, you know?" Seishiro taunts._

" _I know. But I'm not going to live in a world where he doesn't exist. You never gave him a choice. I_ _ **do**_ _have a choice…and I choose his freedom. I won't let you break him."_

" _This_ _ **choice**_ _you're making…it_ _ **will**_ _break him."_

" _Maybe so," Kurogane admits grudgingly as he throws his sword to the ground. "But there will be others to put him back together again, and I can cope with torture."_

_**KUROGANE, NO!** _

" _You will be my slave forever," Seishiro warns him. "I have many like you. Can you really stand being a_ _ **doll**_ _like_ _ **that**_ _for all eternity?" he asks, nodding in Fai's direction._

" _For him…I could endure anything."_

" _Even if it causes you so much pain in the end?"_

" _I'll be satisfied…knowing he's safe. He's suffered so much. I won't let it go on. If he's suffering…I'd_ _ **gladly**_ _take his place!"_

" _So be it," Seishiro says with an amiable smile._

_Fai suddenly finds himself sitting before the mirror again. He can see the reflection of Seishiro's bed, but it's no longer his doppelganger on it. Kurogane is lying, naked, on the bed, thrusting his perpetually hard member into the air as he had been forced to do. Fai spins around but there's nothing there. The world of Seishiro's dark bedroom has fled into the mirror once more._

" _No! No! KUROGANE! NO!"_

" _It is_ _ **done**_ _, Fai-kun," Seishiro whispers in his ear, pressing a wet kiss to it. "I hope you enjoy your life. It was bought with your lover's freedom."_

" _NOO!" Fai screams in anguish, pounding his fists against the glass. "Let him go! It should be me! **Kurogane!** "_

" _It's too late, Fai-kun. Kurogane-kun belongs to me now. You are free," he says, grabbing Fai's head and forcing a rough kiss on him before vanishing. He reappears beside the bed in the mirror, leering down at his handsome new doll. "You're not as beautiful as Fai-kun, of course, but I can see the power in you…the savagery. You will be an absolute_ _ **animal**_ _in bed," the Dark Prince leers as he crawls onto the bed, positioning himself to take the prince.  
_

" _KUROGANE!" Fai screams as tears flow down his face. "I love you! Please wake up! We need each other! I don't want to live without_ _ **you!**_ _I can't do it! YOU_ _ **HAVE**_ _TO WAKE UP!"_

" _He can't hear you," Seishiro taunts as he plunges deep inside Kurogane, fucking him without mercy. "He's my doll now. And he feels…so…good," he grunts._

" _NOO! I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS!" Fai screams as his body starts to glow with power. His magic bursts outward and the mirror shatters. The next instant, they are all in Seishiro's room. Fai is standing defiantly before the bed and Seishiro is standing just to the side of it, wearing that same amiable grin. Kurogane is sprawled across the bed, eyes closed and breathing ragged. When Fai sees the state he's in, he immediately rushes to his side. He crawls onto the bed and pulls the defiled prince into his arms, cradling his head against his chest._

" _Kuro-sama! Kuro-koi! Please! Wake up! It's me! Fai! You_ _ **have**_ _to wake up! You_ _ **have**_ _to be all right!"_

" _I thought that might be the case," Seishiro notes, almost as if he's a physician examining a patient. "Your true power won't manifest if_ _ **you**_ _are in danger. It must be someone you love."_

" _ **You monster!** " Fai screams heartbrokenly as he holds the lifeless Kurogane to his chest. "You hurt him! How could you **do** this? Don't you care at all?"_

" _No, actually. I do not," Seishiro replies, the amiability vanishing to be replaced by a cool, calculating countenance. "I am not capable of being moved by yours or anyone's pain. To fuck your lover to death…or to crush a flower beneath my boot…I do not see the difference. To rape you…or to make love to Subaru-kun…I can feel no difference between them. In either scenario, the results are the same."_

" _How can that_ _ **be**_ _ **?** " Fai whispers in shock as he runs his fingers through Kurogane's hair in an attempt to calm himself. _

" _It is what I am. You may think I derive some twisted pleasure from seeing the two of you suffer. This is not so. I simply…do not care. These are merely events in the long chain of events that make up the thing we call time."_

" _But…if you don't care…why are you even alive? You_ _ **must**_ _care about something!"_

" _No. I suppose I just don't care enough to end my own life, either. Which is interesting, considering that killing is my only talent…well, that…and fucking foolish little boys," he says with a leer. Fai just glares at him as he hugs Kurogane tighter. "I couldn't even_ _ **begin**_ _to count the number of foolish boys I've taken to my bed, had my way with, then left bleeding their life's blood onto the sheets. You should be proud, Fai-kun. You and Kurogane-kun are, respectively, the second and third boy I have slept with and not killed. Don't worry. I don't mean to kill you yet. I just thought you might find it interesting."_

" _You didn't sleep with us! You_ _ **forced**_ _us!" Fai accuses as his tears of pain and anger splash onto Kurogane's face. "You forced_ _ **Kurogane**_ _ **!** "_

" _As far as I'm concerned, that wasn't a complete fuck. I didn't finish in him. It was just a few really good thrusts. He's not_ _ **dirty**_ _like you are."_

" _It doesn't matter…what you did. You still went inside him without his permission! You still hurt him! And I'm_ _ **not**_ _dirty! Kuro-sama thinks I'm beautiful…and good…and clean…and that's enough for me!"_

" _Tells you you're pure even as he takes your virginity? That's too funny. But you're not listening to me. That's an excellent step in the right direction."_

" _What?"_

" _You should know you might have to kill me one day. It would help you immensely if you weren't scared of me."_

" _I'm not afraid of you!" Fai hisses. "I_ _ **hate**_ _you!"_

" _Good," Seishiro says, moving closer to the bed and leaning down close to the boys. "You should let your rage flow when you see my face. You or your sister must end my life."_

" _What are you talking about?" Fai demands, doing his best to shield the unconscious Kurogane from Seishiro._

" _I'm talking about your future," Seishiro says harshly as he seizes Fai's chin and stares directly into his eyes. "You want to protect this child, don't you?" he asks, nodding down at Kurogane._

" _Yes! Of course I want to protect him!"_

_**He's my everything.** _

" _Well then, if you want there to be a future in which he exists…you will have to kill me. Your magic has the potential to be much stronger than even mine. Can you do it? Or would you rather I just killed him now?" Seishiro asks, reaching for Kurogane's throat._

" _STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" Fai screams, power boiling off of him like a star and throwing Seishiro back several feet._

" _Ah," the Dark Prince exalts as he wipes the trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "_ _ **There**_ _is a king. At least we know you're truly in love. That is of use to me."_

" _You're only just now figuring that out?"_

" _Yes. Only your soul mate can make you glow."_

" _Excuse me?"_

" _The fey are creatures of spirit and ether. Our very existence is subject to the whim of wild magic. Faeries can only be made to glow the way you did by their soul mates. For example, I fucked your brains out…but I couldn't make you glow. The moonlit glow of_ _ **your**_ _skin is only for Kurogane-kun. No one else will ever be able to make you glow."_

" _F-Fai?" he suddenly hears Kurogane whisper hoarsely. Fai glances down at Kurogane and sees his red eyes flutter open. "Was it…raining a minute ago?"_

" _Oh, Kuro-sama!" Fai cries out in relief as he renews his embrace. "You're all right! I'm so glad you're okay!"_

" _Ah, the lovers reunite. Enjoy this door I've opened for you while you are able. In two years' time, the gates of Hell will be broken and thrown open."_

" _You…what are you talking about?"_

_Seishiro doesn't say anything. Fai simply realizes that Seishiro is now wearing a bow and a quiver of arrows._

" _The arrow…that was_ _ **you**_ _ **?** "_

" _I confess. Watching the two of you became rather boring. I had to do_ _ **something**_ _to push you in the right direction. Do you two honestly think you would be where you are right now if I_ _ **hadn't**_ _raped you?"_

_Kurogane is still only half conscious and Fai is just too shocked to say anything._

" _Heed my warning this time, Fai-kun," Seishiro says as he slowly disappears. "Slay me…or I shall slay thee instead."_

_Fai stares at the spot where the dark faerie had been for long moments after he's gone. It's all just too much to take in. Seishiro had raped him…just to force Kurogane to confess to him? And then he had spun right around and raped Kurogane to force him to awaken his magic? He would almost say that his depravity knows no bounds…but can you be depraved if you simply do not care one way or the other? He will survive being raped. Kurogane has helped him through that. But now…Kurogane is…_

" _I know what you're thinking," Kurogane says, trying to sound gruff but not quite pulling it off in his weakened state. "Don't. I made a choice."_

" _ **You shouldn't have!"**_ _Fai hisses. "He would have been satisfied with me, but then you had to go and…and…and now he's_ _ **violated**_ _you, too! Goddess, Kuro-tan, I'm so sorry I've dragged you into this. I don't even know what_ _ **this**_ _is!"_

" _Neither do I. But whatever it is, I'll stand with you against it," he says fiercely, reaching a hand up to cup Fai's cheek in his palm. Fai turns from him._

" _Why did you sacrifice yourself like that? It wouldn't have done anything. I couldn't have lived without you," he says bitterly._

" _I didn't mean for you to, Fai. I_ _ **promised**_ _to keep you safe. I_ _ **had**_ _to get you out. I couldn't fight him. The only thing I_ _ **could**_ _do was make that trade. But you, you have powers I don't. I knew you'd find a way to rescue me. I trusted you…and you came through. You_ _ **did**_ _save me," he explains seriously._

" _But I didn't save you in_ _ **time**_ _ **!** He…he…you…he __**hurt**_ _you!_ _"_

" _I know. I was there," Kurogane says, wincing slightly. "I knew what I was getting myself into. Compared to what was done to you, this was nothing. You're not to blame for this. It was my choice. It's a pain…that we can share."_

" _You're such a fool," Fai sniffles in response._

" _Trust me, Fai, I'll live. But if you feel so badly about it, you could always make it up to me," he suggests, raising an eyebrow._

"I…I think I could do that," Fai said with a smile as his eyes fluttered open. They were back in the cave. He was still lying in Kurogane's arms, and Kurogane was still entrenched firmly in his behind.

"I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner," Kurogane said, nuzzling his nose against the back of Fai's neck. "I fought so hard to break into that cage he had you trapped in, but I couldn't break through. I could hear you screaming…and I couldn't do anything. I'm not even sure how I _did_ get in. Maybe…it was just because he _wanted_ me to enter?"

"But you still came, Kuro-koibito. You came," Fai whispered. "And that is worth everything. But…you…are you…going to be all right?"

"You don't have to worry about me. It was just another battle, like any other. I was just on the losing side this time. Besides, what do we have to worry about? It _was_ just a nightmare, after all." It had hurt. Of course it had hurt. Seishiro had been ruthless. But, even if it _was_ just an illusion, he would forever be ashamed of the things that he'd done, spell or no spell. Such base, vile submission! However…it had been done for Fai. That knowledge would always be able to keep him sane whenever he thought of his surrender. He had not submitted to Seishiro's lust and depravity because he was weak. He had done it because Fai hadn't needed him to be a hero in that moment. He had needed him to be martyr…whether he realized it or not.

"I don't know anymore," Fai said softly. "How long have we been asleep?"

"I couldn't guess. I feel pretty well rested, though. I could get us some food."

"No. It's all right. I can do that."

"Hey!" Kurogane protested, trapping Fai in his arms to prevent him from moving. "Remember when I said tonight was all about you? I'm _still_ waiting on you hand and foot here."

"The night's practically over, Kuro-large," Fai teased. "Besides, you…you've been hurt, too. It's my turn to take care of you. It will be much faster if you let me take care of breakfast."

"If you insist," Kurogane finally relented, grabbing hold of Fai's hips and slowly starting to pull himself out of the blond. He made small whimpers and mewling sounds as Kurogane removed himself from the warm cavern where he'd been resting for who knew how many hours. A small spark of panic shot through him when he saw blood on his manhood. His eyes trailed to Fai's backside and he saw a few splatters of blood here and there, but the panic began to alleviate when he saw that it was already dry…and there really was only a little. It was to be expected, he supposed.

"How do you feel?" he asked Fai as he moved to his knees.

"A little sore," he answered with a smile. "But I didn't expect much different. At least… _he_ didn't leave any marks this time," he said, distractedly running his hands over his hips. Kurogane was thinking very much the same thing (he wasn't sure if he could handle having his _ass_ marked by that… _thing_ ) when Fai climbed to his feet…and promptly collapsed with a small cry.

"Fai!" he shouted, already in motion. He caught him just before his head hit the ground. "Are you okay?"

"Ouch," Fai said, still smiling, though an element of pain was present this time. He reached behind him and started to rub his aching rear. "Nngh. Kuro-gasm is _very_ good at what he does."

"I _was_ pretty hard on you last night," Kurogane replied with a blush. If this idiot started using those new _sex_ names around their sisters…

"In more ways than one," Fai teased.

"I shouldn't be so rough with you," he mumbled, blushing all the harder.

"It's okay, Kuro-mine. It was my first time," Fai said, snuggling up close to Kurogane. "I'm so happy that Kuro-sexy was my first. No one can ever take that away from me. What about you?"

"You…were my second," he admitted as he cradled Fai close to him, suddenly feeling guilty. "When I turned eighteen, I had to ritualistically lose me virginity. Noblemen in Nihon aren't permitted to pass their eighteenth birthday and still be unschooled in the art of love. A woman named Caldina taught me. Can you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive. I didn't think I could possibly be your first…with how skilled you were. If it makes you feel better, I'll forgive you, but think about it this way…if you'd had no experience, then _our_ first time wouldn't have been _nearly_ as enjoyable."

"I…guess you're right, but…I…I got her pregnant."

Fai's eyes widened at this. "Kuro-tou is…a daddy?"

Kurogane shook his head. "I never even saw the kid. The physicians…killed it in the womb…before she even started to show. That's just…the way it is."

"Did you…want your child, Kuro-papa?" Fai asked, suddenly feeling very sad.

"I didn't know. This all happened those few months when I was still under Seishiro's spell. Tomoyo told me…afterward. Being a father's not first on my list…but I don't think I would have minded. Caldina lost more than I did, anyway."

He almost concealed it…almost, but Fai knew him too well. A fresh wave of guilt rose up in his chest when he heard the longing in his prince's voice…saw it on his face. It was one pain he could never take away…one happiness they could not share. No matter how much he wished for it…no matter how much he prayed or cried…he could never give Kurogane a child. He would never be able to hold Kurogane's son in his arms. He would never be able to bear him a beautiful daughter born of their bodies. He could never be the consort that Kurogane needed.

"Hey," Kurogane's voice suddenly sounded in his ear. He had seen the look on Fai's face. "You shouldn't let it bother you. We can't let something like _this_ come between us when we've only just found each other. Come on, cheer up, you idiot. Let me get us some breakfast."

"Hey! That's still my job," Fai insisted, already starting to smile again.

"But you can't even walk. What do you expect to do?"

"This," Fai said, raising his hands and chanting something in the faerie tongue. The next moment, things began to appear just outside the circle where they lay: a blanket, two mugs filled with steaming liquid, a loaf of bread, sliced and buttered, a plate loaded with bacon, two apples, two muffins, and a flask that Kurogane was rather curious about.

"How do you like your eggs?" Fai asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Ano…scrambled?"

"Really? I like mine sunny side up."

The last things to appear were two plates: one with scrambled eggs and one with eggs sunny side up.

"See? I've got skills."

"So…did you just make all this appear…from nowhere?" Kurogane asked as he laid Fai back down and moved to set up the meal.

"Oh, no," Fai waved him off. "I'm not that good yet. All of these things came from my house. It just took a little more magic to have them ready by the time I summoned them here."

When Kurogane had everything laid out, he went and lifted Fai back into his arms to carry him to the food. He tried to help him sit, but the moment his bottom touched the cave floor he hissed in discomfort. Instead, Kurogane sat down himself and settled Fai into his lap, pulling the giant blue quilt around both of them.

"Thank you, Kuro-anaru," Fai said, half-teasing. "I'm so sore…and you're just _sooo_ soft."

"Don't move too much…or I won't be," the prince teased right back, grinning lasciviously as he ruffled Fai's sleep-rumpled hair.

"I can't honestly say that I would object to _that_ ," Fai said as he reached for an apple. Kurogane reached for two slices of bread and his plate of eggs. He used the bread to scoop up the eggs and make a sandwich. He honestly did not understand these fork-things that the twins used.

For a while, they ate in silence, simply enjoying the good food and the knowledge that they were _finally_ together. No words were needed. Once all the food was gone, Kurogane reached for one of the mugs, which were, amazingly enough, still hot.

"Oh, careful," Fai warned, noticing which one he'd picked up. "That's mine." Kurogane raised an eyebrow as he passed the mug to Fai and picked up the other. "Hot chocolate," Fai explained, raising the mug to his lips. "Yours is tea."

"What's in the flask?" he asked as they nursed their morning beverages.

"A gift to take home with you. It's some of Doumeki's special wine. I know how much you love it."

Kurogane smirked, the mere idea of the wine already warming him up more than the tea ever could.

Once they had finished with everything, Fai spoke another spell and sent all of the things back to where they'd come, except the blanket and the wine.

"You know," Fai started as he snuggled up against Kurogane's chest once again. "I could do with a nice bath right about now. Look at me. I'm still covered in my own seed."

Kurogane lifted his face up and planted a kiss on his lips. "Not that I object to you that way, but if my koibito wants a bath…consider it done."

"Yay!" Fai cheered as Kurogane rose to his feet. "Kuro-koi is so nice to me!"

The prince just grunted in response as he went to pick up his discarded pants and the bottle of oil. While Kurogane focused on carrying him, Fai kept the quilt firmly wrapped around them as they headed out into the main corridor. When they reached the mouth of the cave, they found Soel snoozing in Kurogane's discarded shirt.

"Mokona?" Fai asked, confused. At the sound of his voice, the little white thing was awake instantly.

"Hello, Fai. Hello, Prince Kuro-horny," it teased.

"Manjuu!" Kurogane shouted furiously. "Did you see the _whole thing?_ "

"Yep. Soel can't leave poor, innocent little Fai unchaperoned, now can Soel? Someone might do something…untoward to him."

"Cream puff," Kurogane began in a controlled voice. "I am going to brutally murder something round, white, and fuzzy in two minutes. If you don't want it to be you, I suggest you run as fast as you can."

"Uh-oh! Kuro-hard's mad! Save Mokona, Fai-virgin!"

"Soel! I thought you were watching. I'm not-"

"Oh! Don't tell Mokona! Mokona has failed in Mokona's sacred vow to protect Fai's virtue! Fai's not a virgin anymore! Kuro-seme stole his maidenhead! He took his chastity away! Kuro-large spoke words of _sweet lo-ove_ to the innocent Fai and stole him away in the night. He laid him down in the dark forest and made _sweet lo-ove_ to him. Then, as his purity bled out of him, sweet Fai declared his passionate love for the libertine prince! So scandalous!" Soel sang excitedly. "Mokona can't believe how insatiable Kuro-fuck's libido is."

"All right! That's it!" Kurogane shouted, ready to smash the white manjuu into the ground.

"Kuro-hard, don't drop me!" Fai cried out, easily drawing Kurogane's attention back to him.

"Dear Consort," he muttered. "If I have to deal with that _thing_ playing peeping-tom every time I try to fuck you-"

"What about our bath, Kuro-lust?" Fai asked, jutting out his trembling lower lip and batting his eyelashes in a come-hither way that Kurogane found oh-so-irresistible.

"Fine," he submitted. "But if that pork bun takes even _one_ look at us, I swear-"

"Soel understands. Don't you, Soel?"

"You can count on Mokona!"

"All right then. Now that that's settled…" Fai leaned his head back and he and Kurogane were instantly standing on the riverbank just beyond Faerie Falls, where the water was much calmer. The sky was only just beginning to lighten and a few stars were still visible. They quickly divested themselves of the quilt and Kurogane carried Fai into the cool water.

"Mm, that feels nice," Fai moaned as the water washed over him. As he moved to try and stand on his own, his body slid against Kurogane's in a very provocative way. The ninja hissed. Even in the cold water, that touch had caused him to grow half-hard already. It came the rest of the way when he happened to glance over at Fai and see him pouring water from his cupped hands down his back, singing quietly to himself.

"Don't _do_ that!"

"Do what?" Fai asked innocently, running the water down his sides, over his backside, down his thighs…

" _That!_ Have the balls to touch me like that, then look so God damn sexy!"

"Oh, I have _balls_ , Kuro-anaru. You want to see?" Fai spun around before Kurogane could protest, revealing that he was just as hard as him. Then he moved seductively toward the panting prince and wrapped his arms around his neck. He kissed him hungrily as he ground their erections together.

"If you wanted to have sex again, you could have just asked," he said, sounding for all the world like a bull in heat.

"You want to have _sex_ , Kuro-horny? Right here? Right now?" Fai asked, feigning innocence. "But I'm _so…wet…"_

"That's the idea," he whispered, seizing Fai in a kiss that would have made his knees go weak had they been standing on dry land.

After a glorious morning fuck on the riverbank, Fai crawled up onto Kurogane's chest and lay down on top of him.

"Well," he giggled. "We're going to need another bath now, aren't we? We're even more messy than last night."

XxX

"I think I might just sleep today," Fai said as he languidly ran his fingers through Suwa's mane. The light of the sun was just beginning to fill the forest and Kurogane was taking Fai home. The fey boy had said he _might_ be able to transport himself there, but Kurogane didn't want to run the risk of something going wrong. Besides, neither of them really wanted to say goodbye yet.

"Didn't you get enough sleep last night?" Kurogane asked, sounding a tech worried. After the fact, part of him regretted his pre-dawn activities with Fai. The blond had been sore enough before, but now he just plain could not walk. They'd had to fold up the quilt as a cushion for Fai so he could sit comfortably in Suwa's saddle. He didn't want Fai to get…sick or injured or something…just because he couldn't keep his cock in his pants.

"Oh, I got plenty of sleep, Kuro-sexy. But I won't be able to do chores today. I can't even _walk_. It's not _my_ fault Kuro-lover is so _wild_ in bed."

Kurogane blushed as he tightened his hold on Fai's waist. Normally he would have been guiding Suwa, but after Fai had spoken a few words to him, the stallion had just started to walk calmly toward their destination. The reins hung loosely on the horse's neck and Kurogane had his arms wrapped around Fai's waist.

"When will you come back?" Fai asked, suddenly sounding depressed. Now that they were together, they weren't very well going to suffer being apart, now were they?

"The second I can get away," Kurogane promised, leaning forward and kissing Fai's right ear. The blond shivered in pleasure, reaching his hands back and tangling them in Kurogane's dark hair. "I love you," he whispered as he kissed a trail along the side of his face, along his cheek, right up to his lips. Fai grinned against him as he finally kissed his lips. He would never be able to hear the words enough.

"Say it again," he moaned in between kisses.

"I love you. I love you so much. You're worth more to me than any empire, any possible wealth this world could show me. Goddess, I love you!" Normally he was not so affectionate…but he had come so close to _losing_ him…no kiss could possibly be passionate enough, no words strong enough to express the depth of his feelings. He would never be able to say the words enough.

"Do you love _me_ , Fai?"

"I love you," he whispered against his lover's mouth. "I _need_ you. You're everything to me. I love you so much, Kuro-koi. I'll say it as much as you want. I'll never _stop_." He had held these warm, wonderful words back for so long, he did not think he could stop them now, even if he wanted to. He was so happy now…so very much in love. He could hardly contain it. He could barely keep from singing his joy to the world. How could he ever hope to tell Kurogane how happy he made him? How could he possibly express to him just how much he loved him?

" _I love you_ ," they whispered together before joining their lips in their purest, most passionate kiss yet.

"Not that I object to two young lovers reveling in their passion for one another, but you might want to pay attention to where you're going."

The two looked up from each other to find Suwa stopped in front of Doumeki, who was just as expressionless as ever.

"Oh. Good morning, Doumeki," Fai greeted with a dazed smile.

"Don't worry, Doumeki. Soel was watching," the white ball of fuzz said, popping out of Suwa's saddlebag. Kurogane growled, loathing how the manjuu left it ambiguous as to whether it had been watching the path or watching them make love to each other's faces. He was amazed that the thing had managed to stay quiet the whole way back.

"Brought him home a bit late, didn't you?" Doumeki queried, raising an eyebrow. He had managed to convince Himawari and Watanuki to get some sleep last night, assuring them that he could sense the twins' every move and that they were perfectly safe in the care of the Mokona. When Yuui had come home, he had explained to her about Seishiro and the blunt arrow, having sensed that as well. And of course, whether or not he wanted to give his foster son some privacy, he had been able to sense everything that had passed between the two lovers last night…even their marriage in the eyes of the Lord and Lady, though they themselves were not aware of it. He had even been able to sense Seishiro's use of his Hand of Illusion on them…and their triumph over him. Doumeki no longer knew what to make of Seishiro. In the light of day he served his mother, but in the dark of night he made love to Subaru Shiro. One moment he was raising his sword to slit Fai's throat, the next he was handing him the keys to his own death. With one hand, he brutally stole Fai's innocence, and with the other, he handed him his one true love…the soul mate that could make the light of his heart show on the surface. The Dark Prince made absolutely no sense.

"I'd say Kuro-rin brought me back early," Fai teased, still smiling.

"You might…need to help him walk," Kurogane said, blushing as he climbed down from Suwa. His blush deepened when Doumeki gave him a look that clearly said, 'I'm fine with this relationship. Hell, I'll even encourage it…but do you _really_ think it's a good idea to insinuate to me what you were doing with my _son_ all night?'

"Kurogane and Fai were…MAKING BABIES!" Soel screeched excitedly as it leapt onto Doumeki's shoulder. Both boys blushed as the Mokona continued its ballad. "In the sacred cave of lovers, Kuro-need laid down his Fai. Then, in the searing throes of love, gave him the ultimate high. To love, to honor, protect, and hold dear, this was the vow they made. Hours seemed to pass like minutes as precious little Fai got laid!"

"Doumeki! Mokona!" Fai whined, his face just as red as Kurogane's. "Don't pick on Kuro-chan!"

"So we're back to the ridiculous ones, are we?" Kurogane half-growled as he lifted Fai off of Suwa and into his arms.

"Oh? Would you rather I used the _other_ nicknames, Kuro-ana-"

Rather than let Fai finish the horrid nickname, Kurogane silenced him with a kiss…a very _deep_ kiss.

"Mm…mmhm…Kuro…mmmhhm," Fai moaned as their tongues and lips began that slow, rapturous dance. He trembled with delight as Kurogane cradled him against his chest, kissing him like he would never kiss him again.

Unfortunately, their kiss was soon interrupted by Doumeki clearing his throat.

"Far be it from me to interrupt you two in the blissful throes of your young love, but the others will be waking up soon, and I'm fairly certain the prince has already been missed."

"He's right," Kurogane sighed, thinking of the mountains of court intrigue he had to return to. He would much rather stay here with Fai…but he had his responsibilities. "I'll come back soon. I promise," he said before giving Fai a tender goodbye kiss. They rested, safe and content in each other's embrace for a few fleeting moments. When they finally broke the kiss, their foreheads remained resting against each other for a second.

"I miss you already. Don't take too long. I'll be waiting for you. I love you…Kuro-chuu," Fai whispered against his lips.

"Aishiteru," Kurogane whispered back breathlessly, placing one last lightning-fast kiss on his forehead before passing him off to Doumeki. As Doumeki helped the blond to stand on his own, he glanced directly into Kurogane's eyes.

"Thank you…for saving his life…again. We owe you a great deal."

"You don't owe me anything," Kurogane said stoically as he remounted his horse. His voice grew warm again as he gazed down at Fai, who smiled adoringly back up at him. "You've already given me the greatest treasure this world has to offer."

Before another word could be spoken, Kurogane gave Suwa a good dig with his heels and spurred the stallion away through the forest. His heart gave a small twist as he glanced back at Fai, already shrinking in the distance. If he had ridden away slowly, he didn't know what would have kept him from crawling right back.

Fai could already feel his heart getting heavy as he, Doumeki, and Soel turned from Kurogane's shrinking figure and headed back toward the cottage.

"Are you all right?"

Fai nodded as his guardian helped him limp along. "I'm all right."

"You really love him…don't you?"

A dreamy expression stole over the boy's face as he remembered his night with his prince. "So much. He means the _world_ to me. He's…my life."

"He made you glow, didn't he…when he made love to you?" he asked.

"Y-yes," Fai answered, blushing. "Sei…Seishiro said…it means that he's…my _soul mate_." As the words left his mouth, his expression became that of a person irrevocably in love.

"That's so. That boy is your heart's one true happiness."

"Doumeki…are you…fey enough to glow?"

"I don't know. My skin has never glowed for anyone," he answered partially-truthfully.

"But…you've never made love to Watanuki…have you?"

"Why ask questions you already know the answer to?"

"Why did _you_ come out to meet us?"

"I was up all night and I wanted to come out and see you safely home. I didn't think it was necessary for him to venture past the wards that protect our home."

"That's too bad. He said he wanted to see the place where I live."

"Maybe someday he will."

"Doumeki…what would happen…if I wanted to leave here…to be with him?" Fai asked nervously.

The assassin felt a small pang in his chest at the hypothetical question. He _knew_ the twins would have to leave them someday. That day was approaching much faster than any of them would have liked…and Fai would not get to leave for the reasons he wanted to. He would be made to walk away from his own _soul mate_. It would rip him in two. Doumeki didn't want to watch that happen.

" _When_ the time comes…that choice will be yours and yours alone to make. But I wonder…Fai…could you ever bear…to give him up?"

Fai looked stricken by the mere thought. "I…no. I _would_ give him up…if I had no other choice; if he…didn't _want_ me anymore, or if it would be a mortal danger to him if he stayed with me. I would let go of him if it was really what was best for _him_ …but I…wouldn't survive. He's…my whole world. If I lost him…" He couldn't finish. The thought was just too horrible.

Doumeki didn't press him. He simply supported him, helped him limp along back to the little glen in the forest.

"Don't worry," Soel said cheerfully. "Fai and Kurogane will be together forever. Mokona knows it!"

_I can't tell him. I can't tell him they can never really be together. It would break his heart…and we almost_ _**lost** _ _him yesterday. I'll just let them…have these two years that remain. Two years will have to be enough to fill an entire lifetime._

_But…can those joined in marriage by the Goddess…truly be put asunder by human hands?_

XxX

" _I can't believe it's finally happened," Tomoyo sighs dreamily. "They've been pining for each other for so long."_

" _I know. It's so wonderful," Yuui sighs right along with her. Tonight, the pair of dreamseers dream they are in Tomoyo's room. A large canopy of white silk is suspended above Tomoyo's futon and Yuui is sitting on it. Tomoyo is lying with her head in Yuui's lap and Yuui is running her long fingers through Tomoyo's dark hair. "But…what are we going to do now that we don't need to play matchmaker for them anymore?"_

" _Isn't it obvious? We will join Soel-chan and Larg-chan in composing beautiful ballads to their love. We didn't work so hard for so many years only to have their romance forgotten. Their union must be remembered throughout the ages," Tomoyo declares passionately._

" _And what about…us?" Yuui asks nervously. Tomoyo glances up at her with a question in her violet eyes. "The girls who helped their brothers reach the status of epic lovers?"_

" _What_ _ **about**_ _us?" Tomoyo whispers, mouth suddenly going dry. Is Yuui asking what she_ _ **thinks**_ _she's asking?_

" _All of this soul mate business gets a girl to thinking about what's really important to her…about what she couldn't bear to lose." A pause. "Souma-chan loves you very much, you know."_

" _I know," Tomoyo sighs in defeat, her head sinking back the few inches she hadn't even realized it had risen. This isn't the moment. Yuui isn't asking her what she'd hoped. "I don't think she even knows it herself. But…she doesn't love me the way I love her."_

" _And how is that?" Yuui asks, her voice teetering on the edge of nervousness._

" _Like a best friend and a big sister. I don't see her the way she sees me."_

" _Is there…someone you_ _ **do**_ _see the way she sees you?" Tomoyo doesn't notice it, but a quavering note of hope has entered her voice._

" _There is…_ _ **someone**_ _ **,** " Tomoyo whispers longingly as she reaches a hand up to trail it along the side of Yuui's soft, pale face. "Someone…with the most beautiful blue eyes the world has ever seen."_

_The hope spreads from Yuui's voice onto her face. Her eyes shine with it._

" _Well…that someone must be truly blessed…to have the love of Tomoyo-hime."_

" _Not nearly as blessed as the one who holds your heart in their hands," Tomoyo whispers right back._

_Yuui trembles apprehensively as she gazes down upon the angelic face of the princess. She's beginning to understand what their brothers suffered through. Fear. The crushing fear that you're being foolish…and that the only answer can be 'no.' How can she make the words come out of her mouth? How can she dispel this terror?_

_In a flash of inspiration, Yuui remembers Himawari's advice from so long ago. Singing can stop all fear…all loneliness. And there is one song she remembers Himawari singing to her and Fai a long time ago._

_**Somebody wants you.** _

_**Somebody needs you.** _

_**Someone is searching** _

_**For your heart alone.** _

_**Someone is dreaming,** _

_**Waiting, and watching.** _

_**Someone is coming** _

_**To take you home.** _

_**Time it will fly,** _

_**Like the sun through the sky,** _

_**And what once was 'hello'** _

_**Turns to 'goodbye'.** _

_**Tomorrow is here now.** _

_**Sings in your ear now.** _

_**Child of my heart,** _

_**Your life is your own.** _

_**Never you fear now.** _

_**Your path it is clear now.** _

_**Someone who loves you,** _

_**Someone who loves you** _

_**Is taking you home.** _

" _That's beautiful," Tomoyo whispers, spellbound by Yuui's enchanting voice, as always. "Your voice is so lovely, Yuui. No faerie's could be prettier."_

_Yuui longingly traces a hand down Tomoyo's cheek. "My voice…is nowhere_ _**near** _ _as lovely as_ _**you** _ _are, Tomoyo."_

_The longing in Tomoyo's eyes matches her own as she reaches her hand up to trace her fingers along her ear. Yuui shivers at the sensation. The hope returns to Tomoyo's heart as the older girl slowly leans down toward her. Maybe…tonight is the night!_

_Yuui stops inches from her face. The young princess can feel her warm breath tickling her lips. "Is this…okay? Is this what you want?" Yuui asks nervously._

_Tomoyo smiles. "Yes, Yuui. Yes. Please…kiss me."_

_Yuui smiles, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips to the princess'. Tomoyo lies still for a moment, reveling in the feeling of Yuui's lips on hers. Dear Goddess, how long has she dreamed of this moment? With a small moan of joy, Tomoyo throws her arms around Yuui's neck. Yuui smiles softly into the kiss as she sits up, pulling Tomoyo with her. She gently wraps her arms around the younger girl's waist, pulling her into her lap. Tomoyo almost giggles when she feels Yuui's tongue running shyly over her lips, blushingly asking for permission to deepen the kiss. She gives in, eagerly opening her mouth under Yuui's and allowing their tongues to dance together for the first time. As the kiss grows more and more intense, both girls begin to feel warm desire building between their legs._

" _Mmph!" Tomoyo moans in surprise and pleasure. Yuui suddenly realizes there's an intense heat beneath her right hand. The realization strikes her as the princess reaches for the first button of her blouse. She's allowed herself to become so lost in the kiss that her hand has wandered into the younger girl's yukata. The soft warmth under her hand…is Tomoyo's small breast. Tomoyo moans against her mouth, using her free hand to hold Yuui's in place. The other comes to rest against Yuui's warm stomach. Both girls moan with desire…need. But Yuui finally manages to wrench herself away from the writhing princess. They have to talk about this first._

" _I…I love you," Yuui confesses breathlessly, brushing her mussed blonde hair out of her face. "I always have, but…I was afraid to say anything…in front of Souma-chan."_

_Tomoyo smiles serenely as her love blusters out her confession. She has a lot more experience in the art of dream gazing. She's always known this day would come…and she's half wasted away longing for it._

" _Me, too," she whispers conspiratorially. "I love you, too. I've always known it. I knew it from the moment I first laid eyes on you. You can't know how long I've been waiting for you."_

" _I've got an idea," Yuui grins, her eyes shining with tears of happiness. "I think…I always knew it, too. It just…took me longer to realize it. I was just so hung up on getting Fai and Kurogane-kun together…I ignored…anything…I wanted for myself."_

" _We both did. Do you want_ _ **me**_ _, Yuui?" Tomoyo asks, taking both of Yuui's hands in hers and pressing kisses to them._

" _I do. I want…to love you…if you'll have me."_

_Tomoyo leans against her, snuggling right up against her chest, tucking her head beneath her chin. Yuui takes the hint and wraps her arms around her, pillowing her chin in Tomoyo's soft hair._

" _I'll have you…if you'll have me," Tomoyo whispers contentedly. "I've seen this moment in my dreams. Do you want to know what happens next?"_

_Yuui's face flushes and her grip on her lover tightens. Again, she starts to feel that warm, pleasurable feeling between her legs. "If you…want to show me…"_

_Tomoyo slowly extricates herself from Yuui's grasp and reaches for the obi that holds her yukata together. Once the strip of fabric is gone, the princess eases the fine purple silk from her shoulders and leans forward, gently kissing Yuui on the lips. Yuui trembles when she feels Tomoyo's bare breasts against her own chest._

" _It is a rare thing," the priestess whispers against her lips as her yukata slides further and further down her body, revealing more and more skin. "For two dreamseers to come together like this. We will share power…know each other perfectly…better than anyone else. You've wanted this just as long as I have. I welcome you into my bed and my body freely. I'm ready to be yours. Just…say you'll be mine, too."_

" _I'm yours," Yuui whispers back as she unbuttons her blouse the rest of the way. "I'm_ _ **all**_ _yours."_

" _Then…let us be together as one."_

XxX

Fuuma glanced uncomfortably around the cavern he found himself in. He had been summoned to the labyrinth by Kamui for a meeting. The fact that Kamui had called a council in the sacred caves meant that they would be meeting with dark faeries. Much as the denizens of Faerie hated the thought of servants of the Dark Court defiling the labyrinth with their presence, it was the only neutral meeting ground where both parties could stand. The Lord and Lady did not turn anyone away…good or evil.

The Monou lord was even more unnerved by the company he found himself in. The only people present at this _meeting_ were himself, Kamui, Subaru…and Seishiro. The Shiro brothers were both standing upright, but Seishiro was leaning casually against the cave wall with his arms draped loosely around Subaru's waist.

"Why did you summon me?" he asked, staring directly at Kamui. The guard just glared at him.

"You've been keeping secrets from the court, haven't you, Fuuma?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The court has a right to know the secret you carry."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kamui. But I can keep as many secrets as I like from the court. His Majesty is the one we mustn't lie to."

"I can see you aren't going to come clean willingly. So I will simply force you into this conversation," Kamui said, getting right up in Fuuma's face. "We know…about Prince Fai and Princess Yuui. We know the secret that was buried so long ago."

"How could you?" Fuuma demanded angrily. The revelation came upon him like lightning as his gaze shifted to Seishiro, who possessively wrapped his arms around Subaru and pulled him closer. Fuuma had not seen his cousin for many years, but he knew when he was up to his usual tricks. " _You_ told them! Why? I should think _you_ of all people would want that information concealed."

"I told them because I want to help," he said, wearing the same amiable smile that he always wore…even when talking about killing children.

"You're honestly going to stand there and tell me you _don't_ want my uncle's throne?"

"I'm honestly going to stand here and tell you just that. _My father's_ crown, the rule of Faerie, all of the things that should be mine by right of birth…I do not want any of them. I have been passing information to Subaru for years."

"What _do_ you want, then?"

"All I want is Subaru," Seishiro replied, nuzzling his nose up against the younger faerie's neck. Subaru blushed as his lover continued. "I want him to be my bride. I want to walk side by side with him in the light of day and not have people look down on us."

"Does Subaru want this?"

Subaru nodded. He may as well have been a tomato for how red he was.

"And Kamui…consents?" Fuuma asked, sounding more than a little surprised.

"Yes," the violet-eyed faerie growled.

"Seishiro must have done something truly noble to win Kamui's trust. What makes the two of you so certain he's playing double agent for _you?_ How do you know you're not the ones being played here?" He had never told them what Seishiro was…what he was capable of.

"Seishiro…glows for me," Subaru said softly. Fuuma's eyes widened. One should not go making a claim like that lightly. It was a very important thing in Faerie. The fey held just as much stock by the glow of one's skin as the humans did by virginity. Living as long as they did, virginity wasn't worth very much to the fey. But the glow of skin, to find the one who could make you glow…that was everything. If Seishiro truly glowed for Subaru…that changed everything.

"And…you glow for him?" Fuuma asked tentatively.

"Yes," Subaru replied as Seishiro pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"His skin glows the most beautiful green color I've ever seen."

"You are…actually capable of glowing?"

"Would you like a demonstration, cousin?" Seishiro asked, trailing a hand down Subaru's bare stomach. The two of them happened to be clad only in pants at the moment.

"You're no cousin of mine," Fuuma replied coolly. "You _killed_ my father."

"I'd really hoped we were past all that. But tell me, you can see into my heart, can't you? I love Subaru. _He_ is my heart's true desire. Do I speak the truth, Fuuma?"

It was true. Fuuma could see into the hearts of most beings. He had a very…unique Hand of Power. He could see what a person's deepest desire was. To him, a person's innermost thoughts were written plain across their face. But Seishiro…was different. His face was strangely blank in the face of Fuuma's magic. He had never understood why…but now that he knew the truth, he supposed this was because of the Sakurazukamori. He was also fairly certain Seishiro _knew_ he couldn't see his true heart…and that made him uneasy, but he nodded anyway, if only to give poor Subaru some peace of mind.

"So…you've sworn you don't want power and told me you know the one secret that could have secured it for you. Why exactly are you including me in your little circle?"

"Seishiro fears that Yue and Kero _will_ deem him worthy to sit on the throne."

"You?"

"I want to prevent that from happening," Seishiro said calmly in the face of his cousin's disdain.

"How do you mean to do that?"

"My father's chosen heir will not be able to kill me. I know that now. The only other way is to present proof of fertility. There must be a child. One of the heirs must have a child…and it won't be me. It's been at least a thousand years since I've done anything that could _possibly_ give me an heir."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you are the one who will give Princess Yuui Fluorite a child."

For a moment, it did not sink in. But then…

"What? How could you possibly ask such an abomination of me? The princess is a child! Yuui is-"

"Fuuma!" Kamui shouted over him, trying to calm him. "We understand how you feel, but it can't be helped. You are one of the ones who needs an heir."

"But this isn't just about me, is it? It's about Yuui."

"That's so," Seishiro said languidly. "But for the sake of your sanity, we'll pretend it _is_ about you. You _must_ get a child on Yuui."

"Isn't there…someone else who could do it? Surely the princess has a lover-"

"She does, but I sincerely doubt Princess Tomoyo Youou of Nihon can give her a child…no matter how many times they lie together," Seishiro said with a lascivious smirk.

Fuuma stiffened upon hearing this. First Prince Kurogane and Prince Fai, now Princess Tomoyo and Princess Yuui? The intrigue surrounding these siblings was going to end up destroying all the kingdoms one day.

"There's also the fact that Prince Fai will most likely never take a woman to his bed and Prince Kurogane cannot give him a child, either," Kamui noted.

"Why can't one of _you_ do it?"

"Because I cannot have an heir," Seishiro responded matter-of-factly. "It must be you because no one could discredit a child born of you and Yuui. You both come from noble stock. An heir of the Shiro line might be discounted by the court. No one would dare challenge your child…especially if Yuui is the mother."

"I think that statement works better the other way around. Would Faerie truly accept her? Yuui has mortal blood."

"She will be recognized. I know it," Seishiro said confidently. "There is no other way, Fuuma. Would you rather we asked you to get a child on Kotori?"

"Leave her out of this!" Fuuma snarled. "You've caused her enough pain!"

"Fuuma," Subaru started beseechingly. "One of the twins must have a child. As things stand, neither of them ever will."

"Whatever happened to the engagement?"

"You are a fool if you truly believe those children will not fight their hardest against that contract," Kamui said.

"Please, Fuuma. We cannot ask Prince Fai to get his own sister pregnant. There is no one else who can do this."

"But…Yuui is my-"

"We know," Subaru interrupted gently. "If there were any other way, we would never ask this of you…but there isn't. It has to be done. If we are to bring Yuuko down and secure Faerie's future…sacrifices must be made."

"You're asking me to rape a sixteen-year-old girl. She will never consent to lie with me. She wouldn't believe me, even if I _did_ explain the situation to her."

"You're a faerie, aren't you? Seduce her," Kamui said matter-of-factly.

"Princess Tomoyo is her lover, is she not? I sincerely doubt she would be interested."

"Enchant her, then. Our forefathers were not above using their magic for such ends."

Fuuma stared beseechingly at Kamui for a small moment.

_You are also asking me to betray…my_ _**own** _ _heart's desire…Kamui._

"If this is what you wish of me, Kamui," he began, quickly gathering his composure. "Then I will do this thing you ask of me. I will commit this sinful act in your name."

Kamui turned away from him, sighing bitterly. "I don't want to have to do this anymore than you do, Fuuma. What we're going to do is evil. I have no illusions about it…but it must be done."

"Easy for you to say. You don't have to dirty your hands with this. You won't have to look into her eyes while you rape her and force a child she doesn't want on her. Will there be anything else, wise and noble lords?" he asked mockingly.

"Don't tell my father anything, of course," Seishiro said, pulling Subaru into his arms, as if mocking the fact that Fuuma could not do the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lullaby for this chapter is "Taking You Home" from Wolf Quest.


	14. Each Little Bird

"Why did we have to wait until dark?" Kurogane asked anxiously when Yuui finally appeared at the border with Larg sitting on her shoulder.

"Why do you ask questions you already know the answers to?" Yuui returned as Kurogane reached down a hand to help her onto Suwa's saddle. "You know perfectly well why we had to wait until dark."

"Sorry," Kurogane apologized gruffly. "I'm just worried about Fai…and don't you _dare_ tell him I said that!"

"I don't need to, Kurogane-kun. My brother knows his Kuro-puppy is worried about him." Kurogane growled, sounding very much like an enraged pup. Yuui smiled as she continued. "Besides, there's nothing to be worried about anymore. The worst is over."

Fai had been sick the past few weeks. At first, it had just seemed like a cold…but then it had gotten worse. He'd had violent coughing fits and he'd stopped eating. He'd taken to bed and spent most of his days sleeping, too weak to rise. Instead of the healthy white glow his skin usually had, it had faded to the sickly pallor of illness, half the time sweating with fever, the other half shivering with chills. Watanuki had finally diagnosed the sickness as pneumonia. The three guardians had fussed over him endlessly. Fai had never been sick before. For a time, the illness had been so severe they had feared he would die. He had lain on his bed, still as death. The little family had almost missed the days when he'd been _able_ to cough himself to exhaustion. And of course, Kurogane had heard about everything through Tomoyo. He'd flown off the handle, demanding to be allowed to see Fai. He'd even threatened to just come there himself, before Yuui reminded him that he had no idea where they lived and that it wouldn't help Fai if he came hunting for them and got himself killed. Besides, even _she_ hadn't been allowed to see him during those few weeks when the situation had been at its worst.

Thankfully, Watanuki had finally been able to come up with the right combination of herbs and charms, and Fai had started to get better. The coughing lessened and his skin returned to a healthful color. He was awake most of the day now and he was asking Yuui when he could see his Kuro-koi again.

"You might want to hold on," Yuui warned. Kurogane did so…and the two teenagers, the Mokona, and the horse were suddenly in the middle of the forest.

"That is all kinds of weird," Kurogane muttered, glancing around, though he could barely see anything.

"It's actually pretty easy," Yuui responded, quietly urging Suwa into a walk.

"Why can't you just take us straight there?"

"Because Watanuki, Himawari, and Doumeki set up some very powerful wards around our land. Only they can teleport directly to the cottage. I can teleport _away_ just fine, but when coming _back_ , I can only teleport so far as the wards."

"How long will it take to get there?"

"No more than ten minutes. Be patient, Kurogane-kun. I'll get you to him."

Kurogane grumbled his thanks and the two rode in silence for a while. After a few minutes, Kurogane got up the nerve to ask, "How…how is he? He's really feeling better?"

"Much better. He still feels tired and I still have to do all his chores, but he's eating again. All he does is ask about you. 'When's Kuro-tan coming to see me? When are you bringing him? When's Kuro-puppy coming to see me?' On and on," Yuui said, trying to sound annoyed, but failing to hide her happiness. "How's Tomoyo?"

Kurogane rolled his eyes. "Can't wait to see _you_ again. Hey…you two haven't…you know…have you?"

Yuui laughed. "No. Not in the waking world, anyway. We are dreamseers, after all."

"You…you mean…" Kurogane blustered, his face turning red.

"Every night. But we are still virgins. Tomoyo doesn't want to wait, but my terms are that we wait until she's sixteen."

"Good," Kurogane huffed. "If you touch my sister a second sooner-"

"You've really got no right to talk. You who screws my brother senseless every chance you get…my poor innocent little brother! Have you no shame, you lecherous-"

"Hey! I'm getting a little tired of your words about my character. I _think_ I recall him being there, too…a willing and active participant even."

"You led him astray!" Yuui sighed melodramatically.

"Oh, stop whining! You don't even _know_ if you're the older twin!"

"Hush, Kurogane-kun. We're almost there. Don't want to wake the others," Yuui cautioned. Kurogane glanced ahead through the forest but still saw nothing. They passed through an archway of trees and into a glen. He thought he could see a dark, foliage-covered something, but he couldn't quite make it out. Then some clouds parted, the moon shone down into the glen, he blinked, and the something suddenly took shape as a small, two-story cottage.

"Home, sweet home," Yuui whispered as she dismounted. Kurogane was right behind her. Yuui placed a hand in Suwa's mane and he immediately began to follow her around the side of the house. Kurogane followed them and found himself standing outside a very small stable built onto the side of the cottage. He stuck his head inside and found Yuui leading Suwa into a stall next to Leval. The two horses seemed very happy to see each other again. The stable was also occupied by a goat and a few chickens.

"Okay," Yuui said, turning to face him. "Ready to go see Fai?"

Kurogane nodded. Yuui grinned and led the way back around the house. When they stopped, she pointed up to the second floor, toward an open window.

"We have to climb up there?" Kurogane asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course. You don't even _want_ to know how many enchantments are on the front door. I'll go first and make sure the coast is clear. Once we're in, we'll leave you two alone. All you have to do is lock the door behind us. And don't worry, he's not contagious anymore, so you can kiss him all you want… _wherever_ you want," Yuui teased. Kurogane thanked the God it was too dark for the girl to see his heated blush.

Yuui grabbed hold of a few of the vines growing up the side of the house and began to hoist herself up. Kurogane followed close behind. Once the girl reached the window and climbed inside, Kurogane hung just below, out of sight. He waited for several breathless moments for some sort of sign. He could hear some indistinct mumbling coming from the room but that was about it. Suddenly, Yuui's head appeared above him, waving him forward.

"Come on, Kurogane-kun. All clear."

Kurogane easily pulled his body over the windowsill and landed nimbly on his feet.

"Perfect landing, Kuro-rin. I've missed you and your ninjaness so much. Both in and out of bed," a weak voice teased.

Kurogane glanced around the room, taking everything in. The small room was lit with several balls of soft, silvery light. It was sparsely furnished and two beds were set up against the wall, both canopies. Soel was bouncing up and down on a bed that had probably been made prior to its antics. On the bed closest to the window lay the one he'd missed so much.

"Fai," he whispered, his heart lightening instantly. But just as he was about to go to him, a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Uh-uh uh-uh," Yuui chided him. "You have to lock the door first," she reminded him as she dragged him away from Fai. "And take this off," she said, quickly ungirding Sohi for him.

"But Yuuiii! I want my Kuro-lover noooow!" Fai whined softly.

"Sheesh! At least keep it in your pants until we leave the room," Yuui scolded. As she stepped out the door, carrying the Mokona in her arms, she turned back to Kurogane one last time. "Be good, Kurogane-kun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Kurogane gave her a look that plainly said, 'Are you serious?' before closing the door and locking it. The next moment, he was on the bed, on top of Fai, covering his face with kisses.

"Mm…Kuro-koi," Fai moaned against him, returning kiss for kiss. "How long has it been?"

"Too damn long!" he muttered gruffly, never once ceasing to kiss him.

"I've missed you so, Kuro-puppy."

"Don't do that again. I was so…worried about you!" Kurogane admitted, pulling his lover into a fierce embrace, savoring the feeling of their two hearts beating in harmony…dispelling the horrible nightmare that one of them had almost stopped…forever.

Fai sighed, contentedly resting his head against Kurogane's chest as the prince cradled him in the warm circle of his arms. "It feels like it's been a hundred years since you held me. I missed you so much. Did you miss me, too?"

"I was going crazy," he replied as he laid the two of them down. "All I could think about was you. I kept dreaming about you. I could hear you…crying out in pain…but I couldn't come to you. No one would let me. But I kept trying."

"I dreamed…that I was lost in a desert. I wandered for days and days without food or water. I walked until I couldn't walk anymore…then I crawled…because I _knew_ I had to see you again. But they kept telling me I couldn't…that I _wouldn't_. And…when I couldn't crawl anymore…I dreamed that…that I died." He didn't fail to notice the way Kurogane's arms tightened around him at this. "But then…I heard your voice…calling out to me. It brought me back…back from beyond the grave. You reached out your hand…and you led me back home…to where you are. That was when…my fever broke. And…every night after that…I dreamed that you finally came to me here…but you found me dead. Everyone else had given up hope…but not you. You breathed the life back into me with your kiss. And now…you're finally here…here with me…holding me. Goddess, I missed you!"

"Yes. I'm here," Kurogane whispered, tracing his fingers down Fai's bare back. The boy was clad only in a pair of loose sleep pants at the moment. "And _you're_ not going anywhere," he reprimanded, pressing several light butterfly kisses to Fai's white neck.

"Kuro-mii?" Fai started, burying his fingers in his lover's soft, black hair as he peppered his face with kisses. "If I died…would you kiss me back to life?"

"Always," he said seriously, pulling himself away from Fai and moving to his knees, gazing tenderly down at the blond's beautiful face. "I couldn't _live_ without you. I wouldn't _want_ to. Besides…any excuse to kiss you," he smirked, leaning over the smiling blond once again and pressing his lips against his. As their tongues and lips began to dance together once more, Fai moaned softly against him, fisting the black material of his tunic in his desperate hands.

"Mmph…Mm…please—Kuro-tan…let's…tonight…I want you…so bad," he moaned, plunging a hand into Kurogane's pants, reaching for him.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Mm…agh! Wait a second!" Kurogane protested, seizing Fai's wrist, though his hand was already hard at work. "Nngh! We can't…oh! Mm! Nngh…be doing this…mmph! _Oh, Goddess_ …tonight! Mm… _yes_! Right there…that feels…so good. Mm…ah…ah! _Stop it!_ " he hissed, finally pulling Fai's hand out of his pants.

"B-but…Kuro-chuu…I…I _missed_ you. Why can't we?" Fai asked, pouting in that sickeningly cute way of his. Kurogane took his face in his hands, crouching over his body, careful not to let his growing arousal touch his lover. If he did…he wouldn't be able to stop himself. He pulled Fai's face close to his and gently kissed his lips, refusing to let the embrace become too passionate.

"I missed you, too, idiot. But you're still recovering. You're not in any condition to be having sex."

"Oh…but Kuro-anaru! I'm _so hot_ …so _ready_ for you. Why won't you let me have my Kuro-tachi?" he hissed in his lover's ear before bucking his hips up against him and causing him to collapse on top of him. Kurogane groaned when he felt their throbbing lengths crash together. He was driven even more wild by the things Fai was whispering in his ear. _Goddess forgive me, but I need this too much._

"I'd very much like it if you'd fuck me tonight, Kuro-koi," he whispered, his hot breath tickling the prince's ear as he slid his hands under his tunic.

"I won't fuck you, baka koibito. Not tonight. I _will_ make love to you, though," he whispered, placing slow, gentle kisses along his jaw line. He felt his heart skip a few beats when he felt Fai's face shift into a smile beneath his lips.

"That's fine with me, Kuro-tachi. I just want to be with you," the blond whispered as Kurogane finally allowed him to slip his tunic off. The ninja suddenly felt slightly self-conscious when his lover started giggling.

"What?"

"Kuro-myuu…you brought the sun with you."

"Eh?"

"Look," he teased, reaching for the sun charm around Kurogane's neck. The ruby pendant glittered faintly in the dim light.

"Good thing, too. Since you always seem to have the _moon_ with you," he responded, reaching for the moon charm resting on Fai's pale chest. The faint glimmer of the sapphire pendant rose to join the ruby one. They twinkled merrily together, looking for all the world as if they belonged there.

"Where did you get this?" Kurogane asked. He had seen the charm around Fai's neck for years, but he had never seen it side by side with his own. The charms themselves were different, had different stones, were set in different metals…and yet, they were so very similar.

"I've always had this, Kuro-chuu…for as long as I can remember. It was on me when Doumeki, Watanuki, and Himawari found Yuui and I as babies. Sometimes we think that maybe…our birth parents gave it to me. Maybe Yuui used to have a matching one and…just lost it or something."

Feeling the cool weight of the moon charm in his palm, Kurogane felt a bolt of familiarity flash through him. A memory was there. It was at the back of his mind…the tip of his tongue. If he only stretched his hand a little further, he could reach out and touch it. But the next moment, it was gone, and he was staring at an ordinary necklace again. However, rather than drop the thing and get back to what he'd been doing, he used the charm to initiate things. He allowed the pendant to rest flush against his palm and pressed several tender kisses to the cool sapphire. Fai's hands trembled violently, causing him to drop the sun charm. His eyes half-rolled back into his head in pleasure.

"Mm…feels…so good…Kuro-puppy. More."

Kurogane quickly laid his slender lover back down and slowly started to strip him of his pants. For every inch of fabric he removed, he placed a gentle kiss on Fai's heated arousal. When Fai was finally naked beneath him, he moved back up to his face, kissing the fine contours and soft hollows that he knew so well. He couldn't quite hear what, but Fai mumbled something as he seized the sun pendant. The moment he pressed his lips to the slowly heating rubies, Kurogane felt his entire body tingle with pleasure.

" _Sweet Consort!_ " he moaned in rapture, half-collapsing on top of Fai. It felt…so… _amazing!_ Fai grinned wickedly as he swirled his tongue all over the surface of the charm, finally taking the whole thing in his mouth and sucking on it, all the while making delicious moaning sounds. Sweat broke out all over the prince's body. He dug his fingers into the bedding and buried his face in the pillow beneath Fai's head, screaming as he drowned in the sensations. Oh, Goddess, if he didn't stop soon he was going to…

With one last wicked grin, Fai released him from his cage of torment and bliss, allowing the pendant to slide out of his mouth. As the golden, saliva-slicked charm slid from between his lips, the mewling sounds he made almost caused the prince to come. God, he was so close already.

"Do you like the curtains, Kuro-chan?" Fai asked as he sat up. He had picked the most non-sexual topic he could think of while pinned beneath his lover. He didn't want Kurogane to come yet.

"What?!" Kurogane hissed, on the verge of anger.

"Watanuki made them," Fai explained as he crawled around the bed, pulling all of the white gossamer curtains closed and snuffing out all of the glowing balls of light. "They're enchanted. They're supposed to protect our dreams."

Kurogane had to resist the urge to throw the boy down on the bed and fuck his brains out. What kind of question was that? If he didn't take Fai soon, there was going to be trouble. He wanted to be gentle with his recovering lover, it was true, but Fai just really knew which levers to pull with him. He always had.

"Now," Fai continued, crawling back over to Kurogane and snaking his hands eagerly into his lover's black pants. "Where were we?"

Kurogane grinned wolfishly as he helped Fai remove the last of his clothing. When at last there was nothing between them but their skin, they attacked each other voraciously. Soft sheets, sweat, rose oil, hot skin, hotter desire, soft, damp hair, delicious moans, heavy panting, love bites, bruised lips, tender kisses, hot breath, warm, moist tongues, wandering hands, dancing fingers, slick thighs, thrusting hips: all of it combined to bring the ultimate pleasure.

"So beautiful," Kurogane moaned as Fai climbed on top of him.

"So…strong," Fai panted back to him as he began to lower himself down onto Kurogane's fully erect member.

"So… _mine_ ," they breathed in harmony as they moved together.

"All mine," the prince whispered, thrusting his hips up to meet Fai's rhythm. With one hand, he jerked his lover's manhood, and with the other, he held his cheek, gazing directly into his eyes as they began to glow, along with the rest of his body.

"Always," Fai returned, thrusting himself down on Kurogane even harder. For a few timeless moments, there was only the sound of their breathing and their flesh as they moved together on the bed. Then Fai gripped Kurogane's muscled arms, supporting himself as he leaned down over his lover. Kurogane eagerly moved up to meet him, though he was nearly blinded by the glow of his angelic face.

"I…love you…nngh…so much…ah…Kuro-sama," he moaned before crushing his lips against the ninja's. Neither of them realized it, but both of their pendants had started to glow…and, as they kissed, the charms joined together as one, glowing even more brightly.

"Nngh…I…love…you…mmph…Fai…oh!" Kurogane panted in between kisses as he moved his hands to Fai's hips, forcing their joining to become even more heated and passionate.

Fai sealed Kurogane's mouth with a kiss when the ninja finally came, screaming his name into his mouth as he spilled himself into Fai's most secret place. When the hot flood between his legs finally ceased, Fai suddenly shot up, wrenching the charms apart once more. The light from his body, along with the scent of wild roses, filled the room as he reached climax. He threw his head back, crying his lover's name to the heavens as the orgasm seized him.

Kurogane held him in his hands as the seed erupted out of him, gushing all over his stomach and gathering there in a warm pool. Fai hurriedly lifted himself off of the prince and promptly collapsed on top of him, kissing his face with wild abandon as his essence cooled between their sweat-slicked bodies. Kurogane wrapped his arms tightly around his lover, holding him fast to his chest as he returned each kiss.

"You are _so…fucking…beautiful_. I could watch you glow forever."

"Well, then," Fai started as he finally let his head rest on Kurogane's chest. "You'll just have to make me glow forever, Kuro-lust."

"Your wish is my command," Kurogane said softly, kissing his lover's forehead and eyes even as the glow of moonlight faded from his skin.

"You know something, Kuro-koi?" Fai said as he propped himself up on Kurogane's chest, forcing the ninja prince to move his arms to his waist. "I feel _amazing_ right now."

"Well, I'd feel pretty stupid if you didn't. I feel pretty damn good, too."

"That's not what I _mean_ ," Fai half-whined as he traced nimble fingers along the beautifully defined muscles of his lover's chest. "Kuro-large performed beautifully, as usual…of course. He took me to Heaven and back. But…what I mean is that…I don't feel sick anymore. I think…I think I'm healed."

Kurogane gazed curiously up at the blond. "What do you mean? You think…us having sex…cured you?"

"I don't know," Fai replied, allowing his fingers to wander up to Kurogane's face. "That could have been it…or it could have been something else," he muttered as his gaze slid down to the faintly glowing charm on his love's chest. He knew his own pendant was magic…but what about Kurogane's? Perhaps they had somehow…reacted to each other? Maybe that was what healed him? Could it really have been just his own magic reacting to Kurogane…when it had taken even his guardians weeks to devise a charm to save him from death?

"Let's not worry about it now," Kurogane said as he pulled Fai's large blue quilt over their cooling bodies and pulled Fai himself back into his embrace, finally laying them both down. "You're feeling better now, right? That's all that matters right now."

"I missed you so much," Fai said, snuggling right up against Kurogane. "I thought about you every day…even when I was unconscious. There were times when I was lucid…when I _knew_ I was dying…and I always thought, 'Let me live. _Please!_ Let me live. Let me see Kuro-pii one more time'."

"One more time would never be enough. I don't want to talk about you dying anymore. I'm just glad you're okay," he whispered into Fai's hair before pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. "I don't even want to _think_ about you dying. I missed you, too…too damn much. I might be gone when you wake up. Right now…I just want to hold you."

"Kuro-pon…will you sing to me?"

Kurogane quickly backed out of the kiss he'd been about to give Fai and stared at him, mouth agape.

"What?!"

"I like it when someone sings me to sleep. Tomoyo-chan keeps telling us you have such a wonderful voice, but I've never heard you sing…not ever."

"I don't _like_ singing," he muttered, going slightly red. "Besides…it's nothing like yours. Can't you sing _yourself_ to sleep?"

"It doesn't work like that, Kuro-koi," Fai giggled as he placed a kiss on his lover's forehead. "Am I not worth a song?"

Kurogane groaned, closing his eyes in exasperation. Of _course_ the idiot was worth a song...but…he just…

"Come on. Pleeaase!" Fai begged, deploying his deadly puppy dog face. "Sing me a love song, Kuro-lover."

Oh, for the love of Goddess, _fine_! There was at least one song he knew. A song he remembered Kusanagi singing to Yuzuriha. He wasn't certain of all the words, but it was worth a shot if it was what Fai wanted.

_You're in my arms_

_And all the world is calm,_

_The music playing on for only two._

_So close together,_

_And when I'm with you_

_So close to feeling alive._

_A life goes by._

_Romantic dreams must die._

_So I bid mine good bye and never knew,_

_So close was waiting, waiting here with you_

_And now, forever, I know_

_All that I wanted, to hold you_

_So close._

_So close to reaching that famous happy end._

_Almost believing this was not pretend._

_Now you're beside me_

_And look how far we've come._

_So far we are so close._

Fai sighed as he listened, cuddled in the warm safety of Kurogane's arms. The prince really did have a wonderfully rich voice. Why he didn't like using it was beyond Fai. And the song itself was so beautiful. He could stay here forever…were it not for the fact that Kurogane would be torn away from him in one year and ten months by some prissy little bitch neither of them had ever even _met_. Fai clung to his love even more tightly at the horrid thought.

Kurogane was also thinking about it as he sang…how much he loved Fai…and just how badly he would crush them both when he was forced to walk away from him. What would he do…on the night of his wedding? There had to be a way out! There just had to be! The prince held Fai impossibly close as he sang the last verse, all of his love, sadness, desire, and anger fueling the words as he sang to his beloved.

_Oh, how could I face the faceless days_

_If I should lose you now?_

_We're so close_

_To reaching that famous happy end._

_Almost believing this was not pretend._

_Let's go on dreaming, though we know we are_

_So close_

_So close…and still_

_So far._

As the last words left his mouth, Kurogane lifted Fai's face up and tenderly kissed his lips. Fai could feel tears forming at the corners of his eyes; so the moment the kiss ended, he buried his face in Kurogane's chest, preventing him from seeing them.

"I love you…Kuro-koibito."

"I love you, too…my love," he whispered back, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"Please…don't leave me."

"I will never."

"Good…goodnight, Kuro-sama," he mumbled, kissing his chest as he closed his eyes.

"Sleep well."

Several hours later, when the sky was just beginning to lighten, Yuui unlocked the door and crept in, removing the silencing charm she'd placed on the room as she did, the Mokona bounding in right behind her. A warm smile worked its way onto her face when she pulled back the curtains of Fai's bed to find Kurogane, lying awake, holding a sleeping Fai in his arms.

"How long have you been awake?" she asked as she sat down beside them on the bed.

"I didn't sleep," he replied as he stroked Fai's hair. "I'll sleep when I get back to Nihon."

"Kuro-prince has lots of _stamina_ ," Soel teased.

"Shh!" Kurogane shushed angrily. "He's sleeping."

'Sorry,' Soel mouthed.

"Sorry, Kurogane-kun, but it _is_ about time for you to get going. I think Doumeki's awake now. The others won't be far behind."

"I know," he said, his expression unreadable as he breathed in the scent of Fai's hair one last time before getting up and tucking the quilt securely around his sleeping lover. Yuui politely turned away as Kurogane dressed himself. When he was ready, he moved back over to the bed and leaned down over Fai, dropping a last, loving kiss on his forehead.

"I love you," he breathed in his ear.

_I'm counting the minutes until we're together again._

"Mm…Kuro-rin," the boy mumbled in his sleep. Kurogane smiled longingly down at him one more time before following Yuui and Larg over to the window. Once they were out, Soel went about its work. The Mokona was very grateful that the two little bunny rabbits hadn't made a mess of the quilt. The mess was only _under_ the quilt. It made disposing of the evidence so much easier. Once all was in order, Soel pulled the curtains closed again and snuggled up with Fai, ready to announce to Watanuki and Himawari that Fai had been innocently sleeping in his bed all night. But it wasn't either of them who entered the room first.

Doumeki walked in not long after the others had gone. He knew before opening the door that his adopted son's lover was already gone, but his musky, earthy scent still lingered in the room…along with another scent; a scent that would hopefully be gone by the time the others made their morning rounds. It was faint, but the twins' room still smelled of sex.

XxX

"Chi-san? Chi-san?" Eriol called as he wandered through the corridors, searching for his nurse. It wasn't as if the nine-year-old still felt the _need_ for a nurse. He was actually quite self-sufficient for his age. But Chi was still his friend…and right now he wanted to show her the teddy bear he'd just finished making. Unfortunately, he hadn't seen much of his friend this past week. A new delegation had arrived from Nihon and that ninja boy she loved so much was among them. His father was always saying that Hideki wasn't right for Chi…that he was a clumsy and inept ninja and he wouldn't be a good husband for her, but Eriol didn't think any of that was important. He just liked watching the way the two of them smiled whenever they were together…like the world was made up of just the two of them. It reminded him of his own parents…of his aunt and uncle. And now, with thoughts of Chi and Hideki's blossoming relationship in his mind, he realized that the best place to look for his friends would be the temporary quarters of the ninja guards.

The boy found the quarters mostly empty. A few of the ninja were on break and they paid little mind to a boy wandering around clutching a snow white stuffed animal in his hands. Unfortunately, neither Chi nor Hideki were to be found in the common area.

"Excuse me, Ninja-san? Is Motosuwa-san here?" he asked one of the guards.

The ninja chuckled as he pointed down one of the corridors. "Third door on the right. Don't know if he'll answer you though."

"Why? Is he sleeping?"

The other ninja snickered. Eriol, confused, just shrugged and headed off in the indicated direction. He could definitely hear sounds coming from behind the closed door. So he wasn't asleep.

" _Oh…nngh…Hideki-kun!_ " Chi's voice!

The boy couldn't quite understand Hideki's reply. All he heard were a few moans and unintelligible shouts. Oh, dear! Maybe poor Hideki had injured himself in training…or maybe thieves had tried to sneak into the palace and he'd been hurt in a battle bravely trying to defend his Chi?

"Chi-san? Motosuwa-san?" he called, knocking on the door. There was no response. His small voice didn't carry well enough over the moaning. It sounded suspiciously like something Mama and Papa did sometimes, but that couldn't be it. There wasn't a red ribbon tied to the doorknob. Perhaps Chi was just too distracted by her Hideki's injuries to notice the door? Maybe he should go in and see what he could do to help?

"Chi-san?" he called softly as he opened the door, only to be met with a very loud squeal. The two lovers were sprawled out on Hideki's bed. Hideki was clad only in his pants…which were already pulled halfway down. Chi was beneath him. Her dress had been unbuttoned in front and hiked up around her waist. The next moment, Hideki was on the floor, blustering and trying to pull his pants up, and Chi was pulling up a blanket to try and cover her bare breasts.

"Eri-kun, Chi is so sorry!" the nineteen year old squeaked as she turned a furious shade of red.

"No. _I'm_ sorry, Chi-san," Eriol apologized, blushing lightly as he turned away. "But…why don't you have a red ribbon tied to the door?"

"Huh?" Hideki mumbled, confused. He'd managed to get his pants up, but he still pulled a pillow into his lap to keep from traumatizing the poor boy any further.

"I walked in on Tou-san and Kaa-san like this once. Kaa-san said that he would tie a red ribbon to the doorknob whenever they were doing it, so I would know if it was okay to come in or not."

"Well," Hideki mumbled, running his fingers through his messy black hair. "Maybe we should start doing that, too?"

"What did you need Chi for, Eri-kun?" Chi asked, tucking her long hair behind her ears with one hand, holding the blanket in place with the other.

"I just wanted to show you the bear I made," he said shyly, holding the bear up without turning to see her reaction.

"Oh!" she gasped in delight. "He's a very handsome bear. Such pure white fur. Did you make him for someone?"

"Kind of," Eriol said, blushing even more deeply. He had had someone in _mind_ when he made the bear, but he wasn't sure if he could ever actually _give_ it to her.

"Now, now," Yukito's voice suddenly sounded in the corridor. "What are you doing to our Chi-chan, Motosuwa-kun?"

"Oh, Fluorite-sama! It's wonderful! Look!" Chi cried joyfully as she held up her left hand. A simple copper band was wrapped securely around her ring finger.

"Chi-chan!" the high priest exclaimed, nodding his head in approval. "Does this mean that-"

"In the spring, Chi will be Hideki Motosuwa-san!"

"I see. So…do you mean to have your first child present at the wedding?"

Both teenagers blushed furiously at this.

"We'll leave you two bunnies to it, then," Yukito teased, gently scooting his son out of the doorway and closing it. Then he turned mock-stern eyes on Eriol.

"They didn't have a red ribbon," he explained softly.

"It's all right, Eri-chan. They need to have _some_ idea of what it's like to have children beforehand. I see you finished your bear," Yukito said proudly as he led his son out of the temporary quarters.

"Uh-huh!" Eriol said, just as proud of the achievement. "I just finished this morning all by myself."

"Does he have a name yet?"

Eriol began to blush again. "Well…no. I was thinking…of maybe…giving him to someone."

"Oh?" Yukito began to tease. "Is my Eri-chan feeling his first love?" Eriol's blush only deepened. "Don't tell me. Let me guess. Is it…Chi-chan?"

"No!" Eriol insisted, wrinkling his nose. "Chi-san is like my big sister!"

"Could it be…hmm…ah! I think I know!" he crowed triumphantly. "Priest Mizuki's daughter, Kaho-chan, maybe?"

At this point, Eriol might as well have been a tomato for how red he was. He nodded.

"Excellent choice. She's a very nice girl."

"She is," Eriol agreed. Kaho was his best friend.

"I know she'll love it, a beautiful piece of craftsmanship like this made with love. Shall we give it to her now?"

Eriol hesitated a moment. He was nervous…but his mother's warm words had convinced him.

"Okay," he consented, taking his mother's hand again and following him to Kaho's quarters. He could just picture the way her face would light up when she saw the gift.

XxX

"Well? Have you figured out what's wrong with her?" Doumeki asked, leaning against the small stable. Leval had been acting skittish and very picky about her food of late. Himawari was, at present, giving her a full examination to find out what the problem was. As she emerged from the stable, the animal sprite's face looked slightly pale.

"Yes…but I don't see how it's possible."

"So?"

"Leval is going to have a foal in the spring."

"That's good news," he noted stoically.

"I…well, yes. The twins will be very exited. But I just don't see how it could have happened."

Doumeki knew who the sire was. Fey horses were very particular about whom they chose for mates and the prince's horse was truly a magnificent animal. However, he couldn't let Himawari and Watanuki know that just yet.

"Could it be that some other horse got to her while you were running errands in Shirasagi?"

Himawari looked uncertain. "I guess it's possible. I've never seen a stallion in Shirasagi that Leval would deign to submit to, but it clearly happened while I _wasn't_ looking, so…Yes. That _must_ be what happened. I'll go tell Fai-chan and Yuui-chan."

Doumeki wandered into the stable after Himawari went breezing into the cottage. Leval was standing contentedly in her stall, munching on some oats.

"The two of you will certainly make a beautiful foal," he commented as he ran his fingers through her mane. "Though…you'd _think_ if those children wanted to keep their secret, they'd work a little harder to keep things like this from happening."

XxX

"You've come to see me every time I've asked."

Kokuyo grinned to himself as he pulled the light faerie into his arms. The two of them were lying together on the banks of the Hana River. It was late in the afternoon.

"Even though you are of the light…and I am a servant of darkness."

"I don't care about that. I just like being with you…Kokuyo," she said, laying her head down on his chest. The dark faerie had started to think it odd after about a year of this. She knew his name, but he did not know hers. He had never asked and she had never offered it. Now he almost felt embarrassed to ask her.

"Me, too," he said softly, thinking about all of the things he _should_ be doing. Inspecting troops, torturing prisoners, taking inventory of supplies, striking fear into the hearts of the people of Valeria. "I like it better here with you."

It had started slow. When this had begun, she had neither refused nor embraced his advances. Whenever he had tried to hold her, she would act like they were merely discussing the weather. The general was eventually forced to take the hint and he would simply sit by her side or walk with her, just talking. After a time, he found he had grown to enjoy it…the sound of her voice, the look in her eyes whenever she talked about things that seemed unimportant, the way she smiled whenever _he_ spoke. Slowly, he started to realize he no longer viewed her as an object to be desired. He was content just being with her. When he was not with her, all he could do was think about her. He would sometimes find himself trying to imagine some of the things she might say when next they met. Certainly it would be wonderful if she consented to lie with him…but he found he didn't need that anymore. He would be content just to lie by her side forever, tracing kisses over her beautiful face.

The caresses had also come very slowly. When he had stopped trying to jump her, they had started by simply holding hands. Then she would let him hold her. The kisses had come last. Kokuyo was perfectly aware she had him whipped, but he really did not care. As far as he was concerned, he was her slave. Nothing else mattered to him anymore. Not the light, not the dark, not his queen, not his clan, not his position, not the impending war…nothing. Goddess forgive him, but he loved her. And she seemed to feel very much the same way.

"I would rather be here with you…than anywhere else in Heaven, Hell, or on Earth," she said as she ran her fingers through his dark hair.

"Really?" he asked, pressing a tender kiss to the pulse point in her neck. She shivered with pleasure.

"Yes," she moaned.

"Does that mean…that you'll let me have you?" he whispered, suddenly feeling nervous as his trembling fingers undid the first button on her tunic.

"Yes."

In no more time than it took to draw a single breath, Kokuyo had slipped the clothing from both of them. As he laid her down beside the Hana River, she gave herself to him utterly, and they were united as one soul, their skin glowing in a beautiful harmony of light.

Afterward, the two lovers lay, nude, on the riverbank, still intertwined in one another.

"I've never asked you your name," Kokuyo muttered as he ran his fingers idly through her unbound golden hair, loving the feeling of his body resting in hers as they slowly cooled.

"It's Hisui."

"Just like the Master of the Wind," he commented casually.

"Uh-huh," she began slowly. "Because that's me."

Kokuyo felt his heart freeze in his chest. "You're…Hisui…Master of Wind? That makes you one of the Four Generals." He had just bedded the enemy. For two years…he had been spilling his secrets to the enemy.

"Is that a problem? Are you upset with me?" Hisui asked, suddenly looking terror-stricken. Kokuyo felt his heart clench at the sight. No matter what she had done, he could not bear to see that look in her eyes.

"So…all this time…were you doing this…just to get information from me? Am I nothing more to you than an informant?" He could live with being betrayed…but he didn't think he could handle it if she didn't care for him at all.

"No!" she insisted vehemently as she pulled away from him. "I never told anyone I was seeing you. No one knows about us."

"Us?" he whispered as he sat up, reaching for her. She nodded.

"Us," she said, leaning forward to kiss him. Kokuyo felt that their lips had only just touched when all of his senses suddenly went on hyper alert. His body stiffened briefly and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

"I've made up my mind. From this day forward, I will be free of the Dark Court. I defect to you, Hisui. I will lay my fortunes at your feet."

Hisui smiled and kissed her lover again. "Faerie will gladly welcome you back."

"Go to Spirit Lake and wait for me there," Kokuyo said as he handed the wind sprite her clothing. "There is one last thing I need to do."

Both generals were dressed in the blink of an eye. Kokuyo moved to steal one last kiss from his lover.

"Don't take too long, my love," she whispered before disappearing into the forest.

"I'm sorry, Hisui. I've only just found you…and this is already goodbye."

"Very eloquently put, my handsome traitor. I'm curious. Did you know I was here the whole time?" Yuuko asked as she emerged from the trees.

"If I had, I wouldn't have put Hisui on display for you like that. I only sensed you when you wanted me to." He wasn't happy about it, but he knew it would please her.

"Trying to be a hero, are we? Tell me, after I've killed you, what's to stop me from killing her, too?"

"You will not touch her," he replied confidently. "You cannot approach Spirit Lake, _my queen_."

"Are you so certain of that? Clow's enchantment is growing weaker all the time. I can enter the forest now. I come closer every day. I could kill her and force you to return with me, but you're no good to me without your loyalty. I have no desire to imprison you beneath the ground forever. But I cannot allow you to carry all of that lovely military intelligence into their hands either. You understand?"

"Perfectly," he said calmly. He had no hope of defeating her. He knew that. But she wasn't going to harm Hisui. She just _wasn't!_

"I'd enjoy killing you immensely. I would love to feel the life drain out of that powerful body of yours," she said, moving toward him in a way that suggested she meant to seduce, rather than slay him. "However…I find myself in a position where you are of more use to me alive. So…" She stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

Kokuyo did not react to her touch. He may as well have been made of stone. But, suddenly, his eyes widened and he felt his body stiffen and grow cold. He began to shiver uncontrollably as his vision darkened until all he could see was Yuuko.

"Do you feel it?" she whispered against his lips, catching him in her arms as his body began to fall. "Do you feel the venom I spread over my lips coursing through your veins, stilling your blood forever, sending your mind deep into a cold, dark sleep? There are things so much worse than death, Kokuyo. Your clan will choose a new leader. Hisui will forget about you with time. You, on the other hand, will have an eternity to remember…an eternity to watch her through cold, dead eyes, never able to reach for her again."

Kokuyo tried to respond, but he couldn't make his mouth work nor draw breath to make a sound. His body was steadily going slack and he could feel his blood growing cold. The faerie lord barely had time to feel horror at his fate as his eyes slid shut for what might be the last time. He truly did not mind this living death. What he _did_ mind…was the thought of never being able to hold Hisui close again.

"KOKUYO!" he suddenly heard her screaming.

_No! No! Hisui, run! She'll kill you! Ru-_

Yuuko smiled as she pulled away from the sleeping corpse on the riverbank, chuckling as the Wind Master flung herself down beside him. The former Satani lord's face was white as snow and the rise and fall of his chest was barely detectable. He looked for all the world like a corpse three days dead.

"What have you done to him?!" the distraught sprite demanded, taking her comatose love in her arms. She was barely aware of whom she was speaking to.

"Your lover knew the consequences of his actions. This is what happens to people who betray me."

"Bring him back!" she demanded tearfully. Yuuko leered down at her, seizing her chin in her hand and forcing her to look up at her.

"Kokuyo tried to save your life. Arousing my anger is, I think, a very poor way to repay his _sacrifice_."

The telling of Hisui's life would have been very different from that moment on; in fact it might have ended there, were it not for the storm of fire, water, and earth that came swirling toward them at that very moment.

"LET HER GO, YOU MONSTER!" Ryuuki screamed as he hurled ball after ball of blazing fire at the dark queen. He was backed by Ransho, summoning up the very earth. Touki came last of all, rousing the Hana River into a furious frenzy. Yuuko blocked all of their attacks easily, all with a languid leer on her face and while still holding Hisui's chin firmly in her hand. Ransho managed to get a hit in, but Yuuko responded in kind by firing dark magic at Ryuuki. The instant the sludge-like substance touched him, it began to devour him. The combatants slowly came to a standstill.

"Get thee gone, foul darkness!" Ransho hissed, ready to summon up another attack. "You are not permitted to be here!"

"But it appears you cannot keep me out any longer, can you? Tsk, tsk, tsk. I almost want to know if you could actually do anything to _stop_ me from killing this little bitch."

"Harm one hair on her head and I'll make you pay for it!" Ryuuki shouted, struggling to free himself from Yuuko's enchanted slime.

"Oh, all right. Have her back," Yuuko said with a sigh. For a moment, she gripped the wind sprite's chin even tighter, drawing blood with her nails. "Enjoy the stud you've won off of me. I daresay you'll have trouble getting him to be quite so virile now." Then Yuuko threw the younger faerie to the ground and vanished. Ransho and Touki rushed forward and Ryuuki struggled to crawl to them.

"Are you all right, Hisui?" Ransho asked, trying to have a look at her chin.

"I'm fine," she insisted, trying to shrug him off. "How did you find us?"

"His Majesty told us that Yuuko was in the forest and Ryuuki remembered that you had gone out. He was worried, so we came looking," Touki explained.

"Is that…Kokuyo Satani?" Ryuuki asked in horror. "What's _he_ doing here? Oh, Consort, he didn't…touch you, did he?"

"It is. And yes, he did touch me. I let him touch me. He's here because of me. We have to help him!"

"Are you insane?" Touki asked in her normal stoic tone. "He is Yuuko's top general. Why should we bring him into Faerie?"

"He's not hers anymore. He was coming back to our side. Yuuko's done something horrible to him. We have to find a way to save him!"

"Why?" Ryuuki demanded angrily. "It's no less than he deserves. Do you _know_ how many innocent people he's killed?"

"Because I love him."

Ryuuki felt like he'd been slapped. But before he had time to feel anything more, Ransho broke in.

"I believe you, Hisui. We'll do our best to save him. Surely the king will be able to do something," the earth sprite said soothingly as he lifted the unconscious Kokuyo from Hisui's arms and helped her to stand. Without being asked, Touki lifted Ryuuki into her arms and followed after the other two. Spirit Lake would be able to cleanse him of this dark magic.

As Ransho led her back toward the lake, Hisui couldn't take her eyes off of her fallen love. He'd known Yuuko was there! He'd sent her away on purpose! If she had ignored her misgivings and not returned, Goddess only knew what might have happened. He looked so close to the edge now…so weak and helpless.

"He's fading," she whispered weakly.

_There_ _**must** _ _be a way to save him! There must be!_

XxX

Most people knew not to disturb Koryu whenever squeals and moans were echoing from his room. As such, he was surprised when he heard his door opening.

"Ignore them," Ruri moaned.

"Stay with us," Hari panted.

Koryu just groaned. Ruri and Hari were his servants…a perfectly matched pair. There was _nothing_ they would not do for him. He _hated_ being forced away from them. If this wasn't important, there would be _hell_ to pay!

"What?!" he shouted, leaping out of bed…stark naked. He was shocked to find the queen herself standing before his bed.

"Good evening," the queen said, casually examining her fingernails.

"Your Majesty!" the young faerie blustered, bowing low. Ruri and Hari squealed and ducked under the blanket. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"How would you like to be lord of the Satani Clan?"

For a moment, Koryu just stood there, staring at her. Him? Lord of the Oni?

"But…what about Kokuyo?" Because Kokuyo had no legitimate heir of his own yet, Koryu, as his younger cousin, was first in line for the title, but…what had happened?

"He won't be coming back."

"What? Why?!"

Yuuko raised an eyebrow, giving him a look that clearly said, 'Do you really want to be asking me that?' Koryu just swallowed hard and fell silent. A Satani had been Master of the Oni for time out of mind. The Oni were comprised of the most fearsome, nightmarish creatures in all of Faerie. It was the Dark Court's command of the Oni that caused the Court of Light to tremble in fear. However, if a formal transfer of power did not happen soon, they would no longer have control of them. The Oni needed a master or they would run amok. Any master would do. Not for one moment did Yuuko think that Koryu was actually strong enough to control the Oni, but that was all the better for her. He would serve his purpose. He could act as a figurehead and still allow her to keep control of the fearsome Oni.

"As my queen wishes," the young Satani finally capitulated. He vaguely suspected that he was signing himself up to be a banquet, but there was little choice in the matter. It was either submit to her will…or end up like Kokuyo.

"Good. The ceremony will take place on the night of the full moon. After which, I can see you letting me borrow your two little kittens."

Koryu said nothing as Yuuko swept out of his chamber. Once she was gone, he climbed back into bed with his 'two little kittens'.

"Are you really going to give us to her, Koryu?" Hari asked nervously.

"I've heard she's really violent when she takes women to her bed," Ruri added.

"The queen has her pick of her servants. If she wants to bed you, there's not a lot I can say," he said, cuddling the two smaller faeries close to his chest. Then he gave each of them a kiss and reached his hands down to the lower regions of their bodies. "Now then…where were we?"

Yuuko had a good chuckle as she listened outside of the newly appointed faerie lord's quarters. At this rate, she might need someone tonight.

"You sent for me, Mother?" Seishiro asked quietly as he appeared beside her.

"Yes," she said, instantly all business as the two began to walk away down the corridor. "I need you to secure all of our positions in Valeria and at the Nihon border. Kokuyo has betrayed us."

"Really?" her son asked casually. "Most unfortunate business, that. May I assume Koryu will be the new head of his clan?"

"Yes."

"Can he handle it?"

"Most probably not. But it's also likely that after so many centuries, the Oni will not accept anyone other than a Satani as their master. But that's for me to worry about. I'll need you to get to work now."

"As you wish, Mother dearest."

"By the way, whatever became of your work with Fai? Your first session made for a very interesting show, but I never heard anything after that."

"Unfortunately, I didn't manage to make him mine. The little ninja prince pulled him from my grasp. It would appear the boy is his heart's one true mate."

Yuuko stopped in her tracks. For a moment, she got a very strange look on her face.

"If that is the case…I will greatly enjoy slitting his royal throat and stopping that glow forever."

XxX

"What do you mean you can't help him?!" Hisui's distraught voice echoed through the corridors of the palace.

"What I mean is just what I said, Hisui. I'm sorry," Clow said sadly as he drew a blanket over Kokuyo's slumbering form. "There is nothing _I_ can do for Kokuyo. Yuuko has woven her web well. This spell is beyond my skill to heal."

Rather than allow anger to take over, Hisui felt herself overcome with sadness and guilt. Helplessness and loneliness washed over her as she collapsed beside his bed. She buried her face in the blanket as she seized his cold hand in hers.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried out, though she knew he could not hear her. "This is all my fault!"

"This evil was not of your making. Don't despair," Clow tried to comfort her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Hisui shrugged him off.

"It _is_ my fault. He wouldn't have defected if it weren't for me! Yuuko would have left him alone!"

"Hisui, Kokuyo was always going to come back to us. He was never evil, just lost," the king said knowingly. "This was always going to happen."

"But…surely there must be _some_ way of saving him," Ransho suggested. He couldn't stand seeing his youngest general in such a state. Touki was standing passively by, watching the proceedings with a critical eye. Ryuuki had not entered the room.

"I will, of course, keep searching for a way, but for the moment, all we can do is make sure he's comfortable."

"But…what if he…slips away from us?" Hisui asked weakly. "What if he _dies?!_ "

"If he dies, then he dies," Touki replied dispassionately. "There is nothing we can do about it." Hisui could not hold back her tears at this. Ransho shot Touki a look.

"He will not die, Hisui," Clow reassured her. "So long as you are here for him to come back to, he will keep fighting."

Hisui did not respond to this. She remained draped over the bed, clutching desperately at Kokuyo's limp hand while tears streamed silently down her face. Clow sighed.

"I think it would be best if we left them alone now," the king said softly, signaling to the other two masters. Hisui did not move from her spot. She remained kneeling beside the bed, gazing down at her love's pale face, hunched over in the pose of one who wishes to bring death upon herself.

_You can't leave me! Not now!_ _**Not now!** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lullaby this chapter is "So Close" from Enchanted.


	15. If My Heart Keeps Singing

"To Tomoyo!" Yuui shouted as she raised her cup in the air, practically smashing it against Souma's before downing it. It was her third glass. Souma was on her fourth.

"Honestly, Yuui, that's the third toast you've made tonight," Tomoyo scolded her lover lightly, sipping daintily at her own cup of wine, which was still her first.

"And I'll make a hundred more! Because my Tomoyo is finally sixteen!" she yelled, pulling her lover into a very sloppy hug. Tomoyo blushed lightly when the older girl pressed a kiss to her cheek.

After celebrating Kurogane's seventeenth birthday with a midnight party, they had taken to celebrating each other's birthdays in a similar fashion every year. Kurogane and Fai had gotten smashed and disappeared into the forest some time ago. Souma and Yuui were well on their way, as well. Tomoyo enjoyed the fey wine well enough, but she also figured that someone had to keep a cool head. Unfortunately, that was becoming increasingly difficult with Yuui's free hand groping her. She gasped in surprised delight when she felt that hand slip into her peasant's blouse.

"Tomoyo-chan…your hair looks…sooooo pretty!" Souma sang drunkenly…right before passing out cold beside the small campfire they had going.

"Oh, dear," Tomoyo murmured softly, extricating herself from her lover and crawling over to Souma. She appeared to be fine, just passed out. The teenage princess smiled softly as she pulled one of the blankets over and covered Souma's body with it.

"Here…lemme try something," Yuui said as she crawled up beside her, placing a hand on Souma's forehead. She closed her eyes and her hand glowed briefly. Then she sat back on her heels, rubbing her hands together. "That should help with the hangover."

"Thank you."

"I need some more wine," Yuui announced with a small meow.

"Yuui!" Tomoyo protested, quickly grabbing hold of her sleeve. "You _can't_ get drunk tonight! Who's going to give me my birthday present?"

The seventeen-year-old grinned slyly as she turned to face her lover. Tomoyo felt herself blushing again when she pulled her into her arms. This embrace was much more tender…more intimate than the last one.

"That's right," Yuui whispered against her lips. "I _did_ promise you, didn't I? On the night of your sixteenth birthday…"

Tomoyo began to tremble as Yuui pressed her lips to hers. She suddenly found herself feeling very shy. Interesting…in the dream realm, _she_ was usually the aggressor. But now she found herself feeling unbearably self-conscious. Maybe she just felt like she had the upper hand in the dream realm? The land of the living was Yuui's territory.

"You're so beautiful, Tomoyo," Yuui whispered to her as she trailed kisses down her neck.

"Mm…Yuui," she moaned, tangling her fingers in the taller girl's silken, blonde hair. The trembling intensified as Yuui began to untie her blouse. The moment her tanned stomach was exposed to the cold night air, Yuui placed a kiss on her belly button, swirling her tongue around inside the small dip. The princess continued to moan, holding Yuui's head to her flesh as she worked her magic with her tongue and lips.

Slowly, the blonde worked her way back up her lover's body, lavishing her soft breasts with kisses as she bared them to the night. The moment the younger girl felt her hot mouth on those deliciously sensitive areas, her nipples stood at attention and she clutched Yuui's head even tighter. She threw her head back as Yuui sucked the hardening flesh in just the right way. Her small body was already _aching_ with need. Yuui's hands were _everywhere!_ On her stomach, on her back, at her shoulders, in her hair, on her face, down her _skirt_ , roaming over her firm backside…Yuui silenced her gasp of pleasure with a kiss as her skilled hand wandered to the warm, moist cleft between her legs.

"Oh! Nngh! Mmph! Yes…Yuui!" she moaned in bliss as she gently rubbed the inner walls of her body with nimble fingers. Her own blouse slid from her shoulders and gathered at her elbows as she desperately fisted Yuui's blouse in her hands.

"So…soft…mm…" Yuui moaned against her as she reached for the spot that would melt her sweet koibito with pleasure.

Tomoyo felt bliss shoot through her body as Yuui worked at the spot. Her legs suddenly gave out beneath her. The sensation growing in her body was just too much…too wonderful.

Yuui swept her up in her arms as she fell, hugging her close to her chest and giving her a long, slow kiss. As Yuui carried her into the forest, Tomoyo began to fumble with the buttons of _her_ blouse, never once breaking the kiss. When Yuui laid her down not too far from the clearing, she was surprised to find herself lying on a soft blanket instead of the hard ground.

"When did you-" she started to ask, still dazed from her almost-climax.

"Magic," Yuui said with a wink. She smiled seductively down at her lover as she unbuttoned her blouse the rest of the way, making quite a show of removing the garment before her half-lidded, violet eyes. Then she grabbed Tomoyo's wrists, pinning them to the blanket as she ravished her face with her mouth.

"Nngh…Yuui… _at last!_ " she cried out as she bucked her hips against Yuui's. "I've waited…so long. Mm…touch me!"

"Oh, I'll do more than touch you," Yuui murmured, her breath hot against Tomoyo's ear. The alcohol was making her a great deal bolder than she normally was. Tomoyo shivered with desire as her hand slid into her skirt once again. She could feel herself blushing again as Yuui started to work at her pleasure nub. Yuui noticed this, and slowed her excited fingers just a little, continuing to tease her lover between her legs as she teased her with her words. "Why are you acting like a blushing virgin all of a sudden? I know your body almost as well as my own."

"I _am_ a virgin," she said with a small grin. "You don't yet have my virginity out here in this world."

"Which is interesting because, as I recall, _you_ were the one who took _my_ virginity the first time. Let me return the favor. Let's make it official…make this world recognize us," Yuui said as she moved slowly down Tomoyo's body, pulling the last of her clothing off as she went. When the princess was finally naked beneath her, Yuui nestled her head against her sex, wetting her cheek slightly on the sticky heat coming from her body. "You're the most beautiful princess the world has ever seen," she exalted.

"You've never _seen_ another princess, Yuui. And I'm nowhere _near_ as beautiful as you are," she replied, smiling in bliss as she stroked her blonde hair. Yuui smiled against her body as she gripped her hips.

"I'm not a princess, migoto Tomoyo."

"You're a princess to me. You're _my_ princess. You're my sky, Yuui."

"Mm," Yuui moaned through the haze of wine as she rubbed her face against her, exciting her even more. "Let's make love."

"Nngh… _yes_ ," the little princess moaned as her lover moved back up her body and began to kiss her breasts again as she plunged her fingers into her soft flesh, working at her pleasure spot with a passionate fire in her movements. Crying out Yuui's name, Tomoyo came all at once, covering her slender hand with the hot, wet fruit of her loins. Tomoyo's cries of bliss and the feeling of her legs clamping tightly around her hand as she came lit a blazing fire deep within the blonde girl. She suddenly felt unbearably hot and her inner thighs felt deliciously moist…the beginning of her own orgasm was building in the very core of her. So desperate was she to have the full feeling of this rapture overpower her, that her movements suddenly became much more animalistic as she removed the last of her own clothing.

" _Oh…Goddess! Yes…Yuui!_ " Tomoyo cried out as the older girl plunged her fingers into her once again.

"Tomoyo?" Yuui whispered, on the very edge of her control. "I'm going to try something different. Tell me if it hurts too much."

The black-haired princess suddenly felt something… _more_ inside of her. Something bigger, harder, and infinitely more powerful than just Yuui's fingers. She dug her own fingers into Yuui's shoulders as the _thing_ moved slowly into her body.

"What…what is it?" she hissed in pain as her body stretched to accommodate the invader. When Yuui heard the pain in her voice, the movement stopped instantly.

"I'm using magic," she whispered soothingly as she wrapped her free arm around the younger girl's trembling shoulders. "It's just my fingers. They only _feel_ like…that. If you want me to stop, I will."

"No. Keep going," Tomoyo groaned as she rested her head against Yuui's shoulder. "It only hurts a little. I kind of…like it."

Yuui nodded and continued, her lover's first climax easing the passage of her magic. When Tomoyo cried out again and she began to feel something warm trickle onto her hand, her instincts told her it wasn't cum this time.

"I'm sorry! Do you want me to stop?" she asked, though she could feel her climax screaming to be released. The tears gathering in Tomoyo's violet eyes were a bit of a deterrent.

"It…it _hurts_ …Yuui," she whispered in pain.

"I-I'll stop," she assured her, beginning to withdraw her power.

"Don't!" Tomoyo suddenly insisted. "It's supposed to hurt. Let's just finish it now."

"If that's what you want…" Yuui started hesitantly. Slowly, ever so slowly, she allowed her magic to grow the rest of the way into Tomoyo's body. The two of them breathed together, slowly becoming accustomed to the alien sensation. When the younger girl's breathing had ceased to be shaky, Yuui slowly began to move her body. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

Yuui couldn't quite manage to keep her movements slow as the raw fire between her legs mounted her reason and rode her just as surely as she was riding her lover. However, thankfully, just when poor Tomoyo thought she could endure no more of the burning pain, Yuui's magic hit that special spot deep inside her that brought waves of ecstasy the likes of which she had never experienced, waking or dreaming.

"Ah! Nngh! Yuui…please… _harder!_ " she cried out, bucking her hips up in time with Yuui's.

"Ha! Ha! Mm! Yes…Tomo…yo! Ah!" Yuui panted as the rhythm between them stimulated her own sex. She was so close now…so close to the edge…so close to spilling out of her own skin and joining with Tomoyo to become the single entity they were always meant to be. She cried Tomoyo's name as her climax finally attacked her, beginning between her legs and breaking outward all over her body like several glorious waves. The moonlit glow of her skin burst outward like a star going supernova and the scent of apples and honey filled the night air as she rode out her ecstasy.

The Nihon princess' second orgasm seized her when she felt Yuui's warm sweetness dribble onto her inner thighs. Her cries rose to join with Yuui's as her body tightened around her girlfriend's fingers, secreting even more of the sticky fluid. Her climax swept through her, drowning her in waves of rapture.

Still shaking and barely able to move from the force of the shared orgasm, Yuui gently extricated herself from Tomoyo's body and rolled onto her back, pulling Tomoyo over to lie on her stomach. Their tangled legs were slick and sticky with each other's warm essence. As they lay, naked and spent, in each other's arms, they shared several tender kisses.

"You're so beautiful, Yuui," Tomoyo whispered against her lips. "Dreaming doesn't even compare. Your skin…it looks like you've swallowed the moon…and I feel like the moon is making love to me…like the Goddess herself is in you. I love you, Yuui."

"And I love you, Tomoyo…my princess…my light," she whispered back. She could feel sleep inexorably spreading to all of her tired, tipsy limbs as she pressed another kiss to the corner of Tomoyo's mouth.

"You're _everything_ to me," the disheveled princess breathed as she clung to her lover…as if she expected her to disappear if she let go. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Yuui glanced curiously down at the top of Tomoyo's head before dropping a reassuring kiss there. She began to rub the younger girl's back in an attempt to comfort her. Where was all of this coming from? Fai and Kurogane were the ones facing the threat of an impending marriage, not them…right?

"You're not going to lose me, Tomoyo. You'll always have my arms to hold you…and my lips to kiss you…and _me_ to love you. Please…get some sleep. Dream these fears away. Dream about…us."

"I'll try. Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you, too, my Tomoyo, my migoto koibito," Yuui whispered as she pulled the quilt over their bodies. The last things she felt before drifting off were Tomoyo's lips on hers, kissing her goodnight.

"I love you," Tomoyo whispered once she was certain Yuui was asleep. "My Yuui. My Yuui…Hime."

She knew. She had known for many years now…because she had dreamed of their wedding almost every night since knowing her. She would see her brother and Yuui standing before Chang Ang and Yukito Fluorite, Kurogane dressed in his black silk kimono and Yuui clad in a gown of beautiful white silk with a veil covering her face. Neither had ever looked nicer. She would watch as the Valerian priest joined their hands and the Nihon priest bound them together with a string of red. The two would give vows of eternal fidelity and love to each other and Chang Ang would declare them man and wife, future emperor and empress of Nihon, bound together for life by the red string of fate. Then Yukito would lead them away amongst a crowd of wedding guests…to consummate their marriage. Everyone else was blind. Only Tomoyo was ever able to see the tears of heartbreak streaming down their faces. When she was young, she did not understand the reason for their tears, but as the years passed, she had begun to understand…and she had begun to cry herself. As her own tears flowed, she began to see new people in this desolate vision of the future. She could see Fai, standing in between King Syaoran and Queen Sakura. He was dressed quite handsomely and a small crown of silver was set upon his golden hair. He looked for all the world like a prisoner being led to his own execution. Tears of misery slid uncontrollably from his eyes, invisible to all but her. She could almost feel her friend's heart breaking. She would see him reach out for her brother and he would reach back for him, but the distance between them could never be closed because the red string bound him to one whom he did not love. A similar scene would happen between her and Yuui. They would reach for each other, but the chains of red string that bound her to Kurogane kept them apart. All of these wedding guests, all of this royalty, all of these priests…they were all fools! They did not see! Why did they not see? Was there no hope at all?

She lived every day as if she did not know because she just had to believe there was hope left. There had to be some way to change this future…some way to unbind this awful red string that had been tied…and retie the freed ends to her and Fai's broken, mangled strings.

"I'll find a way, my hime," Tomoyo whispered against Yuui's large, soft breasts as she snuggled even deeper into her embrace. "I'll find a way."

She would. She _had_ to! Something terrible was going to happen on the night of the wedding. Time was running out…for all of them.

As the five friends slept, cradled safely in the arms of Celes, they were also kept safe under the watchful eyes of the Mokona twins.

"Maybe it's a good thing Yuui and Kurogane can't get Tomoyo and Fai pregnant?" Larg joked. The black Mokona was nestled in the branches of a tree overlooking Yuui and Tomoyo's campsite. It would occasionally hop the short distance to check on Souma. "These little bunnies would have made over a hundred babies by now with the way they get sweet in the grass."

"Maybe…but it might be a problem. Everyone will try to keep them apart. Soel doesn't think the kingdoms will _want_ heirs who can't continue the royal lines," Soel replied soberly from its own tree, where it kept watch over Fai and Kurogane. The two lovers were sound asleep, drunk on wine and each other, having indulged excessively in both. Kurogane's cloak was draped loosely over their bodies. Beneath it, they were just as naked as their sisters.

Both Mokona were confused by Tomoyo's dreams. She and Yuui were inextricably bound together, as were Kurogane and Fai. This was Hitsuzen…the path that fate had decreed. They both knew this as surely as they knew their own names…and yet the poor Nihon princess still dreamt of this abominable wedding night…of tears and broken strings of fate. Why was it so? Why were they still hurtling toward _this_ future? It had to be stopped…or it would be too late for the twins.

What were they doing wrong?

XxX

"Oi! Tomoyo! Wake up! I'm not carrying you to your room."

Tomoyo stirred when she felt her brother shaking her. She yawned, stretched, and finally opened her eyes. She was in the stables back home, still sitting in Suwa's saddle. She vaguely recalled saying goodbye to Yuui, but she had fallen asleep after that.

"Where's…Souma-chan?" she asked sleepily as Kurogane pulled her down from the stallion.

"She's already inside. Do you know how long I've been trying to wake you up? Don't think you're getting out of walking to your room just because you had a wild night." The prince _wanted_ to be angry at the thought, but found he couldn't be. He didn't mind so much…if Yuui loved his baby sister the way he loved her brother. If someone had to take her virginity, at least it was someone she loved, not some stuck up border lord looking to gain favor with their mother by bedding the royal princess. To find something like what they had…was rare for people in their position.

"Like _your_ night was any less wild. Tell me, was Fai-kun _good_ last night. I could hear you two breaking each other's backs a long time before Yuui even laid hands on me," she commented with a lazy smile. Kurogane blushed to hear such words from his little sister's mouth. He would have to have a talk with Yuui.

"You shouldn't say things like that…not when we're at home. Someone might hear. Go on. Get some more sleep, you little snake. We don't want people asking about what we've been up to if you fall asleep at breakfast."

"If you insist," the sixteen-year-old said, smiling cheerfully as she left her brother to unsaddle Suwa. She was still sleepy, but there was a definite spring in her step as she moved up to her quarters. She would have arrived there even before the sun rose were it not for the hand that suddenly seized her arm and dragged her into a room. She was about to scream when a hand covered her mouth.

"What have we here? A little lost princess?" Kyle Rondart's voice whispered in her ear. "Perhaps we can…oh, my."

The empress' adviser suddenly caught a whiff of Tomoyo's hair. It smelled very strongly of…

"Oh, dear. What _have_ you been up to, little Tomoyo? You're not a _virgin_ anymore, are you," he hissed. "What man will want you now?"

Tomoyo tried to mumble a denial, but Kyle's hand still blocked her mouth. She struggled against him, but he had an uncanny amount of strength for a man his size.

"Now, now. Don't try to lie to me, my little one. The scent of sex clings to you like a second skin. What dirty stable boy convinced you to spread your legs for him? Or…maybe it was some ambitious serving wench? Tell me, my pretty thing, who has ruined you?" He released her mouth, but he still held her body tightly in his arms.

"How dare you?! How dare you treat me like this?! How dare you speak to me this way?! I am a princess of Nihon!" she hissed, attempting to crane her head around to look him in the eye and failing.

"A princess? Try filthy harlot of the alleys of Shirasagi. No doubt you're carrying a bastard child at this very moment. Whose brat will make your belly grow fat?"

"Let go of me!" she shouted. Couldn't anyone else _hear_ this?

"I _did_ have some good news for you. I was looking for you all night. Well…now I know where you were. Off whoring yourself."

"Stop it!"

"Your mother has chosen a husband for you. But I'm not sure if we could convince him to take you as you are now…a ruined girl. How would you like to be married to Lord Mong Ryong of Koryo Province?"

Tomoyo's struggles ceased. Mong Ryong was nice from what she remembered, but he was ten years her senior…and he was not Yuui. Plus, Koryo was on the northern borders of the empire…up where it snowed most of the year and the sun did not shine…up where Nihon bordered the lands of the Dark Faeries. It was impossibly far away.

"I…I would never see home again," she whispered in shock.

"That's the idea, princess of whores," he said cruelly as he roughly began to drag her away from the door. Tomoyo realized they were in a small set of guest chambers. Kyle was dragging her toward a mirror. "I've got an idea. Why don't we just not tell him? We'll sell you off either way…damaged goods or not."

"Help!" she screamed, struggling her hardest. "Someone help me!"

"Scream all you want, my darling. No one can hear you," he hissed, flicking his tongue over her ear as he positioned her in front of the full-length mirror. Using one hand to keep her imprisoned, he used the other to tear open the peasant blouse she still wore.

"No!" she screamed. " _Let me go!_ "

"Why are you making such a big fuss? I bet you were enjoying it when you had some dirty little peasant inside you. Wouldn't you prefer me?" Tomoyo didn't even see how he managed to do it, but the next moment, her skirt and undergarments were on the floor, bunched around her ankles.

"NII-SAMA!"

"He can't hear you. Don't worry, Tomoyo-chan. I'm not going to hurt you. I only want to have a look." Using his elbows to pin her arms to her sides, he began to fondle her breasts, forcing her to watch everything he did in the mirror. She stopped screaming. She stopped fighting. Her throat filled with horror at the realization that no one was coming. As Kyle reached down to feel her exposed sex, he began to boast again.

"Your mother hasn't given me a child yet. Perhaps she's past her time. I'd almost rather have a child from _your_ young, strong body. You could bear me a child."

Tomoyo was in shock. As he dragged her over to the futon and threw her down on it, all she could do was cry. There was nothing she could do to stop this from happening. She cried harder as her attacker crawled on top of her naked body.

"Don't worry," he said suddenly, standing up. "I won't take you today. I only wanted a look…and to scare you a bit. But, rest assured, I will claim my share of you before we ship you off to the north."

Tomoyo just lay there, unable to comprehend what was happening anymore. She watched Kyle readjust his clothing with a dazed expression on her face. Before leaving, he turned back to her one last time.

"By the way, Tomoyo-chan, if you _ever_ tell anyone about this…I'll kill your brother. Don't think for a moment that I won't."

"No!" she cried out weakly. "Don't hurt…my brother. I'll do…whatever you want."

Kyle smirked. "Considering what you just let me do to you…really poor choice of words. I'll hold you to them." Then he was gone.

Tomoyo hung her head over the side of the futon and emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor before burrowing under the blankets and curling into a ball. She lay there for hours, sobbing. Tell someone? Heh…as if she could. There was nothing anyone could do. Kyle was practically in control of the palace now. The only thing that stood in his way…was Kurogane…and he meant to kill him. Kyle…Mong Ryong…why hadn't she seen any of this coming? Maybe she had…and she had simply been too caught up in the problems with the twins to notice? The only one who could help her now…was her.

XxX

Himawari hummed to herself as she moved through the streets of Shirasagi. She felt like nothing could dampen her spirits right now. Leval had finally given birth to her foal; a beautiful filly with a shimmering silver coat. The twins had named her Tomoeda. Fai had been depression free for more than a year now and Watanuki wasn't shouting at Doumeki so much these days. It was almost like back in the old days.

However, no matter how happy life was in Celes, the three guardians could not completely ignore the events taking shape outside of its boundaries. Yuuko's minions were clearly moving against Valeria. King Syaoran was expecting help from Nihon when the marriage contract between Prince Kurogane and Yuui was finalized, but Amaterasu had remained silent thus far. In fact, the empress had been silent on most subjects of late. They had heard that King Reed's spies feared Yuuko had a mole in Amaterasu's court. The guardians ventured into Nihon less and less these days.

Less than a year remained. Himawari was not looking forward to returning to court life. She was especially not looking forward to giving up the only children she had ever known.

"They're not _your_ children, Himawari," she reprimanded herself. Her happy mood had suddenly gone flying out the window…and considering who was approaching her from behind, it was unlikely to ever return again.

"Well, if it isn't Himawari Kunogi," Kyle Rondart's voice sounded in her ear as he unobtrusively wrapped his arms around her waist. The animal sprite stiffened. "What could you possibly be doing in my fair city?"

"You're the mole," she whispered. Part of her wanted to scream for help, but she couldn't involve these innocent people. They couldn't do anything.

"I am much more than a mole, Himawari. I am personal adviser to the empress…and her royal consort. When she is pregnant with my child, I will be emperor."

Himawari's eyes widened in horror. Kyle…emperor of Nihon? They weren't just chaining their only daughter in a loveless marriage…they were selling her right into the hands of the enemy.

"Tell me, Himawari, because I'm curious…where are you hiding those _rotten_ twins? You've been able to keep them from us for seventeen years already and some of us are getting a little impatient. You know my queen will claim them in the end. Why fight it? Either we find them before the wedding, or your Yuui marries the prince and she walks willingly into our hands anyway. Tell me where you're keeping them."

"I would sooner die," she said resolutely. "I am no less their mother than Queen Sakura is. The only way you're taking them is over my dead body."

"I like your spirit…but I have something much more delicious in mind. How does this sound? Himawari shall never know peace again," he began, his voice taking on a darker, more lurid tone. Himawari felt a chill sweep through her body as the dark magic was called down on her head. "She will never again find rest and she will lose what she treasures. All who love her will each suffer in their turn and turn the suffering upon Himawari. You are unclean and you are cursed. Your mother's blood stains your hands and your heart, and you will never be clean again."

Then he was gone, his wicked laughter echoing in her ears as the citizens of Shirasagi continued to mill about her, going about their own lives…never knowing that hers had just been shattered.

Kyle's words summoned up painful memories…images of blood and gore…a mother, _her_ mother…the one who had disowned her at birth and left her to die…begging her for mercy…

" _Spare me…_ _ **my child!**_ _"_

…blood…the scent of death…screams of pain and horror…her mother's cold, empty eyes…staring up at her in death…the only recognizable part of her face.

Suddenly, the image changed. Her mother's mangled corpse was holding Fai and Yuui in its arms. They were both dead. More began to appear. Watanuki, Doumeki, Soel, Larg, the king, her father, her grandmother and grandfather, her uncle, Subaru, Kamui, Fuuma, Kotori…Had she…killed them all?

Fai and Yuui's lifeless eyes gazed up at her…still beautiful, even in death. Their blood-soaked mouths did not move, but she could hear their accusing voices in her head, just the same.

" _You killed us. We are dead…because of you!"_

"NOOO!" Himawari screamed as she collapsed, passing out cold in the middle of the street.

XxX

" _No! No! I would never hurt them! They're my_ _ **babies**_ _!"_

" _What difference does that make?" he taunts her. "You killed your own mother. You tore her throat out. Family clearly means nothing to you."_

"It's not true. It's not _true!_ " Himawari cried out as her eyes flew open. She found herself lying in her own bed.

"What happened?"

The animal spirit glanced toward the door and found Doumeki leaning against it.

"Doumeki?" she whispered as she sat up. "Where's Watanuki?"

"Trying to keep the twins from breaking down the door. They panicked when I carried you through the front door unconscious. The scent of darkness is on you. What happened to you?"

Himawari swallowed hard as the memories came rushing back. "I…I'm cursed."

"…"

"Kyle…he's the mole in Amaterasu's court. He's poisoned her mind. If…if we give Yuui to the prince, we'll be killing her. I can't do that, Doumeki. I can't do it!"

Doumeki sighed heavily. "That's _not_ for us to decide. They're not ours, Kunogi. When the time comes…we'll just have to speak to the king and queen."

" _We_ raised them! _We_ watched them grow! _We_ kissed them when they cried! _We_ helped them stand when they fell! We _should_ have a say!"

"Don't do this to yourself, Kunogi," Doumeki warned her as he sat down beside her. "It was not Syaoran and Sakura's wish to be absent from their lives. We made this arrangement because there was never any other choice." It hurt him to say it just as much as it hurt her to hear it. The only difference was he was better at concealing it.

"I chose them the moment I saw them. I would have begged for this arrangement even if there _had_ been another option! I don't _want_ to walk out of their lives!"

Doumeki had nothing to say to this. He simply reached out a hand and tried to place it on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" she shouted, flinching away from him. "Kyle, he…he put a curse on me. No one who is close to _me_ …will ever find happiness. If you get too close…you might get hurt."

"Whatever he's done…it won't affect me. I'm half dark, remember?" Then he pulled her into a hug, because he could see that she needed it.

Himawari sobbed broken-heartedly as she collapsed against her companion. There was nothing left.

"Oh, Shizuka! I can't stand it! I'll never be able to hold my babies close again! I'm…too dangerous! If they get close…something terrible will happen! I couldn't _bear_ that! I don't want to hurt my babies! I'm a _kin slayer!_ I can never escape it!"

Doumeki just held her closer. He knew what she spoke of. He was aware of her sad history…everyone was, but no one liked to talk about it. Alcyone Hououji, her mother, had seduced her father, Eagle Kunogi, to her bed, for whatever reason…and walked away with an unwanted child…Himawari. No sooner had she given birth than the lesser noble had left the newborn alone in the mountains north of Nihon to die of exposure. But her father had come and rescued her. _He_ had wanted her…even if her horrid mother had not. That was the day that Alcyone had defected to the Dark Court. Himawari had been raised by her father and grandparents. However, when her grandmother, Hikaru, was slain in battle by her own traitor mother, Alcyone, Himawari had gone mad and torn the woman to shreds. The true scope of her power had been revealed that day…and she had not dared to use even a fraction of it since then. She hated her power…as she hated herself for killing the mother who left her to die as a helpless infant.

"You did what you had to that day. Alcyone was a danger to us all."

A bitter laugh escaped the animal spirit through her tears. Alcyone had been dangerous, it was true…but she had never made a conscious decision to kill her. She had known only that the grandmother who loved her so was dead and her mother had done it. The next thing she remembered was coming to, standing over her mother's broken body.

"She was still my…my mother."

"No one has ever thought any less of you for it."

"Was I…bad luck, even then? Did _I_ bring death on them?"

"No. Alcyone brought it on herself. Kyle did this…not you. It won't help the twins to see you blame yourself like this."

Neither of them spoke after that. Doumeki simply held the distraught sprite as she cried. If he was to be her only contact from now on…then he would try his best to overcome his aversion to such things. Himawari was losing everything. She had to have _something_ to hold onto.

XxX

"Fuuma!"

The faerie lord stiffened when he heard the sun guardian's small voice calling to him. If Kero was looking for him…that did not bode well. However, he did not stop to wait for him.

"Hey, Monou! Wait up!"

Fuuma kept moving, even after Kero had caught up with him.

"What is it you want of me, Kero?" he asked formally. "I am very busy at the moment."

Kero raised an eyebrow as he hovered along beside Fuuma.

"The king wants to see you in his chambers at once. He says he has something very important to discuss with you."

Fuuma's heart started to pound in his chest. He _couldn't_ go to his uncle's chambers now. He wouldn't be able to get past Kero without the small guardian sensing the deception in his heart. He had to find a way out.

"Tell my uncle I'm very sorry, but I'll have to come later. I have a very important previous engagement. Can he wait a few hours?"

"What sort of engagement?" Kero asked suspiciously.

"I have a meeting with…Kamui. Uncle has tasked us with setting up defenses for Valeria."

"All right," the small winged lion said uncertainly. "I've never known Clow to pair you up with Kamui on anything, but I suppose it's better that you're getting along now. We'll expect you after dark."

Giving a curt nod, Fuuma hurried away down the corridor. When he was well out of Kero's sight, he bolted to his own chambers, slamming the door behind him and crouching on the ground. His breath came in short, sharp bursts, not from his sudden sprint, but from the horror churning in his gut. He couldn't put off the deed any longer. He had to do it…today…right _now!_ He'd been keeping tabs on Yuui and he knew the girl was no virgin, but still…

He knew his uncle would never approve of this plot, but neither could he, in good conscience, abandon her to the whims of fate when there was something he could do about it. At least…that was what he told himself in the still watches of the night when thoughts of the terrible crime he had to commit would keep him awake for hours on end, sweating with self-hatred, guilt, and despair.

"Forgive me, Yuui," he whispered, as if she were already beneath him.

"You're going to do it…aren't you," he suddenly heard a voice from behind him.

"Please, Kamui…not now."

"There will never be another chance," the captain said as he knelt in front of the distraught faerie lord. Fuuma's eyes widened when he felt Kamui wrap his arms around his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Fuuma. I'm sorry it has to be this way. If there were any other way, then I'd-"

"There isn't," Fuuma said sadly as he pulled away from Kamui. He was surprised to see regret in his violet eyes. "Besides," he continued, tracing a hand along one pale cheek. "What have I to lose?"

 _Certainly not_ _ **you**_ _, Kamui…much as you and I might wish otherwise._ The reason Fuuma was able to rise from his bed every morning, in spite of everything, was because he could see what Kamui's true desire was. That was what kept him going…the hope that someday…they could be…

"Here," Kamui started, reaching into his tunic and pulling out a bottle of green liquid. "Subaru mixed it."

"What is it?" he asked, taking the small phial in his hands.

"An experiment. It's sort of like a mating spell…but it's never been tried on faeries or humans before."

Fuuma laughed bitterly. "So we're cattle now, are we?"

"No! It's not like that!" Kamui insisted. "Its core simply alters the instincts. Have her drink half, and then drink the rest yourself. If I'm right…you won't have to remember any of it."

The Monou lord's gaze shifted between Kamui and the potion several times.

"Why are you doing this for me?"

"Because…I don't want this to hurt you…anymore than it has to."

He looked so hurt…so wracked with guilt in that moment, that Fuuma almost felt a little better about the whole ordeal. He was seized by an intense desire to comfort him, to take him in his arms and kiss all of his worries away. But if he did that…he didn't think he would be able to stop. So, instead, he climbed to his feet, pulling Kamui with him.

"It _will_ be okay," he whispered in his ear before turning and striding out of his quarters. He didn't look back…he didn't dare. If he had, he would have seen the way Kamui's shoulders shook with silent, invisible cries of despair…but he did not. Neither did Kamui see the trails of saltwater streaking down his face.

XxX

"Why won't they tell us what happened?" Yuui asked Larg. The little black Mokona was perched on her shoulder and they were out gathering nuts. Fai and Soel had split off from them a while ago to gather berries.

"Maybe nothing _did_ happen," Larg reprimanded her, though it knew otherwise. "Maybe Himawari just fainted when she was shopping."

"Then why is she acting so strangely?" Himawari had been scared of her own shadow these last few months. Once she had showered her foster children with affection. Now she could barely be coaxed into making eye contact with them. Watanuki tried to make up for it by being extra affectionate, but their surrogate mother's sudden coldness was still very painful. This very morning, Yuui had tried to hug her goodbye before heading out and she had ghosted away from her under the pretense of checking something on the hearth. "I miss her."

"Yuui-" Larg started to say when it was suddenly interrupted by the sharp scent of magic in the air. The tiny guardian stiffened when it recognized the scent of cinnamon. It had not seen Fuuma since that day fourteen years ago when he'd tried to take Yuui away from them. The Monou lord had promised to leave them in peace, but Larg still wasn't comfortable with the idea of Fuuma being anywhere _near_ Yuui. "Larg…Larg thinks we should go home now."

"But the basket's not even half full yet," Yuui protested.

"I agree with Yuui-chan. One should not skip out on one's chores. Besides, I just got here."

Yuui looked up in surprise at the sound of the smooth, rich voice heading in her direction. One glance at the newcomer and the young woman knew he was a faerie. He moved with a grace that no man had a right to possess. His perfect skin seemed almost to glow and his dark eyes reminded her of two chips of polished obsidian. He was very handsome, it was true, but there was also something about him that sounded alarms in her head.

"Who…who are you?" she asked nervously. Why was she suddenly feeling so sleepy?

He laughed. "I am Fuuma Monou of Faerie, lord of the Monou Clan…and you are Yuui-chan of Celes Forest."

"How do you know my name?"

"We are not strangers, you and I. We met about fourteen years ago. You probably wouldn't remember."

It took a lot of effort for Yuui to shake her head. It felt so heavy. Goddess, all she wanted right now was to sleep. Larg glared at Fuuma. It could feel the faerie lord working his magic on Yuui. The girl clearly wasn't aware that she was being enchanted. "What is Fuuma doing here?" it demanded suspiciously.

"I just came for a little friendly conversation, but if you're _so_ uncomfortable with me being here, you can go and fetch a chaperone."

"Do you _really_ think Larg is that stupid? Come on, Yuui. We're going home," Larg said, sounding almost angry as it opened its mouth wide to create a portal back to the cottage. It knew it couldn't trust Yuui to move on her own right now.

"I don't think so," Fuuma said softly, seizing the tiny creature in his hands. One moment, Larg was staring into Fuuma's eyes, the next it found itself alone in the middle of the forest…miles away.

"YUUI!"

Moments later, Fai and Soel came barreling through the forest.

"What happened?!" Fai demanded.

"Hurry! Have to get help! Fuuma's got Yuui!"

"What?" Fai asked, horror-struck. "What are you talking about?"

"Larg let Larg's guard down! Larg didn't think Fuuma would actually _hurt_ Yuui! Larg has failed! Larg is so sorry!" the poor thing wailed.

"Who's Fuuma? What's he done to her?"

"No time! No time! Soel will get the others! Help Larg look for Yuui!" Soel commanded before vanishing. Barely waiting for Larg to latch onto him, Fai dashed headlong into the trees. If anything happened to his twin, he would never forgive himself.

"YUUI!"

XxX

The moment he had sent Larg away, Fuuma had seized Yuui's hand and led her away down the Yume River. Some part of her was still resisting. She would stumble occasionally or a word of protest would slip out of her mouth, but she held onto his hand; she followed him. She was slowly but surely falling under his spell.

Within moments, they were standing over Faerie Falls, then inside the mouth of the cave…the entrance to the sacred labyrinth. Fuuma felt almost sacrilegious. After all, they would not be consummating a union here today. They were just creating an heir: a fucking _business_ transaction.

"Come," he said softly, leading her down the corridor. There was no protesting now. Yuui was gone.

When they finally reached the sacred center, Fuuma pulled Kamui's potion out of his tunic. He then uncorked it and pulled the girl close to him. "Drink," he whispered in her ear as he pressed the phial into her hands. Unquestioningly, she brought it to her lips and took a swallow. Then he took the bottle of potion back. She stood perfectly still as he unbuttoned her blouse for her and slid it from her shoulders. He refused to even glance below her neck. Taking her hands, he helped her lie down within the confines of the sacred circle. Then he moved back, removing his own cloak and tunic. He moved as far away from her as the cave wall would allow. He turned from her, staring at the paintings on the rock surface.

"Goddess! God!" he cried out as he pounded a fist into the wall. "Please…forgive me for this grievous sin." Then he downed the last of the potion and threw the phial away, taking some satisfaction from hearing it shatter against the wall. The green liquid had a musky, earthy taste to it. "Yuui-chan…dear girl…I would never wish such a fate on you. I have no right to expect anything but your hatred, but please…forgive me…for all our sakes. This is the only way. Forgive me…please!" Then he turned to face her.

As soon as he turned around and she saw him, something began to happen to her. The tired haze vanished as if it had never been. New feelings replaced it. Her body began to flush and her breathing sped up. Her lips swelled and she involuntarily parted them. Her breasts became tender. There was an unexplainable feeling deep in the core of her being, followed by a moistness between her legs. All coherent thought disappeared and it was replaced by a single overwhelming imperative.

Mate…or die.

As if in a trance, she pushed herself into a sitting position. Her instincts told her that he was experiencing the same need and that she was the object of his desire. Her posture indicated that she was ready for him, inviting him to join with her.

He approached her slowly, each step an eternity to her highly aroused state. There was a look in his eyes that both frightened and excited her. She needed him to touch her, to kiss her, to enter her. Every second he was not with her increased this primal need tenfold. Her mind told her that she would die if he did not take her soon.

When he finally reached her, the control he'd been displaying was pushed aside by raw animalistic need. He practically leapt onto her and knocked her back onto the cave floor. As he roughly began to kiss her mouth, she put up no defense, letting him have his way with her. Slowly, he moved away from her lips, trailing his mouth down the side of her face, onto her neck. She clutched at him, moaning, kneading his back. His hands were clamped firmly around her waist. He soon returned to her lips and the kisses increased in intensity. Their hands roamed each other's bodies. She reached down and began to pull at his pants, the need to have him inside her urging her on. He slid a hand down from her waist and onto her leg. She slightly parted them as she felt him pushing his hand between them. He then traveled up the inside of her thighs. As he made contact, she gasped into his mouth, his pants momentarily forgotten. With his free hand, he went to work hiking up her skirt.

As he continued to pleasure her, testing her readiness, she resumed trying to remove his pants. The clothing was an unwanted barrier in their quest to unite. The moment she finally succeeded in pulling them down, he brought her to climax and she nearly screamed.

He removed his hand and repositioned himself above her as he kicked his pants all the way off. She felt his engorged manhood brush against her. This elicited an excited sound from him that broke off their latest kiss. Taking the brief window of separation, she helped him pull off her skirt, which had gathered around her waist. As they resumed their fervent kissing, she felt him position himself for the entry her body was screaming out for.

He thrust himself into her, causing her to cry out once more. Although she was not a virgin, her activities with Tomoyo were somewhat limited and the sensation was almost unbearable. But it did not deter her from completing her biological imperative. She pressed her lips to his once again and they began to move in unison.

As their bodies rocked faster and faster, she felt herself tighten around him. She was edging forward toward the inevitable release. This release was what she desired most. The first one had only been a small taste. This one would mean that the mating had been completed and that the threat of death would be over.

Finally, she was pushed over the edge and she cried out again, a wordless sound of satisfaction. As she felt her energy fading, his own release came and she was filled with his essence.

Exhausted from the carnal effort, they collapsed into each other's arms and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

XxX

Watanuki felt utterly devastated as he walked down the long stone corridor. Fai was by his side. The silence between them was deafening. Larg was perched on Fai's shoulder, tears streaming silently down its face. It had led them to the spot where they had been, only to find Yuui's basket. Watanuki had been able to use it to trace her, but he wished to God it had led them somewhere…anywhere…but Faerie Falls. It meant only one thing.

Sure enough, the tracing spell led them to the cave of lovers…and Watanuki was greeted by signs of his worst nightmare coming true. The scent of sex hanging heavily in the air, numerous articles of clothing scattered about the floor…and two naked bodies lying intertwined with each other.

"Oh, God," Fai moaned in despair as he sank to his knees. "Yuui!" Images immediately assaulted his mind…memories of the awful nightmare he carried in his own heart…memories of pain…agony…anguish in mind, heart, and body…scars.

After getting over his initial horror, Watanuki strode purposefully into the chamber, meaning to kill the man who'd _dared_ to touch his daughter. He gave Fuuma's sleeping form a swift kick in the back, instantly snapping him awake. He glanced around for a moment, remembered where he was, and stared up at Watanuki with a kind of pleading expression in his eyes.

"You… _monster!_ " Watanuki hissed in his face as he dragged the dazed faerie away from Yuui, who remained asleep. He punched Fuuma square in the nose, smiling in satisfaction when he felt it break under his fist. Fuuma did not even try to resist. "How could you do such a thing?!"

"I had no choice," he said sadly as he got to his feet.

Watanuki grabbed hold of Fuuma's arm and dragged him out into the corridor. Fai removed his cloak and went to cover Yuui with it before following after them. They had gone much further into the labyrinth and the young man could hear the sounds of fighting. Though, he realized when he came upon them, beating was a more accurate term. Watanuki was bashing Fuuma's body against the cave wall. When he was finally sated by the sound of several bones snapping, he threw him to the floor. Then he pulled his dagger from his belt and plunged it into his stomach, twisting it several times for good measure. Fuuma cried out as the blood gushed out of the wound, but he still did not fight back. He knew he deserved every blow and worse.

"YOU! RAPED! MY! DAUGHTER!" he screamed, plunging the dagger into a different vital area with every word.

"I'M SORRY!" Fuuma managed to scream through his pain.

"YOU'RE _SORRY_?! FUCKING _SORRY_?! IF YOU'RE SO GOD DAMN SORRY, WHY DID YOU DO IT?!"

"I'm sorry!" he repeated weakly as he coughed up blood. "I wish to Heaven I could take it back."

"You're not sorry yet, but you will be!" Watanuki hissed.

Larg covered its face with its ears. Fai felt like he was going to be sick. He couldn't bear to watch it.

"Watanuki! Watanuki, please stop! Stop this!" he shouted, rushing forward and stopping his foster father before he could take his weapon to the downed faerie's eyes.

"Fai…did you see what this _creature_ did to your poor, innocent sister? He deserves nothing less than to be castrated and suffocated with his own manhood!"

"I…I know. But…what about Yuui? What if she wakes up all alone? She needs us right now."

At the mention of Yuui's name, the anger left Watanuki's face. Yuui! They had to find her. If his own feelings of anguish were any indication, he couldn't even imagine the pain she was in.

XxX

Yuui awoke alone and in pain. There was a horrible pain between her legs, and when she sat up and saw the state she was in, she immediately knew why.

"Oh, God! Oh, Goddess!" she repeated over and over, her mind whirling.

She was completely naked on the floor of a cave, and hers and…someone else's clothes were scattered all around her. The pain she felt in her lower body could only be caused by one thing. She couldn't remember anything, but she had no doubt that she had had sex with…someone.

"Dear God," she moaned, pulling her knees up against her chest as she tried desperately to recall her lost time. She had been gathering nuts in the woods with Larg…then…

"Fuuma!" she cried out. It must have been him. She couldn't remember anything after his face appeared.

"I…I was…" She couldn't bring herself to say it. That would make everything much too real. She wrapped herself in the cloak she'd found covering her body as she climbed to her feet. Still shaking from the revelation, she made her way out into the corridor and walked toward the entrance. She needed air. Goddess, but she needed air.

When she finally reached the waterfall, she could see that it was already night. She knelt at the precipice, relishing the feeling of mist on her skin and the deafening sound of the falls as she wretched her lunch over the side.

"No! No! No! No! No!" she mumbled over and over again as she huddled up against the cave wall, pulling the cloak even tighter around her. She took comfort from the fact that it smelled of her brother.

The next moment, she found herself holding something soft. She glanced down and found an orange toy cat resting in her arms. It had been her favorite toy as a child and she still kept it in her room. Kyo, she called him. She snuggled the stuffed toy close to her chest, paying no thought to the fact that her magic had called the toy to her for no other reason than that she needed it right now. She just held it close.

Then she began to cry.

XxX

They heard the crying before they even saw her. She was curled into a ball at the very edge of the cave, her back to them. They could see she was shaking terribly. Her sobs were the most heart wrenching either of them had ever known.

_My twin! My_ _**sister** _ _!_

_My baby! My little girl!_

Watanuki raced over and dropped to his knees beside her. He reached out and touched her cheek.

"Yuui?" Fai called to her softly.

She looked up at them. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were red and puffy.

"We're here now," Watanuki told her in a calming voice. She reached out for him, nearly losing the cloak as she let him pull her to her knees. She threw her arms around him and he encircled her with his own. She cried even harder. "Shh. We're here now. Everything's going to be all right."

"What happened?" she barely managed through the tears. "Oh, Goddess, what happened?!"

"Shh," he told her again, trying to calm her down. He stroked her hair and back, gently rocking her. "You're safe now, baby girl."

"I can't remember…anything!" she told them. "I c-can't…"

"Shh. Don't talk," he urged her. "Just let it all out."

Sobs continued to wrack her body as Watanuki held her and Fai and Larg kept watch.

Why couldn't she remember? It didn't make any sense. How could something like this just _happen_ without her knowledge? What else had she done during her missing time?

Fuuma approached them as silently as he was able in his debilitated condition, but Fai noticed him anyway, and growled low in his throat.

"Get out of here!" he hissed in a voice he did not recognize as his own.

"Yuui-chan," he called out to her. Watanuki tried to stop her from looking at him, but he failed. Though he was already partially healed from Watanuki's attack already, she still gasped in horror at his appearance. "Yuui-chan, I'm…sorry."

"I told you to leave! What right do you have to even _speak_ to her?!" Fai said in a low, angry voice. But Fuuma did not heed him. Instead, he knelt beside Watanuki and Yuui.

"Stay away from her! Don't you ever touch her!" Fai shouted. Watanuki wanted to react the same way, but he knew he couldn't…not while he still held Yuui in his arms. So he simply pressed her body even more firmly into his embrace.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me, Yuui-chan. I don't _want_ you to. I just want you to know that what I did, I did to protect you."

"SHUT UP!" Fai screamed, unable to listen anymore. "ENOUGH OF YOUR LIES!" Fresh sobs tore from Yuui's body at the sound of her brother screaming.

"Please," she begged. "Please just go away."

Fuuma smiled sadly when he saw the stuffed cat she was still holding.

"Heh, I remember when I gave you that," he said softly.

"Don't you ever even _look_ at her again," Watanuki warned, pulling the girl even further away from him. "Rest assured, your uncle will hear about this. You won't escape."

Fuuma's smile suddenly seemed happy. That was fine with him. He didn't _want_ to escape. He was a sinner and he knew it. He would never be able to escape from it. He deserved whatever punishment anyone doled out for him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered one last time before disappearing.

_Forgive me._

Yuui was not crying as hard anymore, having taken Watanuki's advice to heart and letting out all of her pent up emotions. Sniffling, she tried to ask the unspoken question plaguing her mind. "What if…what if I'm-"

"If you are, we'll think of something," he promised her. "You're not alone. We're going to take care of you."

There was a strong possibility she was pregnant. It would be pointless to think otherwise. Watanuki had no knowledge of how many times she and Fuuma had had intercourse…and it only took one time to create a child. The product of rape or not, Watanuki knew their sweet, innocent Yuui would never stand to have her baby killed.

If she was pregnant, he would do everything in his power to protect his daughter and her unborn child, no matter whom the father was. He knew all of the others would, too. Their little mismatched family would stick together through thick and thin.

"Maybe I'm not. Maybe…we'll be lucky," she spoke up hopefully, though she knew that hope was useless. The knowledge rode heavily in her womb…she knew it in her heart…she carried a child inside of her… _his_ child. It was only just beginning to grow, just beginning to be, but she knew beyond doubt…there was a whole other person…growing inside her body.

"Shh," Watanuki whispered to her again. He didn't want to upset her any further. He hadn't seen the revelation in her eyes. Fai, however, had seen it. Young as he was, he understood the truth just as surely as she did. He moved forward and took one of her hands in his, rubbing it reassuringly.

"I'm just…so scared…Tou," she said, looking up into her adopted father's mismatched eyes.

"Me, too," he told her honestly. "Me, too."

XxX

Several people cried out in shock when Fuuma came sweeping by them. It wasn't the fact that he was stark naked. That was actually pretty normal in Faerie. It was the fact that blood streamed off of him with every step he took, leaving a trail of red behind him as he moved. A few tried to stop him and insist that he see a healer, but he just pushed past them. His injuries had mostly healed on their own anyway. It was simply the blood that had been left behind. He had a destination in mind and he would not be stopped.

As he'd expected, Kamui was with Subaru in his chambers. Subaru was the first to spot him.

"My Goddess! Fuuma, what happened to you?"

Kamui turned, barely managing to suppress a cry of shock at his appearance.

"A-are you all right?" he finally asked. "Shouldn't you see a healer?"

"It's done," Fuuma said simply.

"Who did this?" Kamui asked, concern evident in his eyes.

"I just raped a seventeen-year-old girl. Who do you _think_ did this? I deserve it!"

Kamui was too stricken by the anguish on his friend's face to say anything. However, even if he _had_ had something to say, he wouldn't have been able to because Fuuma chose that moment to grab his shoulders and slam him up against the wall.

"Fuuma!" Subaru shouted.

"What are you doing?!"

"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?" Fuuma shouted, his voice laced with a pleading that Kamui could not comprehend. "I did what you asked of me! I placed a child in her womb! I committed the ultimate sin!"

_I did this for you…because you wanted me to…and it has destroyed her…and me! Do you not see?!_

Then he did something that no one could have foreseen. He crushed his lips against the younger faerie's, kissing him with all of the passion, love, anger, hatred, sadness, pain, and despair that was in him. Kamui was shocked, to say the least, but he did not fight the kiss. He simply hung there in the moment, feeling it and every emotion that it contained. Subaru just stared in shock.

When Fuuma finally released him from the kiss, he wrapped his arms around the dazed captain and held him close.

" _Now do you understand?_ " he whispered in his ear. As he pulled away, Kamui realized that his eyes were glowing faintly. But no sooner had the revelation struck him, than Fuuma released him. His legs gave way beneath him and he fell to his knees, breathing hard. He could not bring himself to look up as Fuuma walked away.

"Brother! Are you all right?" his little brother asked worriedly. Kamui could do nothing but stare at the floor.

_Forgive me, Fuuma. I did not see._

XxX

Yuui had spent most of the last week sleeping. No one questioned it. They allowed her whatever she asked for…and plenty of things she didn't ask for. They waited on her hand and foot. Fai knew that the best thing for her would be to see Tomoyo, but Yuui refused to speak to her in dreams. She was ashamed to see her. Fai figured that the young princess would be getting worried, so he finally cracked and sent a message to her himself.

_Yuui needs you. Come tonight._

This was why he found himself waiting at the border with Soel on his shoulder, watching as Suwa and Kendappa rode toward him through the darkness, bearing his friends and his lover. The moment they were close enough, Kurogane leapt from Suwa's back and Fai was in his arms, being kissed. The kiss was brief, but tender.

"What's going on?" Kurogane whispered. "Tomoyo's been hysterical all week."

Fai bowed his head, taking a step back from his lover as the two girls approached.

"Where's Yuui? What's happened to her?" Tomoyo asked worriedly. Fai took a deep breath as he took Tomoyo's hands in his.

"Tomoyo-chan…about a week ago…Yuui was raped."

For a moment it did not sink in…but then…

"What?! How could this happen?! Who did this? Who hurt Yuui?! It wasn't _him_ …was it?" she demanded, clinging tightly to her friend as tears of worry streamed down her face.

"No. It was some faerie named Fuuma. I think…I think the others might know him somehow. They won't tell me."

Souma wrung her hands worriedly as Tomoyo cried. Kurogane remained silent, contemplative. What was this curse that seemed to befall them all? What force simply could not stand to see them happy?

"Why? W-why won't she s-speak to me…Fai-kun?" she asked. The blond just held her close as she cried.

"Because she feels like she's betrayed you," Fai answered simply. "I know what it feels like. Someone else has touched you and taken from you that which you would guard with your life for the person you love to have. It's a _disgusting_ feeling. And for her…she knows it happened…but she can't remember anything. He put some kind of spell on her so she wouldn't fight. We may never know the extent of what he did to her. She doesn't want to see you because she feels dirty…and unworthy of you."

The tears stopped suddenly and Tomoyo looked up at Fai with confusion in her eyes. Didn't her love…have more faith in her than that? Why was she shutting her out…driving her away when she clearly needed her the most? The confusion quickly metamorphosed into resolve.

"Take me to her."

XxX

It was one of those rare times when Yuui was awake, sobbing quietly within the privacy of her canopy, that she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Please, Fai," she whimpered as she lifted her face from the pillow. "Not now."

"My name wasn't Fai the last time I checked, but you can call me that if you really want to."

Yuui jerked her head around and found herself looking at Tomoyo, who was smiling gently down at her.

"Oh!" Yuui cried out as she buried her face in her pillow again. "Why did you have to come here?! I didn't _want_ you to come!"

Rather than be hurt by the declaration that her own lover didn't want to see her, Tomoyo began to rub her back soothingly as she lay down beside her.

"Why don't you trust me, Yuui?" she whispered in her ear. "Didn't we promise to always be there for each other? Why won't you let me keep my promise? I want to be by your side when you need me."

"It's not…that I d-don't _trust_ you. I just…don't w-want you to see me l-like this!" she cried.

"Like what? The only thing I see is the girl I fell in love with…and she is all I ever want to see, because she is more fair than the sun shining upon the face of the crystal water. She is the beauty of the green earth and the white moon among the stars. She is my love…and nothing can ever change that." Then Tomoyo pulled Yuui into her arms and kissed her tenderly on the lips. As she rested her forehead against hers, she whispered against her lips, "Please don't shut me out. Let me help you."

Yuui stared into Tomoyo's eyes for a moment…before bursting into a fresh wave of tears. "Oh, Tomoyo!" she sobbed as she buried her face in the princess' chest. Tomoyo just held her close, whispering soothing words of love and comfort as she cradled her.

Souma moved to close the curtains around Yuui's bed to give them some privacy before moving back to where she'd been leaning against the wall beside the window, talking with Soel and Larg. Fai and Kurogane were sitting on his bed, occasionally glancing over to the spot where their sisters lay as they talked quietly.

"She's pregnant…isn't she," Kurogane finally said. He'd picked up on it in the way his lover spoke his twin's name.

"Yes…I think so," Fai said softly, glancing toward the curtained-off bed again. "It's too early to tell for _certain_ , of course. It won't become evident for a few months yet, but…I think we all know it; it's just that…no one wants to say anything. Saying it…will make it true. Sometimes I wonder…who has it worse."

"What do you mean?"

"When it…happened to me…I was aware of it the whole time. I have to bear every memory like a scar on my heart. But…is it worse to know that it happened to you…and not be able to remember anything? To only be able to imagine the worst possible things that could have been done to you…and never knowing? She's so kind…so caring…I know she wants to love this baby…wants to be excited about having it, but…when she _does_ have it…everyday, this child is going to be a reminder of what happened to her. I don't know if she can handle that. She's suffering so much. I don't want her to suffer anymore because of this."

"It'll be all right," the prince said softly as he wrapped his arms around his lover's waist and pulled him into his lap. Fai melted gladly against his chest. "She'll have her friends and family to help her. She'll have Tomoyo. Imouto will not desert her."

"Yes. Yes, of course. I'm sure everything will be all right," he said, smiling as Kurogane began to kiss the back of his neck, sending shivers down his spine. For the first time that week, he felt better.

The scene on the closed bed was very similar. Tomoyo was still holding Yuui, who had left off crying and was simply enjoying the feeling of being close to Tomoyo again.

"You're…going to have a baby, aren't you," Tomoyo said. She did not know how she knew. Perhaps some part of Yuui had _wanted_ her to know, and she had somehow heard her silent cries. Maybe the child itself was calling out to her, seeking the one its mother's heart truly loved…wanting to know what it was like to be loved by that heart.

"Yes," Yuui finally whispered, snuggling closer against Tomoyo.

"What…do you want the baby to be?" she asked as she ran her fingers through her blonde hair.

Yuui honestly hadn't thought about it. It suddenly seemed like such an odd question…something normal and trivial in the vast sea of pain she'd been swimming in this past week. What _did_ she want?

"I…I think…that I would want a little girl."

"Have you thought of any names yet?"

A small bark of a laugh escaped Yuui's mouth. "I…I haven't really thought about it, Tomoyo. I have…nine months to think about it. She won't even start to move for a few more months."

"Can…can I be her mother, too?" Tomoyo asked shyly. Yuui giggled.

"Who else would be the other parent? You're twice the mother I'll ever be. Besides," she said, suddenly going pensive. "I don't think her father wants her."

"All right, then," Tomoyo continued, trying to change topics…anything to keep Yuui's mind off of Fuuma. "The baby will have two mothers, two uncles, an aunt, two furry cousins, and more grandparents than she can count. Such a large family. It's so wonderful, Yuui. You're going to have a baby, just like Leval. Fai showed us Tomoeda. She's so pretty. I know your baby will be beautiful, too, just like you."

"I…I suppose it _is_ a good thing," Yuui said softly, smiling for the first time in what felt like eons. Tomoyo always knew how to cheer her up. She leaned forward and pecked her lover on the lips. "I love you so much, Tomoyo."

"I love you, too, Yuui…you and your baby," she said, pressing her hand against the blonde's flat stomach.

"Will you still love me…when I start vomiting every morning…when I'm fat, bloated, and moody?"

"I'll love you even more then," Tomoyo said with a grin as she moved down Yuui's body. "I love you more every day." Yuui giggled as her lover started to kiss her belly.

"Tomoyo! That tickles!"

"Hello, baby-chan," Tomoyo cooed, laying her head down on Yuui's belly. "I know you can't hear me yet…you're probably not really _you_ yet…but I can't wait to meet you. I'm your other mother. I can't wait to see my Yuui's lovely daughter."

The scene would have undoubtedly continued in this peaceful, unassuming manner…had Yuui not suddenly felt a sharp bolt of pain shoot through her head.

Yuui screamed, clutching her head in pain. Tomoyo instantly shot up.

"Yuui! What's wrong?!"

Yuui didn't answer. She couldn't. She just continued to scream and cry, clutching at Tomoyo desperately as the wave of pain rode her body. She could feel fire dancing along her skin and she could almost swear she was breathing smoke.

"Nii-sama! Fai-kun! Souma-chan! Something's wrong with Yuui!"

Souma was the only one to respond, but that was just so she could open the curtain and show her friends what was happening on the other bed.

Fai was having the exact same fit as his sister. He was screaming and writhing in agony. Kurogane had him pinned to the bed to prevent him from clawing at his own skin.

"It burns! IT BURNS!" he screamed.

"PLEASE! SOMEONE SAVE THEM!" Yuui's screams rose to join his.

"What's happening to them?!" Souma asked Soel and Larg. Before either could answer, Doumeki burst into the room.

"What's going on?" Kurogane demanded.

Doumeki ignored him and knelt beside Yuui's bed, taking the sobbing girl's shoulders in his hands. The screaming had stopped, but the tears still flowed, fast and hot.

"What do you feel?" he asked her.

"I…I can hear the trees," she cried. "They're scared, Doumeki…and hurt!"

"What?" Tomoyo whispered.

"Something's happened to the forest," Doumeki explained tersely as he got to his feet. "The same thing happened to Watanuki. He's already gone ahead to find out what's happening. I have to go. Kunogi's waiting for me." As he moved back to the door, he picked up the three swords that had been placed by it, tossing Sumomo and Kotoko to Souma and Sohi to Kurogane. Both caught their blades easily. "Stay here. Nothing should be able to get this far, but if something _should_ happen…guard them with your lives. Make sure nothing happens to them."

Rather than question him further, Kurogane just nodded and laid Sohi down on the bed as he pulled his still-sobbing lover back into his arms. After getting a nod from Souma, Doumeki swept out the door, securing it behind him.

As the royal Nihon siblings comforted their distraught lovers, Souma moved over to the window to close and lock it.

"I wonder what's happening out there?" she mumbled to herself as she stared out into the night, searching for signs of something amiss.

XxX

It was burning. Everything was burning.

_Burn the forest! Burn it to the ground!_

"LET IT BURN! LET CELES BURN! BURN IT!"

The entire northern border of the forest was in flames…and Watanuki felt every flare as if the fire burned in his very skin. The Oni were swarming everywhere, setting fire to everything in their path.

"We have to stop them."

"Can you even _walk_?" Doumeki asked. He was still supporting the nature sprite after his last swoon.

"There's no _time_ to worry about this!" Watanuki insisted as he pulled away from Doumeki. "They're going to destroy the forest!"

"Hmm…now who could have guessed it?"

The three guardians turned at the sound of the snickering voice and found themselves facing Koryu.

"Long time, no see," he said casually.

"So…she really did make you lord of the Oni," Watanuki spat derisively. "What, exactly, do you have against this forest? You grew up sheltered by its branches. Would you slay the mother that held you?!"

"Faerie is not part of me anymore," he snarled. Doumeki was the only one to catch the twinge of regret in his voice.

"What are you talking about?!" Himawari demanded shrilly. "Faerie is part of all of us! We were _born_ from Faerie!"

"So? Mankind was born from the earth, and yet year after year, he seems to feel less and less of a connection with the earth that bore him. If humanity can so easily sever itself from its mother, why shouldn't we fey be able to do the same? If living bound to Faerie means living bound to the fragility of the world of men, I'll take freedom. That is why I follow Yuuko. _That_ is why I'm burning this forest."

"No," Watanuki hissed in pain. "You will not have Celes."

"Aww. Is the poor little nature sprite feeling his precious trees burn?" the dark faerie taunted.

_Moron…Himawari…stand back._

Himawari was about to step forward and ask him what he meant to do, but Doumeki grabbed her hand and pulled her back. Watanuki would do what he had to…they all would. Celes could not fall.

Watanuki closed his eyes as he drew his power around him like a cloak, gathering his own will…and that of the forest itself.

"What are you doing, little Watanuki? Do you honestly think you can challenge the Oni?"

_All-embracing Mother of the earth, eternal Father of the sky, ancient forest with awesome power…lend me your strength! Aid me now!_

Watanuki could feel it…the tiny seedling at the very core of his magic…the center of his being. It pulsed with power, ready to explode its force onto the world.

Then…it happened.

The nature sprite shrieked in pain as his power burst out of him in the form of a living, breathing tree. Branches and vines sprang fully-grown from his very skin, tearing him to shreds. The tree destroyed every Oni it could seize, grabbing hold of their fleeing bodies and tearing them to pieces. Koryu, and those who could, fled in terror.

"RETREAT! RETREAT! FALL BACK!"

"WATANUKI!" Himawari screamed, attempting to rush forward again…and again she was stopped by Doumeki, who was also calling down his own magic, the storm clouds that were his birthright. When the last of the screams faded away, the rain began to fall on Celes. Doumeki restrained Himawari until every last fire had been quenched by the pouring rain.

"Stay here," Doumeki ordered her when he finally released her. "Believe me when I say that you don't want to see this."

"But…what about Watanuki?"

"He'll be fine. But you really don't want to see him in his current state. You've never seen him like this before. I have."

The unspoken explanation was visible in the assassin's eyes. Watanuki would live, but the process through which that would happen was long and difficult. He would need luck…something Himawari could not provide. The unspoken agreement between them was that Himawari did not approach anyone without Doumeki near her to cancel out the effects of her curse. Normally, this arrangement worked, but things would still happen on occasion. Mostly harmless things like a spilled glass or a dropped plate, but sometimes the incidents were a bit more serious…an arrow turning up in the wrong place, or a horse rearing and throwing its rider. Yuui's skirt had even caught fire once. Doumeki was not taking any chances tonight.

"I understand," Himawari said softly. "Go to him."

Doumeki moved quickly toward the giant, sprawling tree that had overtaken the burnt portion of the forest. Watanuki had added a good twenty acres to the forest this time around. This attack was why Celes' borders had been able to spread so much during the Last War. When the weather sprite circled around the tree, he found Watanuki, or rather, what was _left_ of him, lying beneath its branches, practically floating in a pool of his own blood and fluids.

Watanuki's chest had been torn open, exposing his pulsing vital organs to the night air. Doumeki could clearly see his heart still beating, though one of his lungs had collapsed. Most of his rib cage had been shattered. His limbs were little more than shredded ribbons of flesh, muscle, and bone. A great section of scalp had been torn away and his cracked skull was clearly visible against the blackness of his remaining hair. Really, the only thing that remained even semi-intact was his face.

Doumeki walked calmly toward the broken faerie and knelt beside him. His eyes fluttered open as the weather spirit lifted his head into his lap, careful to hold it together and not to separate it from his spine.

"Ow," he muttered as best he could.

"How are you feeling?" Doumeki asked. He was more than a little worried. It had been a very long time since Watanuki had called on so much of his power at once. Could his body handle the strain of regeneration?

"…don't have…much of a body…to feel…pain…with," he struggled to speak through his smashed vocal cords. Doumeki could see that his skeleton was already starting to repair itself. A good sign. Watanuki began to groan as more and more of his body regenerated. He could _really_ feel the agony now.

"Well, you'd better get comfortable. It looks like we're going to be here all night waiting for this to heal up."

"The rain…feels nice," Watanuki whispered as he closed his eyes tightly against the pain.


	16. Sweet Serenade

Fai's first instinct when he heard footsteps approaching the cottage was to draw his bow. It wasn't anyone in his family. Doumeki was just around the corner, skinning a deer he'd killed. Watanuki was making breakfast and Yuui was helping Himawari with the mending. They hadn't been making Yuui do too many of the heavy chores recently. She'd been going around with a tired, secretive smile on her face. A timidity that hadn't been present before the attack had taken up residence in her personality, but despite that, there were times she seemed to fairly glow.

The guardians had tried to dismiss it when their daughter had failed to bleed after the attack. It was a fluke, Himawari had tried to reassure her, a trick of her diet. These things happened sometimes. But no one could turn a blind eye when she failed to bleed a second time. This, coupled with the fact that the young woman was suddenly unable to eat breakfast because of her violent illness most mornings, confirmed what they had known all along, but had been too horrified, scared, and guilt-ridden to admit to themselves. Yuui was pregnant.

The men, of course, had been treating her like glass. After the horrible things that had been done to him and the awful thing that had happened to his sister, Fai's desire to protect himself and his own was very strong. It was early, therefore it could not be Kurogane and the others. It could only be…danger.

"Who's there?" Fai called out. He couldn't yet see anyone through the morning mist, but he could definitely hear footsteps. Unfortunately, his bow and quiver were sitting in the cottage. The stranger did not answer.

"I'm warning you! If you don't identify yourself now, I'll shoot you!" he shouted with more conviction than he felt. He could feel his body beginning to shake with fear.

"Forgive me if I must contradict you, young one," a voice finally called through the mist as a figure began to take shape at the edge of the glen, "but you do not carry a weapon."

"Physical weapons are not the only kind there are." Damn it! Why couldn't he stop shaking?

"True enough," the figure replied as it drew closer.

"It's okay, Fai," Soel consoled him. "It's not _him_."

"How do you know?" Fai whispered.

"Do you smell that?"

Fai concentrated for a moment, trying to pick out a different scent other than the usual ones of magic and the forest itself, finally coming up with…

"Peaches?"

"Uh-huh. Each faerie has a distinct scent. Seishiro doesn't smell like peaches."

"What _does_ he smell like?"

"Soel doesn't…remember," the small creature lied. It didn't want to say it…but it could detect a faint hint of Seishiro's scent among the peaches. The scent had been clinging to Fai, filling the air on the night he'd awoken covered in the dark prince's essence.

The scent of blood.

"You don't need to fear me, Fai-kun," the stranger said softly. Fai could finally make him out. He did indeed have that aura that all of the fey were possessed of. He was taller than Fai by an inch or two and his hair was black. He was clothed in green and his eyes sparkled that same hue in the early morning light. He smiled gently as he extended his hand, but Fai couldn't help but flinch at the small movement. The stranger's eyes widened in concern at this. "Why do you recoil?"

Rather than explain that both he and his sister had been brutally raped by faeries and would probably bear the scars forever, he simply went with, "How do you know my name?"

"Your family is…well known in Faerie. I am Lord Subaru Shiro, master of the Shiro Clan."

Fai took a few steps back, his eyes narrowing as he did. "Great," he muttered. "More fey nobility. What do you want now? Once wasn't enough?!" His voice was starting to rise. Soel could see that it wouldn't take much to send the boy into hysterics.

Subaru shook his head regretfully. "That isn't what I meant when I said you were well known. I meant no disrespect. None of us wanted to hurt Yuui-chan. Fuuma-san did what he had to."

That was the breaking point. Fai's eyes flashed with anger. "You were in on it? How _dare_ you come here?! How _dare_ you speak his name?! You presume to be worthy enough to speak _her_ name?! My sister is inside right now, suffering, with your friend's child gnawing away at her insides! Get out! Get out _right now!_ " When he raised his fists to give the faerie a good punch, Subaru easily caught his blows.

"Fai-kun, I'm _sorry_ for what happened to your sister! But it couldn't be helped."

"Bull shit!" Fai muttered weakly, the feeling of his hands incapacitated instantly summoning up memories too painful for the light of day and too harrowing for the peace of night. "Leave us alone!" he cried, his voice getting weaker as he sank to his knees.

"Fai-kun!" Subaru cried out worriedly as he, too, moved to his knees, moving his hands to Fai's shoulders. "What's wrong?!"

_No! No! It's happening again!_

When he did not have Kurogane with him to keep the memories at bay…they consumed him. Without his lover's touch, he could not keep the awful scars suppressed and they rose to the surface of his conscience.

"Please. Please. Kuro-sama!" he moaned weakly. "Make it go away!"

"Let him go, Subaru!" Doumeki ordered, suddenly appearing from around the corner of the cottage. Subaru glanced toward the assassin. Considering the purpose of his visit, he knew this probably didn't look good.

"Doumeki-san. I…I didn't…I wasn't-"

"Let. Him. Go," Doumeki repeated forcefully as he moved swiftly toward them. Subaru immediately backed off, allowing Doumeki to take his place. The assassin enfolded his son in a hug, pressing his head firmly against his chest. The boy was shaking so badly.

"Breathe," he whispered to him. "Just breathe."

"I…I c-can't…I-I need-"

"I know. I understand," he whispered soothingly. "But he's not here right now. You have to keep it together…for his sake."

Fai clutched desperately at his guardian's tunic, trying to focus on his breathing. _In…out…inhale…exhale…_ He pretended that it was Kurogane's arms wrapped so tightly around him. He could almost hear him whispering in his ear…running fingers through his hair… _I love you. I'll hold you. I'll keep you safe. No more nightmares._

"I…I think I'm okay," he finally choked out.

"Are you sure?" Doumeki asked as he loosened his grip on his son. Fai nodded, closing his eyes as Doumeki helped him to his feet. Subaru didn't dare ask what had happened. He felt like he had intruded on something private…had witnessed something not for his eyes.

"What's going on out here?" Watanuki asked as he swept out of the cottage. Rage lit his mismatched eyes when they fell on Subaru kneeling in their front yard and Doumeki still supporting a shaking Fai. "What are you doing here?" he asked calmly, trying to keep his anger in check.

"I need to see Yuui-chan."

"No," all three of them said without hesitation.

"I'm sorry, but she needs to know what happened. _You_ need to know what happened."

"Take him inside," Watanuki said to Doumeki. The weather sprite obeyed without question, leading Fai and Soel back inside the cottage. Then Watanuki turned his attention back to Subaru. "It seems fairly clear to me what happened. Fuuma got it into his head to pull an heir out of Yuui! If that's what you came for, you can tell Fuuma he's not _touching_ this baby! This child belongs to Yuui!"

"You _know_ we didn't do this to create an heir for Fuuma. This was all for Yuui!"

" _We?!_ What we?! Who all was involved in this plot?!" Watanuki asked dangerously. Apparently, their decision not to inform King Reed of the attack had been a wise one. Fearing that there were games afoot in the court, they had decided that the fewer people knew about Yuui's condition, the better. They hadn't even reported the attack on Fai. It had been…terrible…absolutely terrible when it had happened to Fai, but the difference was that they could have at least _expected_ an attack like that from an enemy. To have it come from someone who was supposed to be their friend and ally…was somehow worse. There was clearly some sort of plot forming in the court, as evidenced by the fact that Clow hadn't even seen fit to inform him he had entrusted the Shiro brothers with Fai and Yuui's secret. If word spread that the twins were vulnerable, that they were that fragile, their enemies would only increase. Watanuki knew that the less involved Faerie was in their lives, the better off they would be. But he also knew it was impossible for Fai and Yuui to ever be completely removed from Faerie. It was part of them…just as it was part of Doumeki, Himawari, and himself.

"Just myself and Kamui. Fuuma had nothing to do with it. He only did it because we asked him to. He didn't _want_ to, but you _know_ how much he loves my brother." There had been another involved. In fact, Seishiro had been the one to suggest it…had said it would give his competition a leg up on him. However, Subaru knew it was unwise to reveal his lover's involvement in the shaping of events. It wasn't yet time. "Please. Let me speak to her. Let me apologize…and explain."

Watanuki sighed in defeat. "You can _speak_ to her, but nothing else, and certainly not in private."

"I understand. Thank you for this chance, Kimihiro."

Watanuki turned and Subaru followed him into the cottage. They found Doumeki setting the table for breakfast and Yuui on her hands and knees, vomiting into a bucket beside the hearth while Fai held back her long hair and patted her back soothingly. Himawari was standing sadly off to the side, observing the tender moment between the siblings. She would have loved to be by her foster daughter's side now, holding back her hair and telling her how brave she was to have this baby, but if she touched her, she risked something awful happening. She might even lose the baby.

Soel and Larg were sitting quietly beside the bucket as Yuui wretched, loudly and violently. When she was finally finished, she leaned back and Fai held her in his arms, comforting her.

"You're okay, Imouto. You're all right."

"Thanks, Fai," she mumbled weakly, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Oh, dear," Subaru whispered.

"No sudden movements," Watanuki warned him, giving him a small push forward. Yuui and Fai glanced up at him as he stumbled toward them.

"H-hello…Yuui-chan," he greeted nervously. The moment the scent of peaches attacked her nose, Yuui scrambled right back to the bucket and started to vomit again. When she finished this time, she couldn't quite summon up the energy to get back to her brother's arms and she collapsed on the floor. Fai quickly moved to her and pulled her back into his arms.

"Would you mind toning it down a little?" Doumeki asked as he brought Yuui a cup of water.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" he blustered, flushing as he wove some glamour around himself. As Yuui gratefully sipped the water, Subaru's aura dimmed and became something less fantastical. The twins couldn't quite figure out why, but he seemed altogether more human. More importantly, however, the strong scent of peaches had faded away.

"Who are you?" Yuui asked, her body still trembling from her last bout of sickness. Subaru bowed low before the twins.

"Greetings, Yuui-chan. I am Lord Subaru Shiro, master of the Shiro Clan." Subaru didn't fail to notice the way she flinched or the way she clung tighter to her brother when she heard that he was a faerie lord.

"What do you want?" she asked, a note of bitterness in her usually cheerful voice. It hurt Subaru to hear it.

"I came here to apologize for what happened," he said softly as he knelt slowly before her. "None of us wanted to do this to you, but it had to be done. I don't expect you to believe me now, but you will understand someday. I believe that if you come to Faerie with me, Fuuma-san will-"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Watanuki and Himawari burst out at the same moment.

"Do you honestly think we'd trust you with her after what's happened?!" Watanuki spat out. "She's staying right here!"

"Fuuma sent you to take Yuui-chan away from us, didn't he?!" Himawari accused. "You can't have her!"

"I swear on my honor, that isn't my intention!" Subaru insisted. He remained where he was, kneeling before Fai and Yuui. "Kamui and I just thought it would be best for both of them if Fuuma-san had a chance to _talk_ to Yuui-chan. He feels so awful about what he's done. The guilt is tearing him apart. We just want her to _understand_."

"My sister's not going anywhere with you!" Fai hissed dangerously, hugging his pregnant twin even tighter against his chest.

" _Please!_ " Subaru begged. "She'll come back! I give you my word!"

"You tricked me into allowing you into our home so you could propose this vile kidnapping plot to Yuui-chan's face! You think your word _means_ anything to us?! I want you out of this house _now!_ " Watanuki shouted.

"PLEASE!" a distraught female voice suddenly rose above all the others. Everyone turned to the object of their argument, amazed that she could summon up the energy for such a scream. "Please," she repeated in a calmer voice. "Don't yell at Subaru-san." Yuui couldn't explain why, but she felt a kinship with Subaru. After everything that had happened to her, it was downright _stupid_ of her, she knew, but she felt like she could trust him.

"His word isn't something to take lightly," Doumeki reminded them. Unlike humans, the fey did not give their word lightly. To be seen as a breaker of one's word in the eyes of the fey was the ultimate disgrace.

"Doumeki, this is _Yuui-chan_ we're talking about here!" Watanuki rounded on the weather sprite angrily. "You weren't there! You didn't see it!"

"Neither did you. You showed up _after_ it happened," Doumeki reminded him. "Perhaps they really didn't _mean_ to hurt her. Maybe Fuuma was trying to make it easier for her by blocking it from her memory?"

"Why are you defending them?!"

"I'm not saying I condone what they did to her. I imagine if I had been in your place, I would have reacted the same way. But we need to know everything. We can't afford to make enemies out of people who could still be our allies."

"I'll go with you," Yuui said softly to Subaru, breaking into her guardians' argument. "I'll speak to him…just this once."

"Yuui-chan! You don't have to do this. You might never come back!" Himawari warned her, her hand darting out to touch her shoulder but stopping just short of it. A look of hurt flashed across Yuui's face.

"Yuui's not going anywhere without me," Fai told Subaru as he helped Yuui to her feet.

"That's fine, but you've really nothing to worry about," Subaru said to the three guardians. "I will have them back before sunset and no harm will come to them. You have my word."

The guardians all raised an eyebrow. That was a very dangerous oath to make. After all, not all hurt that could possibly befall them was within the sphere of his control…and yet he made the vow anyway.

"We'll trust your word, Subaru, but that doesn't mean we'll stop protecting them. I'm going with you," Doumeki informed him as he went to fetch their cloaks.

"Doumeki…don't you trust us?" Yuui asked.

Doumeki turned to meet her pleading gaze. Of the three guardians, he was likely the one that trusted them the most, but _this_ …

"There are things about Faerie that you don't understand," he said simply, handing Fai his and Yuui's cloaks. "You might need my help."

Himawari and Watanuki both looked devastated as they watched the twins put on their cloaks and the Mokona hop up into the hoods.

"I don't want you two going anywhere on empty stomachs. Especially you, Yuui-chan," Watanuki said, bringing them each an apple. "Do you think you can keep something down?"

"I'll hold onto it," Yuui said, tucking the fruit into her cloak. "Maybe I'll be able to later."

"Please," Watanuki said as he pulled both children into his arms. "Come back to us."

Himawari moved to hug Doumeki. "Keep them safe," she whispered to him. As the twins moved toward Subaru, Watanuki approached him. He seized one of his ears and pulled him very close.

"You'd _better_ take care of them!" he hissed in his ear. Doumeki said nothing for a few moments, but then he grabbed Watanuki's chin, forcing him to look up at him. The nature sprite felt his breath catch in his throat as the assassin's amber eyes gazed steadily into his.

"Don't worry," he finally said, releasing Watanuki as he went to join the small group. The moment they were out the front door, Himawari vanished into her own room, knowing it wasn't safe for her to even be near Watanuki with Doumeki not around. Watanuki himself remained in place, staring at the closed door, feeling for all the world as if a part of his heart had been ripped out.

XxX

The journey through the forest was made in silence. Doumeki and Subaru walked in front with the twins in back, holding hands as they walked. Yuui rested her free hand protectively against her abdomen. It wasn't visible to someone who wasn't looking, and even then, it was hard to spot, but there was already a slight swell blossoming out of her flat stomach. It wasn't much, but Tomoyo gushed and cooed over it whenever they were together, insisting on kissing every inch of her pale belly. Only Tomoyo could make her feel truly happy about the baby. Other times…it was harder. It was harder on the days when she couldn't keep breakfast down. It was harder on the days when she felt Watanuki's inadvertent resentment of her baby as he gazed at her. It was harder when Tomoyo wasn't with her. It was hardest on the days when she remembered that a part of _Fuuma_ lived inside of her. It was hard…and she knew it would only get harder.

Sensing her distress, Larg cuddled up against her cheek. She nuzzled back with a sigh, feeling just a little better.

"Are you all right?" Fai whispered to her, squeezing her hand just a little tighter.

"I'm fine."

Before too long, the group reached the shores of Spirit Lake. Kamui was waiting there with a small rowboat. The scent of thistles was in the air about him.

"Your group has grown a little," the dark-haired captain commented. Then he knelt before Fai and Yuui. First, he took Fai's hand and pressed his forehead against it. Next, he took Yuui's hand and kissed it. "Greetings, Fai and Yuui. I am Kamui Shiro, captain of my brother's guard."

The twins were no longer surprised to be meeting faeries who knew their names. They both nodded as he stood aside and allowed them through to the boat. Once the entire group was on board, the boat slowly began to move away from the shore on its own. The morning mist was only just beginning to drift apart. Tsubasa Island was just barely visible in the distance. When they'd gotten about halfway to the island, Doumeki took Fai's hand and Subaru took Yuui's.

"What's going on?" Yuui asked, her free hand instinctively reaching for her growing child.

"The journey into Faerie can be a little…jarring…for someone who has never made it before," Subaru explained. When Fai heard this, his eyes found Doumeki's.

"You've…been to Faerie before?" he realized.

Doumeki nodded, keeping Fai's gaze. However, before he could ask anything more, the boat, suddenly and quickly, sank beneath the surface of the lake. It happened so fast that both twins began to gasp in shock. However, before the water had a chance to flow into their mouths, the boat resurfaced. Fai coughed…and was very surprised to find that the action did not produce any water. Yuui shook her head, but her long hair yielded no droplets of water. They were all completely dry.

"Is this Faerie?" Fai asked, looking around as the boat sailed itself to the opposite shore of the lake.

"It is," Subaru said softly. "We're still sailing on Spirit Lake, but we've crossed the bridge. Spirit Lake is the mirror…the gateway between worlds. No one really knows how the realms came to be connected, but the fact remains that they are."

Neither of the twins could see much of anything. As far as they could tell, the lake was resting in an endless field of lush, green grass. Yuui thought she could see a village in the distance, but that was about it.

"So…where, exactly, are we going?" Fai asked as Doumeki helped him out of the boat and onto the shore.

"You can't see it because you've lived your life as a human," Kamui started to explain. When he climbed out of the boat he reached his hand back to help Yuui out, but she shied away from his touch. Subaru and Kamui exchanged looks and the young lord reached out his own hand. Yuui did not shy away from him. "Just give it a few minutes."

"Do faeries pass between the realms often?" Yuui asked.

"Quite often," Subaru answered.

"We're at Spirit Lake all the time. How come we've never seen any?" Fai asked.

"Well, you don't tend to see what you're not looking for, now do you," Kamui explained casually.

"Can humans do it?" Fai continued.

"No. Pureblood humans cannot pass between the realms without the help of a faerie."

"Could _we_ do it?"

"Yes. You have enough fey blood in you for that."

Fai looked thoughtful for a moment. "Say…Kamui-san…you're a faerie."

"Glad you noticed," he said sarcastically.

"If we're…part-fey…you wouldn't happen to know who our parents are, would you?"

All three faeries froze for a hairsbreadth of a moment. Doumeki quickly threw Kamui an icy glare from behind Fai.

_You've taken so much away already. If you say one God damn word-_

"No," Kamui finally answered. "It happens all the time. Some woman takes to bed with something not human and walks away with a child. In this case, two children. It could be anyone."

"I see," Fai said softly. He knew when he was being lied to. Goddess knew he had lied to Kurogane everyday before his sixteenth birthday. He had learned to recognize the signs. He had realized not long ago that their guardians were lying to them as well. If not their human parent, Himawari, Doumeki, Watanuki, and now Subaru and Kamui, all knew who their fey parent was. However, he didn't believe that possessing that knowledge would make things hurt any less. He thought he could see quite plainly what had happened. Their mother had had a one-night stand and ended up with a pair of unwanted babies. Either their human mother had been afraid of having half-fey children or their fey mother had been ashamed of having half-human children. Whichever scenario it was, that mother had left them alone in Celes Forest to die. Some bitter part of his heart wanted to see the shock on that mother's face if she ever found out they were still alive.

_Sorry to have inconvenienced you…M_ _**other!** _

"Don't think like that." Fai suddenly heard his guardian's voice in his ear. Then he was being pulled into Doumeki's strong embrace right along with Yuui. When he heard her crying softly, he realized she had been thinking similar thoughts.

"What other way is there to think? We were unwanted," he whispered against their guardian's chest, trying desperately to hold back his own sorrow at his revelation. "That's plain to see."

"That's not true," Soel squeaked.

"Fai and Yuui are wanted," Larg chimed in. "Soel and Larg _love_ Fai and Yuui!"

"Don't ever think you're unwanted," Doumeki whispered fiercely to them. "Watanuki wants you. Kunogi wants you. _I_ want you. Fai, Kurogane wants you. And Yuui, Tomoyo wants you. Your _child_ wants you. It doesn't _matter_ who your parents were. There are people who want and need you _now_. There are people who _love_ you…who will always love you…no matter where you came from."

"You know…don't you?" Fai whispered back. His tone was just as fierce as his protector's, but it contained a note of harshness where Doumeki's held only devotion.

Doumeki could see that Fai was trying to be tough, but he knew him too well to think it was anything but a front. He'd never had any trouble reading what these children were thinking. He could see how lost they were right now.

"Yes," he answered honestly, "but you and I had a deal. I'll tell you everything…but not a moment before your eighteenth birthday."

"I really do hate to break this up, but we should be on our way," Kamui interjected.

"Way to where?" Yuui asked softly. However, the answer became quite clear when the twins pulled away from Doumeki. A grand palace had appeared several hundred feet from the lake's shore…a palace far more grand than even the one in Shirasagi.

"When…did that get there?" Fai asked nervously.

"It was always there. It's like I said, your eyes just needed time to adjust."

"You should keep your hoods low when we enter," Doumeki warned them as he pulled his own hood further down.

"Why?" Yuui asked.

"Quite a few of the courtiers will know you have mortal blood just by the scent of you," Subaru explained. "We don't need to provoke them any further. We must be as inconspicuous as possible." When the small group was ready to move forward, the faerie lord held out his hand for Yuui. She took it hesitantly. She didn't say anything, but she'd been unnerved by his use of the word provoke.

Kamui led the small group toward the main gates of the palace. Subaru came after him, leading Yuui, and Doumeki came behind them, leading Fai.

"Why aren't there any guards?" Yuui asked as they passed through the gate, remembering her experience with gates in Nihon.

"Heh, only a fool would attempt to enter King Clow Reed's sithen uninvited," Kamui replied, smirking lightly.

As their guides led them through the palace, both twins stared resolutely at the floor. Fai because he had no desire to see the realm that had produced Seishiro and Fuuma. He had heard tales of Faerie from his guardians, his friends, and his lover. He would not be taken in by whatever beauty it had to offer. Yuui because she was trying her hardest not to get sick again. With every new fey courtier that passed, a new scent attacked her defenseless nostrils. Her morning sickness hadn't yet subsided and she didn't know how long she could last. It would be utterly mortifying if she had to get down on her knees and heave up the last of her dinner in front of all these faeries.

If the siblings _had_ been looking, they would have seen all the curious stares they were receiving. However, none of the castle's inhabitants stopped the small party to question them about the mortal taint that suddenly walked among them because Kamui looked like he was on the warpath.

After what felt like hours of misery for Yuui, she heard Subaru whisper to her, "We're here."

It was something both terrifying and relieving. She would be out from under the scrutiny of all these strangers…but she would have to face Fuuma again. Could she even…handle it?

"Don't be afraid," she suddenly heard Fai whispering to her, his hand slipping into hers as the door to Fuuma's chamber was thrown open. "I'm here with you."

"Larg and Soel are here, too," Larg added, nuzzling up against her cheek again. Yuui swallowed hard, grateful to be surrounded by family in this moment as she followed Subaru into the room.

"Fuuma!" Kamui called. "Fuuma! Are you here?"

When Fuuma entered his sitting room from his bedroom, he was actually looking a little bit happy to hear Kamui's voice. His scent filled the room and his eyes shone dimly. But then he saw who was with him.

For a moment, they both froze. Then Yuui promptly collapsed to her knees and began to vomit all over the plush blue carpet. The scent of cinnamon was just too overwhelming after the trek through the palace.

Fai and Subaru were immediately on the floor next to her. Fai held her hair back and Subaru placed a hand on her shoulder. That hand immediately began to glow. The vomiting stopped soon after Yuui felt the warm glow of his magic. After awhile, the churning in her stomach stopped, as well.

"Feel better?" Subaru asked. Yuui nodded as he and her brother helped her stand and walked her over to one of the couches. Fuuma continued to stare the whole time, even as Doumeki began to clean up Yuui's mess.

"Why…are you here?" he finally managed to choke out. He hadn't had a moment of real peace since that night in the labyrinth almost two months ago. He hadn't even been able to sleep very well because he could only ever see Yuui's accusing eyes in his nightmares. However, there was nothing accusing about her as he looked at her now. All he could see was a tired, miserable girl.

And he'd done that to her.

Yuui couldn't bring herself to look up at him. She just sat on the couch with Larg in her lap, her hands folded around it, seeking comfort from its warm weight. Fai's hand was on one shoulder and Subaru's was on the other.

"There is…something I have to tell you," she finally whispered. She could feel tears gathering behind her eyes.

He waited silently. He knew what she was about to say, but he didn't want to face it.

"I am going to have a child. _Your_ child."

The faerie lord remained completely frozen, as if he were made of stone. Some part of her wanted him to hold her, like an ordinary man holds his woman at such news, but he was not an ordinary man, and this was not an ordinary situation. The only time he had ever touched her was as a prelude to taking her.

 _Show me some sign that this news is a joy to you. Please! Tell me I wasn't used!_ She wanted to weep from frustration, but she would not be the first to do so before the interview was over.

"A gift from the Goddess," he finally murmured.

"Yes," she returned weakly. "Do…do you not wish to hold me?"

He hesitated. For a moment, she thought he might be about to soften. But then he said, "Your condition is delicate," and turned away from her.

"Wait a minute!" Fai shouted as he got to his feet. "Is that really all you're going to say to her?! I think you owe her something better!"

"Fai-kun, calm down," Subaru tried to cajole him as he, too, stood.

"No! I want him to treat my sister with a little more respect! He thinks he can take what he wants from her without any consequences! It's easy for _him_ to walk away from her like nothing ever happened, but _she'll_ have to deal with the consequences of _his_ actions for the rest of her life! Don't think I'm just going to let him walk away!"

As Fai continued to argue with Subaru and Kamui, Fuuma slowly turned to face Yuui once again. She wasn't looking at him. She was staring at her hands, twisting nervously in her lap. Larg was nuzzling up against her belly, trying to calm her. God, but it tore him up to see her like this. She shouldn't have to deal with something like this, but here she was, two months pregnant and in his sitting room on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

_That's your fault._

As the others continued to argue, Fuuma moved toward Yuui, kneeling before her. When Larg noticed this, its first instinct was to lash out at the Monou lord, but then it saw his red eyes. Yuui gasped lightly when he laid his head in her lap next to Larg and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'm so sorry, Yuui-chan," he said softly as tears began to spill down his face. At the sound of his voice, everyone else fell silent. "I never wanted this. I only did what I had to. I don't remember anything either."

"What do you mean?" Yuui asked, tears gathering at the corners of her own eyes.

"I drank the same potion you did. I don't remember anything that happened. But you have to understand…every moment that you weren't with child was a danger to yourself and everyone you love."

"I don't understand."

"For now, it is probably best that you don't," Subaru said, retaking his place by her side. "All you need to know is that you _had_ to have a child. You can never do that with your own lover, so we had to take matters into our own hands."

"How do you know about Tomoyo?"

"We're fey, Yuui. It isn't difficult for us to get information when we need it," Kamui replied.

"You…you could have _asked_ me."

"Would you… _could_ you…have believed us?"

"The end justifies the means? Is that what you're saying?" Fai asked bitterly.

"Yes. That's how it is," Subaru said softly. "We're forbidden to tell you anything now, but you will learn the truth on your eighteenth birthday. You will understand why it had to be done. We will never bring harm to you or yours again. From this point on, your guardians will not be the only ones protecting you. We will be watching over you as well."

"What exactly is her baby to you?" Fai questioned.

"Everything," Kamui responded sharply. "This child is everything. If you wish it, we three will swear the formal oaths of knights. The three of you are everything and we _will_ protect you."

"I don't understand why this is so important."

"Fuuma-san is the heir to King Reed's throne," Subaru explained. "He _must_ have an heir of his own."

"But…why me?" Yuui asked as the tears finally started to spill down her cheeks.

"That is the part that we cannot yet explain, Yuui-chan. I'm sorry."

"If…if you want…I don't even have to be part of the baby's life," Fuuma whispered against her. "If you wish it, I will walk out of your life forever after this moment. I won't ever try to take your baby from you. I don't need to be its father."

"As far as I'm concerned, this baby belongs to Tomoyo."

Fuuma nodded, allowing more tears to slip down his face. He did _want_ to be part of his child's life, but he would respect her wishes.

"But she will know who her father is. She will know who gave her life. I won't shut you out."

The faerie lord glanced up at Yuui, surprise etched into his tear-stained face. A gentle smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth. Confronting him like this, she had begun to see that he had suffered just as much as she had. Then she gave him the words he'd been longing to hear ever since he had been given his dreadful task nearly two years ago.

"I forgive you, Fuuma-san."

He stared at her for a moment, shocked. Had she really just…

"Thank you!" he sobbed as he collapsed back into her lap, his tears of relief and vindication soaking her blue skirt. "You're an _angel_ , Yuui-chan! Thank you!"

"I think I understand you now, Fuuma-san. I know you made a lot of mistakes, but now I see that it wasn't all your fault. I think…you deserve to be in your child's life."

To both Fai and Yuui's surprise, Kamui and Subaru were suddenly kneeling before her on either side of Fuuma.

"Thank you, Yuui-chan," Subaru said, taking her left hand and kissing it.

"You are truly worthy of the Goddess' love," Kamui said, copying his younger brother's actions with her right hand. "From this day forward, we three will be your knights. We will guard you, your child, and your brother."

"Thank you," Yuui said softly. "I still don't understand what's going on…but I trust you."

"Are you sure, Yuui?" Fai asked, still glaring suspiciously at the three faeries kneeling before his sister.

Fuuma looked up at her, suddenly curious as to her response. Seeing his expression, Yuui ran gentle fingers through his hair and pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of his head. He seemed so much like a lost child.

"I'm sure. I think…we're all caught up in something bigger than ourselves. It's no one's fault."

"All right. If that's what _you_ want. Doesn't mean I'll take my eyes off of them, though," Fai warned, eying each of the three knights warily.

"You won't be the only one," Doumeki said softly. "These three have yet to redeem themselves in my eyes…and I imagine they will have trouble redeeming themselves in the eyes of the king."

"But…Uncle doesn't know."

"He does now."

At that very moment, the door to Fuuma's chambers opened wide, revealing King Clow Reed and Lady Kotori Monou.

"Oh, Goddess!" Fuuma cried out, turning away from his family and burying his face in Yuui's lap again. He had just faced her. How could they expect him to face them, too?

"Brother?" Kotori whispered gently. "Why won't you look at us?"

The Monou lord mumbled something, but it was lost in Yuui's skirt. Kamui and Subaru quickly moved to kneel before their king. Doumeki, too, bowed low.

"Please, Your Highness," Subaru pleaded. "Have mercy on Fuuma-san. None of this is his fault."

"I know. I heard everything outside. Remember?" he said solemnly as he moved past the two brothers. As he approached Fuuma and the twins, Yuui lowered her head and Fai bowed, keeping his hands on Yuui's shoulders. Fuuma finally pulled himself away from Yuui and knelt before his uncle.

"Why do you lower your eyes?" Clow asked, gazing sadly down at Yuui as he lifted her chin up to look into her eyes.

"You are…Clow Reed…King of Faerie," she said softly. It wasn't exactly a hard conclusion to draw.

"Be that as it may, young one, there is no need for the two of you to lower your heads before me."

Fai straightened, joining Yuui in looking surprisedly up at the king. Both could hardly believe how tired he seemed.

"I'm sorry to have brought this on you, my girl. I wanted to keep you both out of this, but I-"

"It's not your fault, sir!" Yuui insisted, jumping to her feet. She wasn't sure why, but she couldn't stand the thought of this man being unhappy. She had known him all of five minutes and she already felt close to him.

"Please don't, child. You have no idea of the mess you've been pulled into. It _is_ my fault. I am king here. Everything is my fault."

_All are punished._

"Please, don't be sad," she begged. "I'm happy. Really, I am. Tomoyo and I can have a family this way."

Clow gave her a small smile. "You want a family with her? You really want to be with your princess that badly?"

"More than that, even," she said with a fond smile.

"And you, Fai-kun? How badly do you want to be with your prince? Would you want a family with him?" the king asked him.

Fai's initial thought was to ask how he knew about him and Kurogane, but he was beginning to learn not to ask how faeries knew things. Instead, he said, "I'd give _anything_ to have a family with Kurogane…if it were possible. I…I love him. I'd _love_ to give him the family he deserves, but…even though I can't, I'd gladly stay with him forever."

_Because I'm too selfish…too weak…and I_ _**can't** _ _give him up! Even if it means the end of his line, I want to be with him always. I want to be near him until the last breath leaves my body…and even beyond that._

Fai's breath caught in his throat when the faerie king caught his gaze. Something in him _knew_ the king had somehow heard his despair…his need…his love.

"I think, Fai-kun, that _you_ are the only family that boy needs. You shouldn't fear."

_The mark of the God and the Goddess is in your eyes, child. Nothing, not even death, can truly part you from him._

The twins couldn't even _begin_ to explain why, but they both suddenly felt like they were going to burst into tears of relief. Somehow, this ancient being had made them feel that everything was really going to be all right.

"Kotori-chan, would you please remain here? Shizuka-kun, I wish to speak with you in private."

Doumeki just nodded and followed the king out of the room.

"Doumeki knows the king?" Yuui whispered to Fai, wide-eyed.

"Oh, yes," Kotori said with a smile. "Doumeki-san is a very great friend of our family." Holding out her arms, the noble came forward and swept Yuui into a big hug. "Welcome to the family, Yuui-chan. I believe that's my niece you're carrying."

"You're-"

"Uh-huh. Lady Kotori Monou, Fuuma's little sister, but you can call me Kotori-chan."

Yuui took a step back from Kotori, taking a moment to size her up as she'd been too distracted to do since she'd entered the room. By the mere feel of her presence, the young woman had suspected something about the noble, but when she looked into her eyes, her suspicions were confirmed.

"You're like me," she said softly.

"Yes," Kotori replied, still smiling. "We're the same."

"How do you know that baby is a niece, Kotori-chan?" Subaru teased as he moved back toward the small group. "Maybe it's a nephew?"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Kamui shot back.

"Kotori knows everything. She's so smart," Soel cheered.

"Oh, Soel-chan, you're making me blush. I don't know _everything_ ," Kotori tried to wave the white creature off as she sat down on the couch, pulling Yuui down with her. Then she turned her attention to her brother, who was still kneeling on the floor at Yuui's feet.

"Brother, please, come up and sit with us."

"I'm not worthy enough to sit beside Yuui-sama," he murmured, placing a hand on her knee and reminding everyone very distinctly of a dog.

"Fuuma-san, please don't be like this," Yuui said, taking the faerie lord's submissive hand in hers. "I accept your vow of service, but I'm _not_ your master. I don't want you treating me like some kind of noblewoman, because I'm not. I'm just an orphaned forest brat. I didn't forgive you so you could grovel at my feet. Please…come sit with us."

"As Yuui-sama wishes," he said, kissing her hand and moving up onto the couch.

"Fuuma, this isn't what she wants. She just wants you to be her friend."

Fuuma sighed. "I don't understand how you can even _stand_ to look at me."

Kotori shook her head as she took her brother's face in her hands and turned him to face her. The look in her eyes told him what he needed to know.

"You…knew?"

She nodded.

"And do you know why I didn't step in?"

Fuuma just shook his head.

"Because I can also see a day _after_ this one. I can see your baby smiling and laughing, learning to walk and speak. It has your ears, Yuui-chan's beautiful hair, and Mother's eyes. It will be a _beautiful_ baby…and I want to meet that child, Fuuma."

Fuuma relaxed a little and Yuui, upon hearing her words, got that serene, secretive smile on her face again as she placed a hand against the small swell in her belly.

"What were your mother's eyes like?" she asked. She wanted a complete picture of her future child.

"Mother had the most beautiful green eyes you've ever seen. They looked like little flower buds ready to burst into bloom whenever she smiled. They were so lovely…until they turned red…" she trailed off.

"What?"

"Blood is red. It's sweet and salty, life and death. It flows…drips, ripples, and pours…hair turns red…"

"Kotori-chan?" Yuui whispered nervously.

"You should feel honored that she lasted that long, Yuui-chan," Kamui said softly. "Normally she's only that lucid around His Highness, Fuuma, Subaru, Kero, and myself."

"What are you talking about?" Yuui asked, never taking her eyes away from Kotori's suddenly glassy expression.

"Kotori-chan suffered some…traumatic experiences…when she was very young. She hasn't been truly the same since," the captain said sadly. "There's no telling when the shifts will happen."

"Big brother," Kotori began softly. "I think _my_ hair is going to turn red."

Fuuma's face hardened briefly and he pulled his little sister into a tight hug. Her face remained mostly expressionless.

"Don't talk like that, Little sister. That's not going to happen again."

"Oh, dear," Subaru whispered as he sat down on the couch opposite them. Kamui reluctantly joined him, both of them staring sympathetically at the pair of siblings. Fai stared at the babbling faerie noble in morbid fascination as he moved around from the back of the couch to sit down beside Yuui. In his eyes, faeries had always seemed to be the epitome of power and control. To see one like this…

The young man was pulled out of his thoughts when he noticed Kotori staring at him. She had shifted in her brother's arms and her glassy, unfocused eyes seemed to somehow be focusing on him. She was humming a soft lullaby, and before long, words were slipping out of her mouth.

_-Hear this song_

_And remember,_

_Soon you'll be_

_Home with me,_

_Once upon_

_A December._

"Your hair's going to turn red," she finally said to him. Soel and Larg both gasped and the Shiro brothers' eyes opened wide. Fai and Yuui both suddenly felt extremely cold, though neither of them understood what she was talking about. But then Kotori scrunched up her face, as if trying desperately to remember something buried deep in her mind.

"No…red's not visible…in the dark…not when hair turned red mixes with black hair. Eyes of the sky will turn red, too…just like the green ones did…but that doesn't matter when they join with demon eyes…eyes that will kiss life back into the sky with rivers of blood flowing from the edge of his sword. The land will turn red that his love should remain free."

Then Kotori wriggled out of her brother's embrace and leaned across Yuui as if she wasn't even there. Fai remained frozen stiff as her delicate fingers closed around the moon pendant resting on his chest.

"The moon is the hidden prince, reflecting the sun's light, holding him in his arms and revealing his true warmth. Only the moon truly knows the sun and only the sun can see the true face of the moon. Without the moon, the sun would be unable to hold his great head high. He would be unable to rise from his bed each morning to face his celestial court if he did not have the moon at his back. The moon _belongs_ to the sun, just as the sun belongs to the moon. Only in each other's arms will they know true happiness…and just as the moon will awake to new life in the arms of the sun, only in the arms of the moon will the sun at last be redeemed. The sun king will soon lead the people in a great battle…and the moon king's time draws near. He will no longer be the hidden prince. He will be the catalyst that rouses the sun prince to become a king and together they will bring either light or darkness to the world."

As the last words left her lips, Kotori's eyes fluttered closed and she collapsed in Yuui's lap, sound asleep and leaving a shocked silence behind her. Still shell-shocked, Fai slowly turned his gaze down to his charm.

_The sun? The sun prince? The sun_ _**king** _ _**?** She couldn't have been talking about…Kuro-tan…could she? But…the hidden prince…the _ _**moon** _ _king? It couldn't possibly be…_ _**me** _ _…could it? The sun and the moon…could it mean that…we'll really be together? But…she's_ _**crazy** _ _…isn't she? But she's also like Yuui._

"I don't understand," he whispered despairingly as he fingered the pendant. For a moment the cool depths of the sapphire charm seemed to glow, but the glimmer was gone so fast he was almost certai he'd imagined it.

XxX

"How far along is she?" Clow asked. The moment he and Doumeki had stepped out of Fuuma's quarters, he had erected a barrier around them so that no one who happened to pass by would be able to see or hear them.

"About two months now."

"How long have you known?"

"For certain? About a week."

"Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"My apologies, my king, but _you_ did not see fit to tell us you had informed the Shiro brothers of the secret carried within Fai and Yuui's blood."

"I didn't."

Doumeki stiffened briefly. "Then…if _you_ didn't tell them…who did?"

"It couldn't have been Fuuma. He was just as affected by this plot as Yuui was."

"Seishiro," Doumeki said sharply, everything suddenly coming together in his head. "It has to be."

"What do you mean?"

Doumeki sighed. He had to tell Clow the truth, even though they'd all promised not to. "Your Majesty…Seishiro raped Fai."

The king's eyes widened in horror. " _What?_ "

"Nearly two years ago he used his Hand of Illusion on him…and raped him in his mind. The experience…almost killed him."

"Why did you not tell me about this?"

"We were afraid for his safety. We feared that if we told _anyone_ , it would compromise the twins. The fewer people who knew, the better. It would seem that our fears were well grounded. Seishiro probably already had his attack on Yuui planned when he came to Fai that night. It must have been him who told Subaru and Kamui about Fai and Yuui. He must have tricked them into believing he didn't want the throne and that the best way to prevent it would be to get a child on Yuui," he speculated.

"But that _is_ the best way. I don't see what he stands to gain from this."

Maybe Clow couldn't see, but Doumeki certainly could. He had watched his poor children suffer the effects of Seishiro's mind games. It was true that they both had people who could help them through their nightmares, but their hellish experiences were never going to truly leave either of them. Seishiro had gained…he had gained infinitely more than anyone had been able to foresee.

"He gained the complete and utter annihilation of their innocence. He knew what he was doing. Will Fai really be able to stand against him when the time comes?"

"So Kimihiro told you?"

"Yes. In all honesty, I can hardly believe I didn't see it sooner. Yuuko must have had another reason than vengeance for lusting so blindly after them for eighteen years. And instead of attacking them directly, she had her knight undermine their defenses from within. They're so vulnerable right now…if he or Yuuko makes another attack…I fear for their survival. He could break them with a word."

"So…you think…that all these years…my son was just _using_ Subaru?" Clow asked stiffly.

"I think it's the only explanation. It would probably be wise to warn Subaru against seeing him from now on. Fai and Yuui are too important to risk on Lord Shiro's naivety." Neither did Doumeki mean that the twins were important politically. He meant that they were important to the hearts and sanity of three faeries and two humans.

 _But…my son_ _ **loves**_ _Subaru. I_ _ **know**_ _he does…and Subaru loves him!_ Some part of Clow Reed just couldn't bear to give up the hope that his child still existed somewhere within the Sakurazukamori. The happy boy whom Yuuko had carried in her womb…and nursed…and whom they had both loved…the boy who had so loved his parents…the boy who had loved his mother enough to risk sacrificing himself for her wish…the one who made young Subaru's green eyes sparkle so brightly…he couldn't really be gone forever…could he?

Doumeki, however, was not willing to hinge the lives of the people he loved on such a pale, fragile hope.

"There is also the matter of Yuui's engagement to Prince Kurogane," he said softly, breaking into Reed's thoughts. "Surely by now you are aware that Amaterasu is under the control of the Dark Court. Selling the princess to them now would be careless, dangerous, and heartless. Watanuki and Kunogi both agree with me and…we were hoping you might speak with Sakura and Syaoran. As much as we love them…it's not our place to speak for them. We…don't want to see them get hurt."

Clow stared at the weather sprite for a long, silent moment. To someone who did not know the stoic assassin, he would have seemed as emotionless as ever, but to someone who had known him from the moment of his birth, he was displaying a boundless sea of love, worry, and heartache. His time with the twins had opened him up in more ways than even he, himself probably realized. Perhaps…those babies had even helped him start to reconcile his role with his nature…something that not even his own mother had been able to do. Listening to him now, Clow realized that Fai and Yuui were just as much his children as Seishiro was his child.

_Dear God, Merciful Goddess! What have I done?! They have such a wonderful life…and I'm going to drag them all back into this war. This beautiful little family is going to be destroyed. Powers in Heaven! What have I done?!_

"Yes. O-of course," he finally managed to get out. "I will do my best to intercede on your daughter's behalf."

Doumeki's eyes widened infinitesimally at hearing Yuui referred to as his daughter, but he let the comment pass.

"Thank you, Your Highness. We would be most grateful."

"How fare Himawari and Kimihiro?" They had at least informed him of Seishiro's attack on Watanuki and the curse Kyle had placed upon Himawari. The king felt guilty for all the suffering he'd made his loyal subjects endure, but at the same time, he was always awed by the self-sacrifice he saw in each one of them. Watanuki, Himawari, and Doumeki gave almost no mind to their own pain. Everything was for Fai and Yuui.

"Watanuki is fine. He's become a bit more sensitive to dark magic, and he's recovered well from Koryu's attack. But Kunogi…she is struggling. It's very hard for her…not to be able to hold them as she once did." Himawari was suffering day by day. Without the touch of her sweet babies, she was slowly wasting away to nothing. What would become of her…on the night of their eighteenth birthday?

"I see," Clow said sadly. He knew this would be hardest on Himawari. She was their mother in everything but blood. It was killing her not to be able to hold them close…and it would destroy her when she had to give them back to Sakura. It would kill something in each of them.

_And I've brought this on you. I asked you to do the impossible._

"If you will accept my sincerest apologies, my king, it is about time I was taking the twins home. It will be night in the mortal world soon. Subaru has been very kind to Yuui. I would not make an oath breaker out of him," Doumeki said with a polite nod of his head.

"Of course, Shizuka, by all means," he said softly as he released the barrier.

"Thank you, Majesty," Doumeki said before moving back into Fuuma's quarters with the king following silently behind him. "I imagine we'll meet again before too long."

Reed smiled sadly to himself as he watched Doumeki gather the twins and the Mokona from among the other pairs of siblings. He did not have the heart to tell him that…

… _No. You and I will never meet again in this lifetime._

" _Goodbye…Shizuka._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This little bit of lullaby is, of course, 'Once Upon a December' from Anastasia.


	17. Bring Back a Love Song

Kyle stood before the full-length mirror in Amaterasu's chambers, steeling his nerves. He couldn't believe what he was about to do…but it had to be done. The empress had no child of his body. He would have loved to have a child off of Tomoyo, but the court would ask far too many questions if she were to suddenly become pregnant. Besides, if his suspicions were correct, then he might not even be able to-

_Don't you_ _**dare** _ _think like that, Kyle! It can't possibly be your fault. You just need to try something different, that's all._

Having managed to partially quell his fears, Kyle raised his hands and chanted a few words. Then the mirror began to glow. However, when the glow ceased, the glassy surface reflected neither the empress' bedchamber nor the one he was seeking. It was simply black.

"Koryu?" he called out. "Koryu, why is this mirror blanked?"

"Hmm, let's think about this for a moment," the Oni lord's sarcastic voice dribbled from the opaque mirror. "Why, oh why, could I _possibly_ have my mirror blanked?"

"No need for sarcasm, Koryu. I just needed to speak with you."

"Oh, fine," the young noble grumbled. The next moment, his bedchamber was reflected in the mirror's surface. He was sitting up in bed and, as far as Kyle could tell, he was naked. He could just barely make out the head of blond hair lying in the bed next to him. Upon closer inspection, Kyle slowly started to notice something about the bed's other occupant.

"Koryu…is that…a _human?_ "

Koryu glanced down at his dazed bedmate. The young man was only half-awake and he was mumbling incoherently. He knew Kyle couldn't see it from where he was, but he was holding his hand beneath the blanket.

"Why, yes, I believe it is."

"Since when do _you_ sleep with humans?"

"Don't see how that's any of your business," Koryu growled softly. In truth, it was a habit he'd taken up soon after becoming lord of the Oni. Being master of the clan was putting a severe strain on his energy. He had become a much more subdued faerie and he was beginning to develop a healthy respect for his older cousin. He could hardly fathom how Kokuyo had managed to master the Oni and still be as virile as he was. He had his nights when he was still up for a little rough fucking, but those nights came less and less often. Nowadays, he preferred gentler partners. He would venture into the bars of Shirasagi and Cephiro and seduce human men and women. Noble or beggar, soldier or whore, he didn't care. He took them all to his bed…whomever happened to catch his interest. This particular conquest had actually been a bit of a challenge. It had taken a great deal of magic to seduce him away from his post. He was one of the ninja who guarded the gates of Shirasagi. He was fairly certain his name was Saiki…or something like that. He'd had to knock out the other guard because he really just had not been interested in a threesome tonight. Then he'd taken his new toy out for a few drinks before bringing him back home. He'd been an absolutely brilliant lay. He was most definitely a beacon among mortals. Hell, he was almost as good as some of the lesser fey. Koryu was almost tempted to erase his memory and take him on as a new pet…almost. He knew himself too well to think that his desire for him would last more than a few months.

"All right. All right. Message received."

"What was it you wanted to speak to me about? I'm a little busy right now," he lied. They'd been done for awhile when Kyle's summons had come. He was simply enjoying the warmth of the man he'd shared his bed with…another odd habit he'd only recently begun to indulge in.

"Would you be up for a little bit more excess this evening?"

"Depends on the excess in question."

Kyle stood aside to reveal Amaterasu lying naked on her large futon, staring listlessly at the face in the mirror. Koryu took one look at the broken empress…then turned skeptical eyes toward the older faerie.

"So?"

"I need your help."

XxX

"Hold still just a few more minutes, Yuui," Tomoyo scolded her, seizing her hair.

"But it _hurts_ , koibito!" the blonde whimpered through clenched teeth, clutching her knees in pain.

"Don't worry. I've almost got it through. Just a few more seconds," the princess soothed her distraught lover as she fought for the last few inches with all her strength.

"Please…please, Tomoyo, hurry! I can't take much more…I can't…stand it!"

"Oh…stop…complaining!" Tomoyo cried out, giving a small cry of triumph as she finally managed to pull the hair ribbon taut around Yuui's blonde tresses. Yuui slumped forward as Tomoyo stood back to admire her work. She'd been battling with Yuui's silken blonde hair for quite awhile now. First, she had had Yuui bathe. The blonde had teasingly suggested that they do it together, but Tomoyo had insisted that they at least wait until after the ball. Once her hair was dry, the princess had started brushing it out and pulling it high atop her head. Ultimately, her long hair ended up tied atop her head with a green ribbon, cascading down her back in loose curls. Yuui was currently rubbing her sore scalp.

"Don't mess with it too much. I'll never forgive you if you ruin it. It took us so long to get it just right," Tomoyo scolded.

"But it's so _tight_. Why do I have to wear it like this?" she whined, massaging her stretched hairline.

"Because this is how Valerian nobles wear long hair. If you don't embrace the fashions, how will we ever pass you off as a young Valerian lord?"

"Don't worry," Larg tried to console from its place in front of Tomoyo's mirror. "Yuui is still pretty. Yuui and Tomoyo are _both_ pretty."

A masked ball was being held in Shirasagi tonight, March thirty-first, in honor of Kurogane's marriage the following evening. Nobles from all around both kingdoms were going to be in attendance. The party would last well into the evening and the next day the wedding guests would all make the journey to the Valerian capital, Cephiro, for the long-anticipated event.

Fai, of course, had been spiraling ever further into depression as the days ticked down to Kurogane's wedding. So, in an effort to cheer him up, the royal siblings had invited him and Yuui to the ball. Tomoyo had also come up with something she considered to be a brilliant joke. She would attend the festivities on Yuui's arm, just as she had always dreamed of doing…only Yuui would be dressed as a man. Tomoyo had helped her into the many layers of one of Kurogane's old kimono: an exquisite piece of craftsmanship made of dark green silk and stitched with a pattern of golden oak leaves. The pattern was honestly better suited for autumn, but Tomoyo simply could not stand how handsome Yuui looked in it and had insisted she wear it. They had had to bind her voluptuous bosom very tightly, but the folds of the kimono easily concealed her four-month baby bump. Her delicate, feminine face would be concealed by a mask of green feathers made to look like a butterfly. Even wincing in pain and dressed as a man, in Tomoyo's eyes, her love was still breathtaking. She herself was dressed in a furisode made of purple silk and patterned with tiny golden swallows and her face would be hidden by a purple-feathered mask that bore a strong resemblance to a cat. She and Yuui went so well together, she could hardly stand it.

They were going to tell anyone who asked that Fai and Yuui were the children of some noble along the southern coast of Valeria. After all, there were simply too many nobles to remember each and every one by name. To that end, Tomoyo had secured a very impressive ring set with a green Valerian pearl to match Yuui's outfit. It was hard to get one's hands on Valerian pearls, so this would help them sell the joke. In regards to pearls, Fai's outfit would be even more impressive. She had picked it out herself and she could hardly wait to see it.

"Koibito, you should at least be grateful that you get to play the man tonight. Do you have any _idea_ how much more complicated a woman's kimono is?"

"Oh, I have an idea," Yuui said playfully. "Remember the part where I watched you put the outfit on?"

"Why yes, yes I do," she returned just as playfully, kneeling beside her lover. Yuui just shook her head in utter amazement.

"You are _so_ beautiful," she whispered in rapture, taking both of Tomoyo's hands in hers.

"No more beautiful than you are, my love," she said softly, leaning in closer to steal a kiss from her.

However, just as their lips were about to press together, the sound of a door sliding open interrupted them.

"Now, now, Tomoyo-chan, you wouldn't want to smear your makeup, would you?" Souma asked as she swept into the room, a note of teasing present in her voice that couldn't usually be found whenever she stumbled upon her friends like this.

"Is Fai-kun ready, Souma-chan?"

Souma nodded, her eyes sparkling with glee. The excitement of the evening was getting to even her, though she had to dress in a kimono and do all of those things she so detested. She was clothed in a bright yellow furisode that was patterned to look like the rays of the sun were shining upon it. The sunrays were stitched with golden thread, just like the patterns on hers and Yuui's kimono. In her hands, she held a golden tiger mask.

"May I present…Lady Fai of Valeria."

Kurogane was actually the first to enter the room upon her announcement. A meticulously carved red dragon mask was held in one hand. With his other hand, he led Fai. The prince was dressed in a kimono of fiery red silk that had been made especially for the occasion. A pattern stitched with black silk thread made it look like the garment was made of flashing scales rather than fabric. The intensity of the kimono further enhanced the fire that always lived within his crimson eyes, making them appear even more fiery and impassioned than usual. It was either this…or the fact that he had whom he considered to be the most beautiful creature in any land on his arm…that made him seem far more fierce than normal.

Tomoyo had known that she wouldn't be disappointed. Fai was… _beautiful_. He was dressed in one of her furisode. The soon-to-be-eighteen-year-old was a vision in the shimmering garment, crafted of fine blue silk with a gentle pattern of white feathers floating lazily across its folds. Fai had used magic to make his hair grow and his now long tresses were pulled back and held in place with a set of exquisite jade combs. His face had been powdered and his lips had been painted red. Souma had outlined his eyes with black kohl and the blue powder on his eyelids, along with the rich color of his costume, only served to enhance his already dazzling eyes, making them even more vivid than even the bluest depths of the ocean. A necklace made of Valerian pearls rested delicately around his slender neck and a set of matching pearl bracelets adorned his wrists. Pearl earrings hung from his earlobes, as well. They had also tucked pieces of scrap silk into the white hiyoku, the robe-like lining beneath the furisode. Held in place by the blue and white obi, the fabric gave him the faintest appearance of a bosom. Tomoyo could barely see it tucked away in his obi, but she knew it was his blue and white mask, made to look like a phoenix. Soel sat proudly atop his head, grinning like a maniac. Fai looked so much like Yuui. They truly were identical now. Yuui would have the court maids sighing and Fai would have all the men, young and old, chasing after him by the end of the evening. It was a veritable recipe for disaster.

"Fai's soooooo pretty," Soel sang excitedly. "Mokona bets that Kuro-prince wants to take those pretty clothes right back off and have him right up against the wall!"

Kurogane snarled as he lunged for Soel, but he was held back by his formal wear and Soel was much too fast anyway. In no more time than it took to blink, Soel was sitting beside Larg and the two were smirking lasciviously at him.

"You know something, Mokona? I think you're right," Fai teased, taking Kurogane's hand in his and turning the warrior prince to face him. He could almost feel his heart speed up as he leaned in close to him. "I know _I'd_ like to do that."

Kurogane could feel himself blushing when he saw the look in Fai's eyes. _Seriously? Does he always have to…in front of_ _ **everyone**_ _…why can't he just-_

_Oh, who are you kidding? You want him to kiss you and you_ _**know** _ _it._

But of course, he didn't. He leaned in just close enough _to_ kiss him, but then he teasingly backed off.

"I'd take any excuse to get out of this outfit. Do you know how many pieces it has? There are a million different linings hidden under this thing."

"But you do have to admit that it's funny, brother mine," Yuui retorted with a smirk.

"You can talk. You get to wear a _man's_ kimono. I'll be tripping over these sleeves all night. Even if I manage to make it without doing that, I'll probably just melt right out of it."

Fai gave a small yelp when he suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap possessively around his middle and yank him back into a very warm embrace. It wasn't that he didn't know who it was. He just hadn't been expecting it.

"If you tease me anymore," a heated voice began to whisper in his ear, "we'll find more than one way of doing that tonight."

Fai shivered with anticipation as Kurogane's lust-tipped voice sent shudders of desire down his spine.

"I'll look forward to it, Kuro-horny."

As he knew it would, the nickname caused Kurogane to release him instantly. Fai turned, smiling teasingly at the blush spreading over his lover's face.

"I win," he said lightly, taking out his mask and putting it on.

 _Oh, we'll see about_ _ **that**_ _,_ Kurogane thought, sneering wickedly as he put on his own mask and followed Fai out of the room.

The three girls exchanged glances before shrugging and putting on their own masks. As they headed out of Tomoyo's chambers, the Mokona simply continued to sing their almost lewd ballads.

XxX

Fai swallowed hard as Kurogane led him into the great hall. For all his earlier bravado, he had never attended a royal function before. What if he just messed everything up? He didn't think he could bear it if he spoiled their…last night…together.

"Don't speak if you can help it," Kurogane whispered to him as the eyes of all the guests turned to look at them. He hadn't planned to anyway. He wouldn't have known what to say when he started to hear the whispers flying throughout the hall.

"Who is she?"

"I've never seen her before."

"She's so beautiful."

"Who's the pretty girl on the prince's arm?"

"Maybe she's Valerian-"

"Perhaps a little snack after the evening's festivities…before the wedding."

The out-of-place forest boy was suddenly eternally grateful for the mask that hid the violent blush on his face. It wasn't like that last whisper was entirely false, but it was just the _way_ the elderly noble had said it that made him blush and shiver with disgust. He latched onto Kurogane's arm even tighter. Thankfully, the prince was not deaf to the flying gossip.

"Don't worry," he soothed, placing a hand on the pale hand that held his arm. "You're _mine_ …and no one else's. If anyone else tries to make that otherwise tonight, they'll have _me_ to deal with."

Normally, Fai would have teased his boyfriend over such a possessive statement, but tonight, he clung desperately to it. He wasn't going to deny it. He was terrified. This was not his world.

As Kurogane continued to lead him through the crowd, Fai used his free hand to take out the fan Souma had given him and gratefully started to fan his exposed neck. On this warm spring night, the many layers of the furisode were unbearably hot and the blushing caused by some of the comments he was hearing and his overall feeling of dread weren't helping in the slightest.

"K-kuro-tan…I'm scared," he finally admitted.

Kurogane stopped walking and turned to face him, a teasing smirk lighting his eyes.

"You control more magic than these old fakes could ever dream of…you could have them eating out of your hands…and you're _scared_ of them?"

"Don't tease, Kuro-sama," he whined softly, turning his gaze away from him. But then he felt his warm hand on his cheek, turning his face back toward him.

"So you're allowed to tease me, but I'm not allowed to tease you?"

"I was being serious."

"So was I," he said, the teasing fire in his eyes instantly becoming gentle. "You have nothing to be afraid of. No one's going to try to take you from me."

_No one except your enigmatic fiancé, dear Kuro-rin…dearest love…soon to be a love lost._

Kurogane chuckled softly as he raised Fai's hand to his lips. Fai's own lips turned upward slightly when he felt the warm pressure of his love's kiss against his hand.

"Dance with me?"

Fai nodded, feeling a little better as Kurogane led him to the lines of dancing couples. He took several deep breaths as they started to dance.

"Don't think about them," Kurogane whispered to him as he drew him closer, much closer than they should have been when they were on public display like this. "There's no one else here. There's only you and me."

Fai just nodded again, snuggling gratefully against Kurogane's chest as they waltzed in time to the slow, lilting music.

"You're a wonderful dancer, Kuro-rhythm," he said after awhile. "You never did dance with us in the forest."

The dark-haired prince's growl clashed slightly with the music. "Just something else I couldn't get out of learning."

Fai giggled and a small smile worked its way onto Kurogane's face to hear it. As they continued to move together, the world seemed to fall away and it really was just the two of them. Suddenly, Fai gasped.

"Kuro-sama, this song! Isn't this the song you sang to me?" he asked, recognizing the soft tune. Kurogane just nodded, quietly singing the words as he spun Fai around. The blond sighed longingly. They danced on, blind and deaf to all but each other, completely oblivious to the fact that they'd begun to draw an audience.

The two partners blended seamlessly together as they danced. They seemed to be two halves of the same whole: blue and red, fire and ice, yin and yang, the dragon and his phoenix. One could hardly _not_ notice them. For all the attention they drew, they may as well have been the Lord and Lady themselves walking among the party guests. The love in their hearts was so pure and so powerful it drew almost every eye to them. They were the very image of love. They were so undeniably _together_ , so clearly of one body, mind, and soul, that the partygoers simply became incapable of questioning the fact that the prince was with someone else the night before his wedding. The thing that glowed between them was much too beautiful for the likes of _that_. Even their sisters stopped their dance to watch them.

"They are just too cute for their own good," Yuui sighed dreamily.

"It's even sweeter, really," Tomoyo said, placing her hand on the spot where she knew Yuui's baby to be. "Considering what's going to happen tonight."

"Something's going to happen tonight? What have you seen? You _have_ to tell me! Tell me right now!" Yuui demanded.

_It would appear that I've seen a lot that you haven't seen, koibito._

"All right, I'll tell you. So long as you promise not to spoil the surprise."

Unfortunately for the shining couple, it was not just this adoring kind of attention they were attracting. They were also drawing what both would have considered to be unwanted attention.

"Well, well, well," Kyle hissed from his place on the royal dais beside Amaterasu. "What have we here?"

"What is it?" Koryu asked. He was attending the ball as Kyle's personal guest.

"Do you see the maiden the prince is dancing with?"

"It's kind of hard to miss them with everyone staring at them like that," he snapped.

"She is one of the Fluorite twins. I'm sure of it," he whispered to him.

"You…you think?" Koryu queried, taking a second look at the happy pair. "Would their guardians really allow them to come here? Especially considering what _tomorrow_ is?"

"More than likely they are unaware," he theorized.

"Then what are we waiting for? The other one must be here somewhere. Let's take them _now!_ "

"No, you fool. There are far too many witnesses. Syaoran and Sakura them _selves_ are here. Besides, why expend precious energy needlessly when Yuui is going to walk so willingly into our arms tomorrow night? There is no need to make a move. More than likely, it would be detrimental to our health to attempt to touch them now."

"So shoot me. It was just a suggestion. I thought you _liked_ scoring points with the queen."

_That_ _**is** _ _true._

Kurogane and Fai, meanwhile, were blissfully unaware of all the plotting that was happening around them. They were lost in each other…lost until the very moment the music ceased. Fai sighed, burying his face in Kurogane's chest.

"I love you, Kuro-koi." He knew he'd said the words a million times, but he would say them a million more. He would say them until he could no longer draw breath to speak.

"I love you, too, baka," he whispered back, nuzzling Fai's soft hair. He wanted to kiss him so badly right now, but he knew that would be a foolish and dangerous move in their present company, so he settled for softly resting his lips against the crown of Fai's head…not exactly a kiss, but close enough for now. "We just have to get through dinner…then it's just you and me…all night…until sunrise."

A wry grin softened Kurogane's features when he felt Fai's lips twist into a smile against his chest.

"I'd like that."

Their tender moment was suddenly and harshly interrupted by the applause of the assembled revelers. Fai's head jerked up, a faint blush becoming visible beneath his makeup as he glanced around at their audience.

"Everyone's staring at us."

"Wow, I honestly couldn't have called that," his partner returned sarcastically. But his manner turned serious again when he heard a small cry issue forth from Fai's lips. He turned and found Kyle standing right beside them, with Fai's right arm gripped tightly in his hand.

"May I cut in, Your Highness?" the leech asked, his ever-present lascivious smile on his face.

_He's_ _**dangerous** _ _, Kurogane! Fai and Kurogane must get as far away from him as possible!_

_Separate Fai and Kyle at all costs. Get Fai away from him!_

Kurogane didn't know where the little Mokona were hiding, but he knew it was them. He didn't need to be told twice that Kyle was dangerous. Only the fact that his hands were still on Fai kept him from tearing him limb from limb.

"No, you may not," he said, struggling to remain civil under all the scrutiny. "Kindly take your hand off of her."

Kyle did not. In fact, he only tightened his grip on Fai's arm. Kyle couldn't see it from where he stood, but Kurogane _could_ see the utter terror building in Fai's eyes.

_Please, Kuro-rin. I don't like this. Make him stop touching me! What if…what if he-_

"Do it _now!_ " he growled, the full force of his glare hidden beneath his dragon mask.

"Just out of curiosity, Majesty…what will you do if I _don't?_ " he asked, keeping his tone light. But Kurogane still sensed the underlying threat in his words.

"I will _kill_ you," he said simply, his need to protect Fai kicking in. This bastard had no right to be scaring Fai so badly. If he laid one more finger on him…it was _his_ funeral.

"If you insist, my prince," Kyle said, finally relinquishing his hold on Fai's arm. Fai immediately snuggled back up to him, slipping both arms around his waist. Kurogane wrapped a protective arm around his shoulders and turned his fiercest glare on the worm.

"You've no business scaring her like that."

"'Twas all in good fun, Highness. I can't say that I blame you. This one is quite beautiful. If you don't mind my asking, young miss, who are you?"

"Her name is Lady Yuui," Kurogane answered for him. "She's from the south of Valeria."

"Ah. Lady Yuui, indeed?" Kyle murmured, a spark of something that Kurogane couldn't identify lighting his dark eyes. "A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. My compliments. Enjoy your _evening_ , my dear lady." Then he was gone, right back to Amaterasu's side.

Kurogane growled low in his throat as he hugged Fai protectively against his chest, thankful that the other guests had already gotten back to the party and they hadn't created a scene.

"Th-thank you, Kuro-sama," Fai mumbled weakly, clinging to Kurogane as if he would collapse if he let go. "I…I don't like him. He's too much like… _him_."

"He won't touch you again," Kurogane promised fiercely. "If he does, it's his head."

Fai giggled, desperately trying to shake off the terror and disgust in his system. "Kuro-prince is my hero. I know he won't let anything bad happen to me ever. He'll keep all the villains and nightmares away."

_I was so_ _**scared** _ _, Kuro-chuu. Thank you…for protecting me._

"You're damn right I will," he said, pressing a quick kiss to the blond's ear before leading him away from the dancing couples. However, that was the very moment the real commotion started. A loud clatter and a small cry of disgust echoed from the direction of the small buffet table.

"What was _that?_ " the prince queried with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, no," Fai said, shaking his head. "Yuui's found the appetizers."

Yuui, having survived her first trimester and the intense bouts of morning sickness brought on by carrying a baby that was more than three quarters fey in her mortal body, had moved on to the point where she was eating everything in sight…all at once. The baby was putting massive demands on her body. The other night, Fai had awoken to find her bed empty and had gone down to the kitchen to find her shoveling carrots, bacon, and chocolate cupcakes into her mouth all at the same time.

Currently, the pregnant cross dresser was shoveling roll after roll of the kingdom's most expensive sushi into her mouth, indiscriminate of what kind they were. Tomoyo was standing beside her, having a good giggle while the courtiers stared at the spectacle.

"It's going to be here all night, you know?" Tomoyo chuckled.

"I can't help it, Tomoyo. I'm hungry. I _need_ it. _She_ needs it," she said, a small glob of sticky rice falling from the corner of her open mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," she scolded her, giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder as she continued to indulge.

"Do you…maybe want to slow down a little bit?" Kurogane asked as he and Fai came up behind them. "I thought the idea was to _not_ draw attention." Having said this, the prince wrapped a hand around her wrist and attempted to pull her back. At this, she turned to him and growled, smiling sweetly all the while. The growl so shocked him that he almost let go of her…almost. He didn't think Yuui had _ever_ growled before.

"Kurogane-kun?" she began in a sickeningly sweet voice to match her arsenic smile. "You _do_ know that I can tear your head off with my mind, right?"

Kurogane blinked several times. Yuui had never threatened him before either…not seriously, anyway. It was that surprise that allowed her to escape his grasp and go right back to scarfing down the sushi. However, the prince's next words stopped her cold.

"You think you'll be any good to that kid dead? Because that's what you'll be if you attack me. Either that or you draw too much attention to yourself and get arrested for not being who you say you are."

Yuui's lower lip began to tremble and her eyes shone brightly with tears. Then she flung her arms around her friend and gave a small, muffled cry as she buried her face in his chest.

"Ano…Fai…a little help?" he requested as he tried to pry Yuui's arms from around his body.

"Sorry, Kuro-koi. This is much too amusing," the blond said with a giggle.

_You'll pay for this later. I'll make sure of it._

"I'm so sorry, Kurogane-sama!" she cried. "I can't help it. I need to eat. My belly feels like it's on fire. I can hear my baby crying out that she's going to die if I don't eat. I promise I'll be quiet. Just _please_ let me eat. We need it."

"All right. All right. I get it," Kurogane capitulated. "Just don't be so messy about it."

A bright smile instantly lit Yuui's tearful face and the desperate grip became a cheerful hug.

"Thank you, Kurogane-sama. Your niece loves you very much," she said before happily starting back on the sushi.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say she was excited about something," Souma said with a grin as she joined the small group. "But do you really think you should let her eat nigiri?"

Tomoyo and Kurogane both turned horrified eyes back to Yuui just as she shoved a piece of tuna nigiri into her mouth. The moment she began to chew, her eyes began to water and she threw her head back, a very odd cry escaping her lips. Tomoyo rushed back to her, grabbing her by the shoulders to keep her calm.

"That was _intense_ ," she said, shaking her head to try and clear it. For a moment, it had felt like someone had fired an arrow through the roof of her mouth and into her head.

"I'm sorry Yuui. I should have warned you. Nigiri rolls have little dollops of wasabi in them."

"You don't have any more of that, do you?" Whatever wasabi was, it certainly packed quite a punch.

Tomoyo just shook her head, mirth gleaming in her violet eyes. "Oh, Yuui, Yuui, Yuui."

All of the friends were having a good laugh over it when Yuui suddenly got a very strange look on her face and her hand shot to her stomach.

"Are you all right?" Tomoyo asked, all mirth disappearing, only to be replaced with concern.

"She…she moved," she whispered, an exulted smile working its way onto her face. "My baby…my little girl…she just moved."

The smile immediately returned to Tomoyo's face. She seemed to glow in the same way Yuui did. "Can…can I feel?"

Yuui nodded eagerly, taking Tomoyo's hand in hers. "I don't know if you'll be able to feel her through all these layers, but you can try."

The young women smiled softly at each other as Yuui placed Tomoyo's hand against her womb. For that small, frozen moment, they could gaze only at each other, wrapped up in their own little world. Then Tomoyo's eyes widened when she suddenly felt the faintest, tiniest little nudge against the palm of her hand. Her eyes shot straight to Yuui's stomach.

"I…I felt it," she breathed tremulously, placing her other hand on Yuui's stomach. She wanted to embrace her, to kiss her and tell her how happy she was, but she knew that would be a foolish move with so many curious eyes around, so she settled for gazing adoringly into her blue eyes. "She's strong."

"Yes," Yuui whispered back. "Our baby is strong."

"She will be beautiful."

Souma shook her head as she smiled at her two friends. They were being so painfully sweet and romantic with each other. She almost wanted to feel sick over it but, at the same time, she found she could not. They were so happy…and this was such a beautiful moment…she could not help but wish them every happiness, much as it pained her.

She had realized only recently that she loved Tomoyo…as more than a best friend or a sister. The thoughts and feelings that had raced through her being over the years had suddenly become clear. However, she also knew she could never say anything. As much as it pained her to keep these feelings buried in her chest, seeing the princess be happy with someone who was also her best friend every day of her life, she knew she would only hurt Tomoyo more by telling her how she felt. She knew Tomoyo. She would feel guilty she could not return her feelings. It would taint the happiness she shared with her true beloved. She couldn't bear to cause Tomoyo pain…no matter how much it pained her.

Both Kurogane and Fai gazed at their friend with similar looks of pity as she watched their sisters. Even if Souma had never said anything, they had guessed at it…all four of them had, though the two young men felt that they could better sympathize with her than their siblings ever could. Tomoyo and Yuui had not had to go through the many years of fear and heartbreak that they had suffered…wishing desperately for the one they loved but at the same time, terrified of rejection. Being dreamseers, Tomoyo and Yuui had known, almost from the start, that they would be together…that they _belonged_ together. But Souma…she was suffering in much the same way they had, and _un_ like them…there would be no end to her pain…unless she could find someone else whom she could love just as deeply, just as purely.

Kurogane, of course, appreciated the fact that his little sister was so loved by someone so capable of protecting her, but he also knew that Yuui was just as capable, and loved her just as much, if not more, and Tomoyo loved her in return…with a passion to rival his own for Fai. He knew that Souma would never try anything…she loved Tomoyo too much for that…but he would still do anything to protect their happiness, just as he would do anything to protect Fai. It was such a strange rift that had grown up between the five of them. How could anyone have possibly foreseen it?

The prince was drawn out of his thoughts by the feeling of Fai's hand on his shoulder. He glanced over at his lover in time to see him slide his hand down into his, twining their fingers together. He could see his eyes clearly through the phoenix mask and they couldn't really be assigned to a specific emotion. They simply said, _Let it be. There is nothing we can do. For now…we have each other. Let's enjoy the few precious hours we have left._

Kurogane just nodded, leaning his head lightly against Fai's as they held hands. As they languished in each other's presence, a very loud gong suddenly sounded in the hall. Then a page announced that dinner was served. First, Kyle and Amaterasu rose from the royal dais and moved toward the dining hall. Once they were in, the other guests began to follow. Fai glanced nervously back at Yuui as Kurogane led him toward the dining hall. She was already salivating buckets at the mere mention of food.

Amaterasu and Kyle sat at the head of a very long table. The seating arrangements were such that Kurogane, Tomoyo, and their guests were on the empress' right hand, and the three guests of honor, King Syaoran, Queen Sakura, and Koryu, were on her left. As such, it ended up as Kurogane across from Syaoran, Fai across from Sakura, and Tomoyo across from Koryu, whom the princess could not help but notice could not seem to keep his eyes off of the twins. Yuui found him to be quite suspicious. Fai might have agreed with her…had he been able to stop staring at Queen Sakura. She, of course, was oblivious, as she was caught up in a conversation with Kakyo, who sat on the other side of Koryu, and whom Souma was seated next to, looking miserable. Kurogane was also oblivious to all of this at first because he couldn't stop glaring at Kyle, who, in turn, was giving him a very lascivious sneer as his eyes occasionally darted over to Fai.

Well, this was certainly going to be a very interesting meal.

"Prince Kurogane," Syaoran finally started, attempting to engage his future son-in-law in conversation. "It is a pleasure to see you again."

"Yes," Kurogane returned, the very faint edge of a growl in his voice as he finally managed to tear his eyes away from Kyle. "It is an honor to know that you and Queen Sakura have journeyed so far to be here tonight. You have my thanks." He hated saying it. He'd almost rather have tossed his goblet of rice wine in the king's silver wolf-masked face. He had no intention of following through on _someone else's_ promise to marry his daughter. But the polite façade had been ground into him from the moment of his birth. He had no other choice but to nod and make small talk…no matter how little patience he had with all of it.

"Are you looking forward to marrying my daughter?" the king asked, his eyes shining with a father's pride.

"Yes, Your Highness," the prince replied, fighting his hardest not to grind his teeth together in anger as he lied through them. "Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to unite our two great kingdoms into one." Unconsciously, his hand tightened its grip on Fai's, which he still held under the table. Fai himself was barely aware of the increased pressure. The jade-eyed queen across from him held his attention captive. It was nothing to do with her beauty, though she was certainly beautiful, dressed in a pale blue kimono patterned with pale pink sakura blossoms and wearing a dove mask…it was simply that something about her…stirred something deep inside the young man. An odd scent filled his nose…something long forgotten…something from the past. A memory hovered just on the edge of his consciousness…warmth…warm skin…gentle arms…holding his tiny body close…a soft voice singing of love and protection…

_I love you more than my own life._

…the scent…of a mother…

_You are…my miracle._

"Excuse me."

Fai was instantly snapped out of his thoughts by the queen's voice. She had noticed the "young woman" staring at her and her curiosity had been piqued.

"I don't believe I've seen you before, young miss. Who are you?"

For a moment, Fai was struck dumb. His first instinct was to tell her the truth, but that immediately clashed with the fact that he was supposed to be incognito. Kurogane, however, saved him from having to answer.

"This is Lady Yuui. She and her little brother are of the Sengoku family."

"Did you say…Yuui?" Sakura whispered breathlessly.

"Yes."

For a moment, the queen couldn't quite catch her breath. She hadn't heard or spoken her daughter's name aloud in nearly eighteen years. The names of their vanished babies had become something of a taboo in Valeria.

"Sengoku? That's a border family, right?" she asked, still looking at Fai, who just nodded. The royal siblings had prepped them well on their fake history. The Sengoku family lived in the south of Valeria, along the few miles of border the country shared with Nihon. Apparently they didn't get out much. Hence, Sakura could forgive the small infraction. She hadn't seen the Sengokus for many years. She hadn't even known they had children yet. Though, judging from the girl before her, she'd say they'd had children for awhile now.

"How old are you, Yuui-chan?"

"Seventeen," Kurogane answered for him. "My apologies, Sakura-sama, but Yuui is suffering from a slight cold this evening and she's lost her voice."

"Really?" Sakura asked, immediately feeling concern for the girl. "Should you be here? The journey from your home must have been long. Perhaps you should be resting?"

Fai shook his head violently, almost dislodging his phoenix mask. He briefly raised his and Kurogane's clasped hands from beneath the table.

"It was her wish to attend tonight. Yuui and I have been good friends for some time now and she is my guest this evening," Kurogane explained.

As the prince talked, Sakura couldn't help but notice the way 'Yuui's' eyes gazed adoringly at him from behind her mask. Her eyes…blue…so blue…her own Yuui's eyes had been blue…surely her daughter must be as beautiful as this young woman. Those eyes sparkled with love and life. As she watched the way they interacted, a dreadful revelation was suddenly born in her heart.

_Oh, no. They…those children…they're in love. Maybe…maybe my own child is in love, too? Can we really…tear apart love like this…for the sake of an alliance?_

Sakura tried very hard to concentrate on her wonton soup as her world started to fall apart. But her conversation had sparked her husband's interest.

"Your parents aren't here, are they, Yuui-chan?"

Fai shook his head.

"It's just her and her brother," Kurogane answered.

"And he is?"

"That would be me," Yuui answered, pitching her voice slightly lower as she raised her hand. She was barely able to draw her attention away from her own bowl of soup as she spoke to the king.

"And your name is?"

"Fai Sengoku."

"F-Fai?" the king whispered, shocked. He had been suspicious when Kurogane had proclaimed the blonde beauty as Yuui, but now…it couldn't really be…his son, could it? Could the fey have hidden them with some noble family all this time? "How old are you, young master?"

"Sixteen," she answered, finally looking up at him. They had decided it would be safer if people didn't know they were twins. Tomoyo had invented a complete history for them. Apparently they shared the same father, but had different mothers. Fai was the daughter of their father's wife, but she was the son of his true love, the woman he hadn't been able to marry. Their mothers were caught up in a bitter feud for their children's succession to their father's position, but despite all of this, they loved each other dearly. The story went on from there, according to Tomoyo, but Kurogane had stepped in at that point, insisting that they didn't need anymore than that.

"Oh," Syaoran said, finally able to breathe easy again. They weren't twins then. However, it was still quite an amazing coincidence. What had the Sengoku lord been thinking? As he watched the boy eat, he couldn't help but wish that it somehow _was_ his son. He had to admit he was quite handsome…even if he did have a bit of a feminine cast to his features. Neither had he failed to notice the stares of many of the young women…either in longing at this Fai, or in jealousy at the princess, the one lucky enough to be on his arm. But he could also see that, when the young man wasn't focused on his meal, he had eyes only for the young princess he escorted, who would occasionally slip him glances of utter adoration. He hadn't been watching them for very long, but Syaoran could already see that these two young people had something special. Maybe they could be wed someday? Perhaps…he could even put in a word for the boy's family with Amaterasu?

As the meal progressed, Fai never once loosened his grip on Kurogane's hand. Kyle had yet to stop raking his body with those lust-filled eyes. It made him feel like he was locked in a dark room with the man…naked in the dark…trapped…claw-like hands reaching for him…tearing the clothing from him… _NO! Stop! Please stop! No more!_

Only the returned pressure of Kurogane's hand in his kept him sane and anchored as those eyes raped him again and again. He could barely manage to handle the chopsticks Tomoyo had taught him how to use. After awhile, he gave up on eating and just stared forlornly at his food. Never in his life had he been so grateful to be wearing a mask as he was right now. By the time Kyle stood up to make an announcement, Fai could barely manage to keep his body from shaking.

"Dear friends! Honored guests!" Kyle called to the room at large, flashing them a smile that could have charmed a king out of his kingdom for nothing more than a kiss…not that Kyle would have _settled_ for that.

"As you all well know, we are here tonight to celebrate the marriage of our own Prince Kurogane, whom, tomorrow at the stroke of midnight, shall be married to Syaoran's daughter, who shall finally be returned to him after eighteen long years."

A great roar of applause followed Kyle's words. The only people who seemed unhappy were the ones being talked about. Kurogane and Syaoran stood and exchanged friendly nods, but Kurogane just looked angry at the smugness only he seemed to be able to see in Kyle's face. His and Fai's clasped hands were now fully exposed and he knew that the only thing he could do that would be _more_ foolish would be to kiss him outright, but he no longer cared. Fai needed this right now.

Syaoran just looked uncomfortable. He couldn't figure out why, but mention of his daughter in Kyle's mouth somehow made him feel sick. Sakura was no longer certain about the wedding at all. Fai just looked devastated…as if he might cry at any moment.

"However, friends, we have not just this one joy to celebrate this night…but four. Our dear Tomoyo-Hime is to be betrothed to Lord Mong Ryong of Koryo Province. They shall be married on the eve of the princess' seventeenth birthday."

Applause broke out again as Tomoyo and Mong Ryong stood from their places. Mong Ryong was seated beside Souma and as he moved toward Tomoyo, the princess turned to look at Yuui, waiting for her lover to look shocked or hurt or betrayed, but none of these came. Yuui looked…resigned.

_She knew._

Tomoyo briefly glanced at the older man as he came to her. A pained, resigned smile graced his face. Apparently neither of them was enjoying this. She lowered her head demurely as she offered him her hand to kiss. He took it and lightly brushed his lips against her knuckles. Then they separated and went back to their seats. Traditionally, they would have sat together, but neither particularly cared to. Both had lovers to think about, after all. Kurogane tried to catch Tomoyo's eye as she sat down, but she wouldn't look at him. Why hadn't she told him about this?

"As if that weren't enough to be celebrating, Her Highness and I have wonderful news," Kyle continued, taking the nearly catatonic empress' hand. She didn't even look up. "Her Majesty and I have conceived a child in her womb and we shall be wed at the time of its birth."

This time around, the crowd was much less enthusiastic. The lords were all trapped in a stunned silence, their eyes darting back and forth between Kyle and Kurogane. Was this the power play they'd been dreading? Was the prince…in danger of loosing his crown? Kurogane himself just stood still, holding Fai's hand, his face unreadable. He did not _care_ what obstacles Kyle threw in his path. He would _not_ be shunted aside by him. Neither would anything or anyone take Fai away from him. He had made his decision.

As the guests all stood from the table, Kyle led Amaterasu out into the crowd to gather congratulations. When they passed by Fai and Kurogane, Kyle laid a hand on Fai's shoulder. When he felt those cold fingers digging into him, it took everything he had to keep himself from screaming.

"My Lady," he whispered in his ear. "Enjoy your evening."

As the couple moved away from them, Fai really felt like he might pass out. After Kyle's suggestive glances and his touches, he felt truly violated. He clasped Kurogane's hand in both of his, leaning close to him.

"Kuro-tan…I…I don't want to be here anymore. Please…can we go back up to your chambers?"

"Yes. I'll take you back up right now," he said softly, nuzzling his ear very briefly before helping Fai up from the table. "We'll talk later," he said to Tomoyo as they passed her and Yuui. The princess nodded.

Fai felt even worse as Kurogane led him out of the dining hall because it was impossible to block out the whispers he was hearing.

"Well, _she's_ in for a long night."

"Right in the middle of the evening, no less. How unseemly."

"Sleeping with a man about to be married? Her parents must be ashamed…"

"…don't care how much of a slut she is, I'd take _that_ in a minute."

_God, please! Please make it stop!_

"Just ignore them," Kurogane whispered in his ear. "They don't matter. They're just a bunch of useless idiots with nothing better to do than make other people miserable."

They were almost free…almost. But just as they'd reached the door, Fai felt the cold, claw-like hand grip his arm again. He couldn't help it this time…tears began to fall from his eyes.

"My Prince, Lady Yuui, where are you going? The night is young yet."

Fai did not turn to look at the wicked consort. He could not bear to. It was taking all of his control not to collapse into a weeping mess at his feet.

"Kyle," Kurogane began warningly as he turned to face him. "I don't care what kind of power you _think_ you have. If you touch her again…I will kill you."

Kyle just sneered through his lizard mask, drawing closer to his prisoner. Then he leaned forward and kissed his ear. A tiny whimper escaped Fai's lips as more tears spilled down his face.

"You should learn to be more respectful of me, Prince. I shall be emperor regent when your baby brother is born." As he spoke, he trailed searingly light kisses down Fai's neck. Fai couldn't stop the small sob that Kyle's touch forced out of him. "I am well within my rights to ask you for the use of your friend tonight."

This time, the sob of terror was too much for Kurogane to bear. Without letting go of Fai's hand, he lunged, grabbing Kyle by the collar with his free hand.

"You're _dead_ ," he hissed in his smug face. "The next time I see you, you're _dead_. _Do you hear me?!_ "

"Oh," Kyle crooned, still leering smugly as he finally released Fai's arm. "So unwise."

Kurogane tossed him aside, never once looking back as he led Fai from the room…though he did feel his stomach twist slightly when he heard the doors close behind them. He knew those words heralded ill for all of them…but he couldn't bring himself to care in this moment. Right now…Fai needed _all_ of his attention.

"Oh," the younger man gasped lightly as his legs suddenly gave way beneath him. Almost the exact moment he was aware of falling, he was in Kurogane's arms. The prince easily lifted him into his arms, carrying him as he moved. Fai was sobbing openly as he clung desperately to Kurogane's neck. "O-oh! Kuro-r-rin! I'm so s-sorry. I've…spoiled everything!"

"It's not your fault," the ninja told him soothingly. "It's his. I promise…I'll kill him for you. I'll bring you his head. I don't care who the bastard thinks he is. It's high time he was toppled."

"B-but…it's our…l-last night…and I've… _ruined_ _it!_ " he sobbed.

"Don't say that!" Kurogane said harshly as he carried Fai into a small side alcove and stood him gently against the wall. "Don't even think it. You didn't do anything wrong. Kyle's just a sick pervert. Please…don't think about him. I just want us to enjoy the night. I only want to think about _you_ right now…and I want to be the only thing on your mind." As he spoke, Kurogane first lifted the dragon mask from his own face. Then he undid Fai's and lifted it away. The makeup was running down his face as he cried, mixing in a colorful swirl of white, black, red, and blue. Ignoring the muck on his face, Kurogane leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the forehead. Fai sighed lightly as his ninja kissed his face, leaning into the gentle caresses. As they kissed, Fai tried to apologize again.

"I'm sorry…Kuro-pon…sorry I couldn't…handle myself better. But…when he put his hands on me…and when he looked at me…it was just like…two years ago." The blond shuddered in disgust. "I couldn't… _stand_ it."

"Shh. It's all right. You don't have to say anything," Kurogane soothed, pressing his lips to Fai's for an achingly tender kiss. "I understand. That's not something you're going to get over in a hurry. You'll have to banish it by inches."

"Help me, Kuro-koi," Fai suddenly whispered, clutching Kurogane's shoulders tightly in his hands. The prince looked confused for a moment, but his meaning soon became clear from the look in Fai's eyes as he gazed up at him. "Please…help me to forget him. _Make_ me forget!"

_I want our last night together to be…magical._

Kurogane nodded briefly and leaned forward again, kissing him with all of the passion and desire he had denied himself all evening. Fai moaned softly against the pair of lips covering his own. Whenever Kurogane touched him like this…he was in heaven. The blond moaned again as Kurogane began to slide a hand into the folds of his kimono, deftly negotiating the many layers to finally brush his fingertips against his bare skin. Fai groaned, gripping tightly at the warrior's hips as he caressed his skin. Both of his hands were inside Fai's kimono when their passionate embrace was interrupted by a small gasp.

Both of them looked up to see a young serving girl staring at them, mouth agape. Kurogane quickly extricated himself from Fai and went to her. Fai could hear them exchanging a few whispered words as he straightened himself up. When they had finished talking, the girl nodded and quickly disappeared, clearly happy to get away.

"What did you tell her?'

"I told her to have food and wine sent up to my quarters. You need to eat. You barely touched your food," Kurogane reprimanded.

"Kuro-pin is so sweet, always thinking of me," Fai giggled. Kurogane just rolled his eyes.

"I also told her to have someone draw hot water for a bath. Then I offered her a small fortune to make sure she doesn't tell anyone about this."

Fai giggled again as he and Kurogane walked out of the alcove holding hands. Thoughts of Kyle, Seishiro, and their impending separation had been pushed to the back of his mind for the moment. He was so eager to be one with Kurogane once again.


	18. I Know You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, bad me. I can't believe I've left this hanging for so long. Other projects and the waking world and all, that sort of thing. I'm gonna try my best to get this all hammered out in the next few weeks here so I don't let it fall off again. So very sorry if I've left any first time readers hanging.

They were mostly silent as they walked back up to Kurogane's chamber. Unlike the silence that had been between them on the way down, which had been stifling and terror-filled, this was a silence of warmth and peace, of just enjoying being together. Neither _needed_ to say anything.

"First things first," Fai announced as they walked into the expansive set of rooms. "Let's get rid of all this hair." While Fai had figured out how to use magic to make his hair _grow_ , he didn't yet know how to make it work the other way.

As Kurogane went to get a dagger, Fai first removed the pearl jewelry, then the jade combs that held his hair back. As the shower of blond hair curtained around his face, he found himself glad that it would soon be gone.

"I don't see how she does it."

"Who does what?" Kurogane asked as he came up behind him, gathering the blond mane in his hand.

"Yuui. I don't see how she can handle dealing with this much hair all the time. Whenever you're ready, Kuro-min."

Fai sighed in relief when he heard the blade swish through the hair, then felt the weight of it lift from him.

"It probably doesn't look the same as it used to," Kurogane warned before going to his balcony to dispose of the blond tresses.

"Don't worry. I can style it a little better with magic," Fai replied, tossing his newly shortened hair about his neck, reveling in the feeling of being free of the long hair. Just as he was turning to say something to Kurogane, he felt the prince's arms close around him and he felt his lips on his, pressing down firmly. He grinned into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Kurogane's neck as the prince lifted him off of the carpeted floor. Getting the hint, Fai quickly wrapped his legs around Kurogane's waist, pressing their bodies even closer together and making them both hungry for even more intimate contact. However, Kurogane managed to pull himself away before things progressed too far to stop.

"So…what do you want to do first?" Kurogane asked with a teasing smirk.

Fai's first thought was to be angry and insist that Kurogane keep kissing him, then proceed directly to what comes after kissing, but then he remembered the ninja's earlier words.

"I think we should take a bath first. I've never bathed in hot water before."

"All right. This'll be interesting," the prince said, walking toward the bathroom with Fai still latched onto him like a monkey.

The bathroom was lavishly paneled in a dark, fresh-smelling wood and the room was already filled with light clouds of steam. Servants had been here before them and filled the small pool-sized bath with hot water. Fai breathed in the heavy steam with a look of bliss on his face. This room was deliciously warm and the water had been scented with lavender and jasmine. It would be heaven to be intimate in this small sanctuary.

Fai mewled in protest when Kurogane leaned him against the wall and released him, signaling for him to let go, too.

"Now how do you think we're going to do anything more interesting if we've still got clothes on?"

Nodding reluctantly, Fai slid off of Kurogane, drawing a low growl from his throat as he rubbed against him. When he was standing on his own, Kurogane leaned forward and kissed him as he started to untie his obi. Fai moaned lightly against him, trying to do the same, but still unfamiliar with the complicated clothing. When the obi was finally undone, he felt the cloth that had been giving him a chest slip softly to the floor, tickling his skin as it whispered past. Kurogane easily pealed the many layers of the furisode off of Fai's body, slowly exposing his pale skin to the warm air. Before long, Fai stood naked before his lover, smiling softly as he watched him stare at him, mouth hanging slightly open. No matter how many times he saw it, Kurogane knew that he would never be able to get enough of this sight…the sight of Fai standing before him, bare, open…ready for him.

When Kurogane had finally gathered enough of his wits, he began to undress himself before Fai's pleading, hungry eyes. The desperation in his lover's gaze, the way his body trembled, the harsh sound of his panting - all of it only enticed Kurogane to go slower, giving Fai the most agonizing strip tease he'd ever had. He watched in anxious anticipation as the ninja exposed every inch of the tan flesh that he knew so well, making his need and desire all the stronger - all the harder.

When at last Kurogane stood naked before him in all of his glory, the lovers' control failed and they jumped each other, each attacking the other's face with the ferocity of wolves deprived of food for weeks. Fingers roved skin and hair, lips kissed and sucked, sweat and saliva slipped between bodies, limbs tangled together, lips locked tightly, desperately together, and tongues lovingly caressed each other as bodies rubbed together in the most intimate of ways.

Fai threw his head back, leaning against the wall for support as Kurogane's hands wandered lower on his body.

_Sweet Goddess! If he keeps this up much longer I'm going to-_

"Wait," he whispered, placing a hand on Kurogane's chest. "Not yet."

"What do you want to do then?" Kurogane whispered breathlessly.

Utilizing inhuman speed, Fai spun the warrior around. Before Kurogane realized it, he was in Fai's former position and Fai was on his knees in front of him, stroking his aroused manhood.

"How…did you do that?"

Fai shrugged. "I guess it's just the faerie in me. _I_ want to do it tonight. _I_ want to be the one to make _you_ writhe."

Kurogane grinned. "If that's what you want-" Anything else he might have said was cut off by a loud groan when he felt Fai's lips on him, kissing up and down his hard length. As his lips slowly tortured him, his hands began to tease his balls. Then he did something completely unexpected. He took the right testicle completely into his mouth, sucking on it thoroughly before moving on to the next one. Kurogane threw his head back against the wall, crying out in pleasure and agony at the intensity of the sensation. He threw an arm over his face, partially to muffle his shouts, and partially to hide it. It was, after all, still second nature to keep expressions of such vulnerability at least partially hidden. He was amazed that he didn't come on the spot.

When Fai had finished with that, he moved his lips back to the shaft, where his hands had been busily pumping while his mouth had pleasured his lover's most sensitive parts. Now he let his tongue dart out, licking at Kurogane's tip, relishing the sounds his ministrations caused him to make. Kurogane couldn't hold back his cries of pleasure as Fai's rosebud lips began to slide over his member, taking all of him in, inch by inch.

During the many times they had become one, embracing in love like this, they had discovered that Fai had quite a talent for oral sex, and he'd been able to develop that skill into an exquisite art over the past two years. Kurogane bent forward slightly, toes curling and fingers scrabbling desperately against the wall as Fai bobbed his head up and down upon his straining manhood, using his tongue and teeth to great effect. He very nearly screamed when he felt himself brush against the back of Fai's throat and the muscles began to tighten around him, squeezing him. His hips twitched, involuntarily bucking into Fai's mouth, but this didn't seem to bother him. He simply went at it harder, quickening his pace and sucking on him even harder, and he moaned just as eagerly, loving the feeling of Kurogane's taut, hard flesh pounding into his mouth. He knew that his love was almost there. He knew the exact moment it would happen because even though he had indisputably more talent in this arena than Kurogane did, unlike Kurogane, he did not much care for the taste of seed, so he did not usually swallow. More often than not Kurogane would come on his face, in his hair, or on his chest. That was something he _did_ like - the powerful feeling of Kurogane gushing his release onto his skin, the feeling of knowing that _he_ was the one who had caused it - knowing that it was _all_ for him.

"Nngh…Fai… _now!_ " Kurogane warned him, giving one last cry, his hips jerking forward as Fai pulled away from him. The blond held his prince in his hands, pressing the tip of his swollen member against his forehead as his sticky, hot orgasm spurted onto his face and into his hair, crying out ecstatically at the feeling.

When Fai had finally finished with him, Kurogane slid weakly to the floor, tremors of warm pleasure still running through his body. Fai was nestled comfortably between his legs, his still hard length in plain sight. Kurogane pointed stupidly at it, still lost in a haze of bliss.

"You…didn't come yet," he mumbled.

"No," Fai sang teasingly, running a finger down his own manhood and trembling with pleasure from the feeling. His skin was already starting to glow faintly and Kurogane's cum was gathering in his hair and running down his face in little yellow-white rivulets. "Want to do something about it?"

Kurogane nodded as he wrapped his arms around Fai…then he twisted to the side, sending them both tumbling into the steaming hot bathwater. It didn't take long for them both to break the surface, spluttering slightly. Kurogane was pleased to see that the water had washed away what remained of the makeup on Fai's face. All of his cum was also gone. Before Fai'd had a chance to recover his bearings, Kurogane was on him, kissing him and pumping his member. The glow of his skin was lighting up the surface of the water.

"Oh! Ah…ah…ha! Mm…K-Kuro…seme! Oh!" Fai cried out, trapped in a complete sensory overload. The prince lifted him so that his manhood was above the water. Kurogane was seriously considering finishing him off with his mouth, but he didn't get the chance to. With a small scream, Fai's body curled against his and Kurogane hissed in delight as he felt his sticky fluids splatter against his stomach. Once again, Fai's amazing scent filled his nostrils…the scent of his seed mixed with wild roses…overpowering the scent of the bathwater as his skin reached the apex of its bright glow. Fai wrapped his legs around Kurogane's waist again as the orgasm rode his body. The ninja was so overwhelmed by the sudden move and the furious pounding of Fai's body against his that he tumbled back into the water again, pulling Fai with him. This time, when they emerged, Kurogane was snickering and Fai was still trembling with the aftershocks of his ecstasy. In order to prevent himself from falling down again, he latched tightly onto Kurogane. The prince easily understood the hint and wrapped his arms around Fai's still trembling form. They lingered like that for several long moments as the glow faded from Fai's skin.

"Oh, dear God, Kuro-horny, I love it when you do that to me," he whispered, but then he started giggling.

"What? What's so funny?"

Fai didn't say anything. He just pointed to a patch on the surface of the water that was still glowing. It was his semen, drifting lazily in the water as it slowly dissipated. Kurogane just rolled his eyes as he picked Fai back up and carried him to the side of the bath, setting him on the edge before climbing out and walking over to a small cabinet on one of the walls.

"What are you doing?" Fai asked, his eyes following him as he moved.

"You've never bathed like this before. You're getting the ultimate treatment tonight," he answered, walking back toward him with several bottles in his arms and kneeling behind him. The first was a blue bottle filled with a sharp-smelling liquid. Kurogane poured some into his hands and rubbed it all over Fai's body. The forest boy watched in amazement as white suds appeared all over his body.

"Kuro-tan, what is this?"

"Soap."

"Really?" Fai asked, amazed. "I thought soap was a bar."

"This is different. I like using the bar soap, like you said, but our mother used to insist that we keep this around. Tomoyo says it's supposed to be 'better for your skin'. It's…what I always think _you_ should be using."

Fai smiled briefly at the sentiment, reveling in the feeling of being washed. Then Kurogane gave him a gentle nudge and he slid back into the nice warm water to rinse the soap off. When he emerged, he found that Kurogane was waiting for him. He'd climbed down into the water and he had a new bottle in his hand. This bottle was green and the liquid it contained smelled strongly of peppermint.

"Now what?"

"Come here," Kurogane instructed. Fai went to him and Kurogane poured some of the thick liquid into his hair before setting the bottle aside and scrubbing it into his hair. "Keep your eyes closed."

"Why?" Fai asked, doing as he was asked, regardless.

"Because this stuff can sting if it gets in your eyes. It's kind of like soap for your hair," he explained. Fai nodded, amazed that such a thing could exist, but still enjoying the feeling of Kurogane's fingers gently massaging his scalp as he worked the soap through his hair.

"Okay, you can rinse now."

Fai quickly complied, eager to try more of this new style of bathing. Liquid soap and warm water - it was all right up there with sex. He could honestly go for using this as foreplay more often.

When the blond finally broke the surface, he found that Kurogane was already back out of the water, getting another bottle ready.

"What about you, Kuro-sexy? Aren't you going to wash?" he asked as he climbed out of the water and sat on the edge again.

"Don't worry about me. I had to bathe this morning. There's still one more thing we need to do. I think you'll like this. This stuff is kept warm." As Kurogane spoke, he uncorked the last bottle, this time red in color, and the arousing scent of jasmine joined with the fading scent from the bathwater. Fai shivered with pleasure when he felt Kurogane's hands on him again. They had been slicked with the thick, warm liquid and they were wonderfully gentle as they massaged his back.

"What is it?" he asked, almost moaning at the sensations.

"Massage oil," the prince whispered teasingly in his ear. "I get to massage every…inch…of your body…with this."

The twenty-one-year-old was as good as his word. He rubbed the warm, sweet-smelling oil into every inch of Fai's skin, working away all of the painful knots and kinks in his body. His hands were everywhere, working their own brand of healing magic. They worked over Fai's back, his shoulders, his arms and hands. Then he had him lift up his legs and he worked the oil into his legs and feet before moving back up, working at his hips and stomach. He even worked at his member a little, starting the process of arousal all over again. When he had teased Fai enough to ensure that there would be more later, but not quite enough to make him hard again, he moved up to massage his chest, eliciting small moans when he worked his way past his nipples. Then he gently worked out the kinks in his neck and temples. Fai was laid flat on the hardwood floor by now, moaning softly. The crowning glory of Kurogane's massage happened when he straddled Fai's lightly writhing body and leaned down close to him, kissing him as he began to massage his ears.

Fai shivered in bliss at that simplest of touches. Who knew that his ears could be so sensitive - could cause him to feel so much with just a few simple strokes?

"How do you feel?" Kurogane asked as he pulled away from Fai, who sighed at the loss of contact. However, he did have to admit that he felt absolutely wonderful. His skin was tingling pleasantly and his body felt like it had melted, and in his stomach, there was a faint warmth, the very beginnings of desire - of arousal. Everything was perfect.

"I don't know when I've felt better, Kuro-mine. I feel like I'm floating on a bed of clouds. You really know what you're doing."

"It helps to be able to do that when your muscles are cramping up after hours of training," he said, standing up to get them some towels. Fai didn't even move when one was dropped right on his head, he felt so content where he was. But then Kurogane was beside him again, speaking directly into his ear. "Come on. Let's get some food in you."

"But that would involve getting up, Kuro-koibito," he whined softly as he pulled the towel off of his face to look up at Kurogane's slightly annoyed expression. However, his stomach made the decision for him when it chose that moment to growl rather loudly. Kurogane rolled his eyes and easily lifted him back into his arms, carrying him back into his bedchamber.

Servants had clearly been in while they were in the bath. A table was set with a small feast and two goblets full of sweet plum wine. Kurogane carried him to this low table and laid his towel out on the floor before setting him down on it, still naked. As Fai surveyed the beautifully set table, he realized something.

_My Goddess! They must have heard us…_ The poor boy instantly blushed bright red.

The room was lit softly with several sweet-scented candles and the door to the balcony had been left open to allow the warm spring night air into the room. Kurogane's large futon had been made ready for sleep, but Fai sincerely doubted they would be doing very much of that tonight. Kurogane laid his own towel down on the floor and sat down across from Fai, taking his goblet of wine and having a small sip from it.

"Don't be shy, idiot. Eat what you want," Kurogane said, waving his hand to indicate the spread of delicacies. "Don't worry. There's nothing raw here. I told the girl to have them cook the sushi. She looked at me like I'd gone mad, but she said they'd do it."

"Aww," Fai cooed. "Kuro-sweetie is wonderful. He remembered that I don't like raw fish."

"Just shut up and eat," he said, taking another sip of wine.

Fai picked up the set of chopsticks that had been laid out for him, fumbling with them for a moment before finally getting a good grip on them. Then he reached for a plate of sushi rolls, hesitantly sampling one…and finding, to his delight, that the fish had in fact been cooked. That had been all he really needed. He quickly devoured the whole plate before moving on to a bowl of dumplings. Now that he was out from under the scrutiny of Kyle and the royals and he'd been at least partly sexually satisfied, he was really starting to feel his hunger. He was ravenous - ungodly ravenous. Once the dumplings were gone, he reached for a bowl of fried rice. After downing all of that, he finally reached for his goblet and took a sip, only to almost spit it back out at the shock of finding out that it was hot. He hadn't known wine came at such a temperature.

"Spiced wine," Kurogane said in response to the surprise on his face, smirking slightly as he took another sip. Fai just shrugged, took another sip himself, set the goblet back down, and snagged a plate of steamed scallops. This was followed in quick succession by a small bowl of miso soup. As he sipped the hot broth, Kurogane managed to grab his attention by pushing another plate toward him.

"You should probably eat these before they melt."

"What are they?" Fai asked as he swallowed the last bite of tofu.

"It's called mochi. Normally they're filled with bean paste, but the cooks have been filling them with this new dessert from Valeria. I think they call it 'ice cream'…or something like that."

Fai eagerly tucked into the new and unfamiliar confection…and was not at all disappointed. The pastry shell was light and chewy. It was so different from anything he'd ever eaten before that he really couldn't think of anything to compare it to. And the filling was a sugar lover's dream come true. It had a smooth, creamy consistency and it had a deliciously sharp, sweet taste.

"Strawberry?' he queried. Kurogane nodded. Fai immediately set to work on the rest of the dessert. Each little ball of mochi contained a different flavor, a different surprise: chocolate, vanilla, mint, and another very sharp, fruity taste that Kurogane told him was an exotic fruit called mango.

By the time Fai had polished off most everything on the table and set aside his chopsticks and empty goblet, Kurogane looked up at him with a small grin. "Finished?" he asked, sounding for all the world like he was trying not to laugh.

"Uh-huh," Fai mewled contentedly. "I'm full. Couldn't eat another bite."

"Well, I hope you're not _too_ full," Kurogane said, raising an eyebrow as he surveyed the empty dishes. He hadn't known that Fai was capable of putting away so much in one sitting.

"Oh," Fai began, instantly slipping into a very seductive purr. "You don't need to worry about _that_ , Kuro-sama. There are still a few things I'm hungry for."

Kurogane grinned at his lover as he downed the last of the plum wine before standing up from the table. While Fai had had only two goblets of wine and eaten enough food for three people, Kurogane had had only a bowl of rice for himself and three full goblets of the wine. He knew he would need it in him for what he planned to do this night.

Fai eyed the futon with interest as Kurogane came to stand beside him. "This will be very interesting, won't it, Kuro-pii? We've never made love on a futon before."

"Well, we'll just have to change that, now won't we?" Kurogane growled as he picked Fai up and carried him over to his futon. Fai could only laugh at the ninja's possessiveness and eagerness as he was deposited on the soft futon. Kurogane was straddling his body in moments, kissing him hungrily. Fai kissed back eagerly, already feeling the small warmth that had been lingering in his belly flare up into full-blown desire. Kurogane slid a hand between his legs and squeezed. He was hard in moments, ready to christen the futon with their combined seed. Breathing in harsh, excited bursts, Kurogane leaned down close to Fai and kissed him deeply on his lips. Then, as he lovingly stroked Fai's raging hard on, he whispered in his ear.

"Fai…I want you inside me."

For a moment, his request did not sink in, but when the kissing stopped and his words had a moment to register in Fai's mind, he opened his eyes and stared curiously up at Kurogane. "W-what?"

"You heard me," he whispered back. "Let's switch things up tonight. You've proven time and again that you trust me enough to let me take you…even after everything that's happened. Well, I've…got something to prove to you, too. I want _you_ to take _me_. I want you to know that I trust you, too. You're the only one I'd trust…with everything I am…the same way you entrust everything to me whenever we sleep together."

"Oh, Kuro-koi," Fai began as he sat up. "You don't have to prove anything to me. I know that you love me…and trust me." In truth, he was deeply touched by the sentiment. It wasn't like he was going to say no, but neither did he want Kurogane to feel that he needed to prove himself. He had proven himself when he had first reached out his hand to pull him back from the darkness.

"Please, Fai," Kurogane said, leaning forward and gently nuzzling his cheek. "I want this. I want us to share this. And I…I think doing this will help you get over…two years ago."

"But…I _am_ over two years ago."

"No, you're not. Not really. To an extent, you probably never will be. But if there's even the tiniest thing I can do, I'll do it. You know I'm yours, but I want you to have this power over me, as well. I want it to be yours. I want to be _all_ yours."

Fai nodded. He knew Kurogane was right. Tonight's events were evidence of that. "If…if that's what you want…"

"Take me, Fai," he breathed in his ear. "Claim me for your own." As he spoke, Fai suddenly felt something smooth and cold pressed into his hands. He looked down and found Kurogane's bottle of rose oil resting there. He glanced back up at Kurogane, who looked completely serious. But as he leaned forward to kiss him again, the grim expression shifted into a smirk. He spoke against his lips as they kissed. "Come on, idiot. Don't tell me you've never wondered what it feels like to fuck _me_. You _did_ say you wanted to make me _writhe_ tonight."

Fai smiled as he lightly pushed him back. Then, utilizing his super speed once again, he seized his lover and flipped him so he was lying on the futon, staring up at him in surprise as he straddled his body. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Kuro-puppy. If you wanted me to _give it to you_ …all you needed to do was ask."

Kurogane smirked eagerly, promising a taste of the unknown in the erratic rise and fall of his chest, in the way he gazed hungrily up at his lover. "I _do_ want you to give it to me…give it to me _hard_. Don't hold back."

"A-all right," Fai said, suddenly feeling nervous. It wasn't like he had ever done this before. What if…he couldn't do it right? What if he messed up? What if he… _hurt_ _Kurogane_?

"Hey," Kurogane said softly, noticing the fear in his lover's eyes. "Don't worry. There's nothing to it."

"It _will_ hurt, you know? Even if I do it right…just a little."

"I know. I've had a little experience. Remember?"

Fai nodded. He _did_ remember - as much as he wished he didn't have to. He remembered Kurogane bleeding. He didn't want to do that to him.

"Don't worry about me, Fai. You _know_ it's not all pain. Show me that. I want to feel it, too. I want to feel you. This is what I was talking about when I said that I trust you. I trust you with all of myself. So you have to trust yourself. Even if something bad _does_ happen, it's not like I'm going to leave you. We can always try again."

_But that's just the thing, Kuro-rin. We_ _**can't** _ _try again. You_ _**are** _ _going to leave me…even if you're not the one making the decision to._

Fai finally nodded his consent, taking deep, calming breaths as he opened the bottle and slathered a generous amount of the oil on his fingers. Then he placed his first finger at Kurogane's entrance as he leaned down over him. If this was to be their last time…then he would give Kurogane everything he had ever desired.

"Ready?" he whispered nervously.

"Yes," the prince answered easily. He had never been more sure.

Fai closed the distance between them, kissing him on the lips as he made his first entrance. He remained pressed against Kurogane, staying joined to his lips as he slowly moved in. He waited for signs of pain or discomfort, but they did not come. In truth, Kurogane was enjoying the feeling. It was a bit strange…but he found that it was strange in a good way. Hell, he actually _liked_ being penetrated.

"Is it…all right?" Fai asked, finally separating from Kurogane for air.

Kurogane nodded. "Keep going. Put another finger in."

Fai did as he was asked, slowly inserting a second finger, scissoring them and beginning to stretch his lover wider. This second foray resulted in him locating Kurogane's sweet spot. The prince drew in a sharp breath at the lightning myriad of sensations that small touch brought on.

"I'm sorry!" Fai apologized. Thinking that Kurogane was in pain, he quickly withdrew.

"It's okay," Kurogane said, reaching forward just as quickly and grabbing his hand. "That didn't hurt. I liked it. It felt good. Please…keep going. Try…try three this time."

"Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yeah. It's fine," the ninja said, lying back again. Fai smiled hesitantly, dribbling more oil onto his fingers before continuing.

This time there was a bit more discomfort for Kurogane. He really _felt_ Fai's three fingers stretching him open as they moved slowly into him. But he absolutely refused to show pain. He knew what any pain from him would cost Fai. Anyway, it didn't really matter, because what pain there was was almost immediately cancelled out when Fai's fingers brushed against his prostate again. He tried to make sure that the sound he made this time was a bit more distinct, but it was undeniably difficult to control the sounds that came from his mouth as Fai rubbed at the sensitive organ again and again.

"Mm…Fai…Nngh…please… _more!_ " he moaned with desire. He was becoming more and more aroused by the second. He had never felt anything _like_ this in all his life.

Fai pumped a little bit harder and the sensations intensified nearly a hundredfold. This time he couldn't stop himself from crying out. The blond could already see that his lover was getting hard again.

"That…feels…so… _oh_ …good!" he panted. By the time Fai pulled out, the prince already looked thoroughly ravished. Fai grabbed the bottle again and coated his fully aroused manhood with the sweet-smelling stuff. He took extra care in this process because he didn't want to hurt Kurogane even a little bit - and some small part of him was probably stalling for time. But Kurogane was anxious; he was _ready_ to finally have Fai inside him - to finally take him.

"Come on… _please_ …" Begging. He was fucking _begging_. He wanted this too much. He _needed_ it.

Fai smiled shyly when he saw the expression on Kurogane's face. Kurogane was actually begging him for something. He wanted to be able to gloat about this fact, but he really couldn't bring himself to. He was actually _terrified_ of the fact that Kurogane was placing such utter faith in him. He barely trusted himself to do this. He was afraid of this power. But…if Kurogane thought it would help…if he really, truly wanted it…then he would give it to him. He tried hard to keep his breathing even as he copied Kurogane's movements from their previous embraces. He lifted his legs up, helping the ninja hook them over his elbows. Then he positioned himself at Kurogane's entrance once more. Before making the final plunge, he leaned down, pressing the prince's legs firmly against his torso.

"Ready?" he asked again.

Kurogane just nodded this time. Fai had never seen him looking more open - more vulnerable than he did in this moment. It instilled in him a strong desire to protect him. It reminded him that Kurogane was just as breakable as he was - just as vulnerable. He could _never_ hurt him and, unto his dying breath, he would fight his hardest to see that nothing else in the world ever did either. Sealing this promise to himself with a loving kiss, he slowly began to push in.

Kurogane groaned lightly as Fai penetrated him, slowly sliding in through the tight ring of muscle. It was kind of…funny. It was such an alien sensation. He knew there was supposed to be some pain, but…he couldn't feel anything like that. He _loved_ this feeling. Being filled up like this - he had never felt so close to Fai as he did in this moment. The feeling of Fai's heated flesh rubbing against the tight skin of his backside _\- Goddess,_ he didn't know why he hadn't already come. He had to try very hard to keep himself relaxed. Too much and they would _both_ come too soon.

"That…feels nice," he finally managed to get out. Fai barely heard him, for he was lost in his own sea of new feelings. The feeling of Kurogane's body clenched so tightly around the most sensitive part of his own anatomy - he had not known such a feeling was even possible. A small sound issued forth from his lips, sounding almost like a sob. Being inside Kurogane's tight heat felt so sinfully wonderful, he could almost sob for joy from it. However, he did still have Kurogane himself to think of.

When he was fully buried in Kurogane's body, he glanced at his face, eyes silently asking if he was all right. Kurogane smiled, panting lightly. In response, he clenched the walls of his body as tightly as he could around Fai's swollen member. The young man half-collapsed against his lover, his mouth falling open in a silent cry of pleasure.

"Do it…again," the prince moaned, closing his eyes, unable to bear the rapturous look on Fai's face any longer.

Kurogane wanted him. He had no choice but to obey. Slowly, he pulled back out of Kurogane, then pushed back in a little bit faster, stimulating the ninja's prostate this time. He actually whimpered a little at the sensation, it felt so good - so _ungodly_ wonderful.

Encouraged by the sounds he was drawing from Kurogane's lips, Fai decided to take a little more control.

"Do you want me, Kuro-koi?"

"Yes," he moaned.

"Do you _need_ me inside you?"

" _Yes!_ " he cried out.

Somehow managing to combine teasing and gentleness in his smile, he leaned down over Kurogane, gazing intently at his fully erect cock, huge and stained red with desire. Then he bent down and pressed a wet, hot kiss to the tip of the hard shaft, allowing his tongue to dart out and lap up the pearly drops of pre-cum.

Kurogane's eyes flew wide open when he felt the moist heat pressing against him. He looked down and saw Fai's glowing head bobbing lightly at his manhood, while still fully sheathed inside his body. Fai's movements were causing his own length to rub against Kurogane's prostate. He clutched desperately at the sheets beneath their bodies, trying his hardest not to come. He wasn't ready for it to be over yet.

_How?!_ His mind screamed. _How can he_ _ **possibly**_ _be_ _ **that**_ _flexible?!_

"Fai…please… _please!_ " he cried out. His love was pleasuring him almost to the point of torture. "Stop. Just…just _fuck me!_ " He didn't understand how Fai could ever stand it. If it felt this wonderful and tortuous to have someone make love to you…

Finally unwinding his body from its impossible position, Fai leaned forward and kissed Kurogane lightly on the lips.

"As you wish, my prince…my love."

Then - it began in earnest. Fai pulled out and pushed back in, slowly beginning to make love to Kurogane. As he grew surer of himself, he increased his speed, changing his angle so he could strike Kurogane's pleasure point dead on instead of just rubbing against it. The prince moaned desperately as the bliss radiating through his body intensified.

Fai's moans and gasps were just as loud. He had never _dreamed_ anything could feel this good - the feeling of Kurogane's body practically _sucking_ on his hard manhood as he plunged into him over and over again. He didn't understand what kept him from screaming; it felt so wonderful. His body was on fire, burning with the nearness of his release.

_Is this…really the end?_

Fai suddenly felt tears pouring down his face as he pounded into Kurogane's all too willing body. Whether it was from heartbreak or pure bliss, he no longer knew. Was it true that they would never again make love like this? That they could never hold each other close in the night after this moment, kissing, talking, whispering of their love? Would either of them even _survive_ the passage of this last moment, knowing the emptiness that lay beyond it? Would his last moment…be this one?

_No! NO! I don't want it to end! I'm not ready to die!_

"I love you!" he sobbed, seizing Kurogane's hips and forcing himself even further in, harder and faster.

"Only you," the prince cried out passionately.

"Don't leave me!"

"No!"

"Don't you _dare_ leave me!" he cried as he thrust furiously into Kurogane's body with inhuman speed and force.

" _Never!_ " the prince cried out in both agony and bliss. It was happening. The end was coming. The words were coming too fast - much too fast.

_I want you. I need you!_ _**I love you!** _

They both cried out, throwing their heads back as one as the orgasm seized their helpless bodies - Fai spilling himself into the most secret depths of Kurogane and Kurogane splattering Fai's stomach with his own salty essence.

As the room became inundated with the scent of wild roses and sex, Fai's skin glowed with the intensity of a star, burning brightly in the darkness. As the last waves of absolute bliss swept through his body, Kurogane reached up a trembling hand to touch Fai's soft cheek. In this moment, to see him shining so brightly above him, he couldn't help but think that Fai was the North Star of his night sky. His mind was made up. He would not lose his guiding light.

"Beautiful," he whispered for the thousandth time in his life, and he would whisper it many times more; he had no doubt. This was not the end.

As Fai placed his own hand over the hand that palmed his cheek, Kurogane realized that his face was wet.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

Fai closed his eyes, smiling sadly as he started to pull out of Kurogane. The ninja grunted slightly at the sensation. When they were separated into two beings once again, Fai lay down beside him, pulling him close and pressing loving kisses to his face. "I love you. I love you," he whispered over and over again, running his fingers through his hair, kissing him desperately. As his movements became more and more frantic, Kurogane managed to grab hold of him, pulling him against his chest.

"Fai…tell me what's wrong," he said, a bit more firm this time, but still gentle.

"I _love_ you, Kuro-koi. I don't…I don't think I can do this," he cried, clinging to his lover for all he was worth. "I _need_ you. I don't _want_ this to be over yet! I'm not _ready_ to give you up! I don't…think I ever _will_ be. I-"

"Shh. Shh," Kurogane hushed him gently, enfolding his distraught lover in a tender embrace, gently cradling him against his body. He pressed several kisses to Fai's soft hair as he held him, letting him cry, despite the pain he was feeling in his lower half. Fai had - unwittingly, of course - done quite a number on him. He could feel it, but he really didn't mind all that much. Not because he was a masochist or anything, but because it was Fai.

They lay together like that for what could have been hours or minutes, still exhausted from their shared climax and the sudden outburst of emotion. Fai was lying in Kurogane's arms, savoring his gentle kisses, fearing the coming dawn as he had never feared anything in his life, and Kurogane held him, allowing him to purge himself of any bad feelings. He wanted them all gone, because he knew that he would soon stop all of Fai's tears forever.

_You don't know how happy I'm about to make you, Fai. I need to make this perfect._

"Thank you, Kuro-rin," Fai whispered against his sweaty chest, finally feeling like he had enough control of himself to speak.

"For what?" he asked, glancing down at Fai so that he could see his face.

"For everything. For the last eight years. For loving me…saving me. For every kiss you've ever given me…every time you've ever made love to me. For this wonderful night. You could just as easily have been at that grand ball downstairs."

"Heh. I like _this_ party better," he said with a smirk, leaning down to kiss Fai's lips. Then, he figured, what the heck? It was probably after midnight by now.

"Happy birthday, Fai."

Fai looked up at him, smiling, but there was a note of sadness to that smile. His eyes told the real story as he reached up to run his fingers through Kurogane's hair once more.

"Ah, yes. My eighteenth birthday…the end of our love."

Upon hearing this, Kurogane instantly squeezed the younger man tighter, almost enraged that he thought he would shunt him aside so easily. "Don't say that. Don't ever. It doesn't matter who they try to make me marry. I love _you_." Slowly, he tried to sit up, but it didn't quite work. His rear rebelled, refusing to be sat upon without screaming in protest. This time he couldn't keep the pain from showing on his face.

"Kuro-myuu?" Fai whispered, instantly worried. He reached a hand around to Kurogane's backside…and was horrified when it came away bloody. "Oh, Goddess! What have I done? What have I done?!"

"Don't worry. It's nothing," Kurogane grunted. Rather than trying to sit up again, this time he moved to his knees, so that he was kneeling beside Fai.

"Don't you _dare_ say it's nothing! It's _not nothing!_ I hurt you, Kuro-sama! I _hurt_ you!" he exclaimed, frantically shooting up so that he, too, was on his knees before Kurogane, reaching out his hands to support him.

"Don't be stupid," Kurogane said, the pain on his face fading away even as blood dribbled from him and onto the sheets below him. "If you think I can't take a little pain, then you don't know me very well."

"You don't _understand_. I _hurt_ you!"

"Of course you did. This was your first time. You're part fey. It stands to reason you wouldn't know your own strength in this arena. I can't say I was expecting any less."

"So you _wanted_ me to hurt you?" Fai asked angrily.

"No. Nothing like that," he said, reaching out a hand to stroke Fai's face, and finding himself amazed when the blond allowed it. "I'm just saying I was prepared for it. You know how it can get…in the middle of things. You just need more practice."

A faint trace of anger - not at Kurogane this time, but at himself - remained on his face as he spoke his next words. "More practice? I don't think we can _risk_ more practice, Kuro-kink. What if I do something _worse_ next time? Like break your spine?"

"If you did that, though I sincerely doubt you could, would it really be that hard for Yuui to heal it up? Besides, you know me. Where's the fun in life without a little danger?" Fai stopped him as he leaned forward to kiss him.

"Don't make light of this, Kuro-chan. This is serious. You don't seem to understand what could happen to you if I get _better_ at this."

"If you get _better_ at this, then so will your control. I _know_ you, Fai. You won't hurt me…not really. It _is_ serious, but it's not a bad thing like you're making it out to be."

"Why do you have to be so stubborn? Can't you listen to me just this once?" Fai whispered, raising his own hand from Kurogane's shoulder to mirror his lover's gesture. "I really…don't think I should be on top anymore."

"Did you enjoy it?" Kurogane asked, quickly getting to the heart of things.

Fai hesitated for a long moment. He considered lying, but he knew Kurogane would see right through him, as always. Finally, he hung his head in shame, unable to look at his lover as he confessed his sin. "Yes."

"Then why not?"

"Because I _shouldn't_ enjoy it. I don't _want_ to enjoy it…not when it hurts you this much."

"Hell, Fai, I'm _not_ giving that up without a fight. A little blood is a fair price to pay for a climax like _that_. And after awhile, once we've experimented, tested the waters some more, there won't _be_ any blood, because you'll know how much my body can take."

"But what if…what if-"

Kurogane shook his head as he leaned forward again, silencing his lover with a kiss. Fai didn't resist this time. His hands fell at his sides as he leaned into the kiss, accepting the comfort that Kurogane so freely offered.

"Let's not worry about it now," Kurogane whispered against his lips. "We'll have plenty of chances in the future."

When he heard those words, Fai immediately began to feel tears gathering in his eyes again. "Oh, Kuro-mii, _please_ don't say that."

"Say what?"

"Don't talk like we have years ahead of us. We don't. We have a few hours. This is it. This is…all that's left."

_But it's not._

"All right, that's it," Kurogane started, rolling his eyes. "I wanted to wait for the right moment, but you just make me feel guilty every time you start crying. This will have to do. Stand up. We need to do this right."

Fai looked extremely confused, but he did what Kurogane asked, standing up on the futon. The prince leaned slightly to the side, rummaging around beside the futon briefly before turning back to Fai, holding something in his closed fist. He had planned out every last detail of their night (with the exception of the argument over the seme issue. He hadn't really counted on that being such a problem.) and everything had been leading up to this one moment. Still kneeling before him, Kurogane reached out and took Fai's left hand in his free one. The blond suddenly found himself feeling very lightheaded.

"Fai…I love you. That's the only way I know how to say this. It's…the only truth in my life anymore…and I'm _not_ giving it up. I don't care what promises other people have made. No one ever asked me what _I_ wanted. Well…I want this." As he spoke, Kurogane opened his fist. Nestled in the palm of his hand was a ring, a thick silver band set with an eye-catching sapphire.

"Fai of Celes…will you marry me?"

For a moment, Fai could have sworn that his heart stopped beating. For that single moment, it seemed that all of creation ceased to be as Kurogane stared up at him with his all-consuming red eyes. Fai acutely _felt_ his hand in Kurogane's. He could hear the sounds of Kurogane's breath - even his heartbeat. He had the distinct feeling that life as he knew it had just ended. The life where he believed he would spend his days in Celes, living with Yuui, Soel, Larg, Himawari, Doumeki, and Watanuki, living out his life as a simple peasant - the life where he believed he and Kurogane could not possibly have a future together. Here and now, a new reality was being born - a reality where it did not matter that he didn't have a drop of noble blood in him, where it did not matter that he could hardly stand what little he had experienced of the sufferings of royalty, and where it especially did not matter that he could never produce an heir for Kurogane, though he would have paid almost any price to be able to give him that.

When he finally managed to recover his breath, he realized that Kurogane was frozen in place, gazing up at him with such fear and vulnerability it almost broke his heart to know that he was the cause. He could break him with a word. He must have been standing here lost in thought much longer than he'd thought. How could Kurogane even _think_ there was anything but one answer?

"Fai?"

"It…it can happen?" he finally managed to whisper. Kurogane smiled in relief.

"We'll _make_ it happen. It _will_ happen. All you have to do is say 'yes'," he said softly, holding out the ring.

Fai nodded weakly as tears of joy began to trickle from his eyes. Kurogane's grin grew wider as he slid the ring onto his finger. When he felt the cool silver against his skin, Fai dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms tightly around Kurogane and kissing his face hungrily.

"Yes! Yes, I'll marry you! Yes! It's all I've ever wanted!"

In the throes of their joy, the young lovers easily forgot about Kurogane's injuries as they fell back upon the futon together. When a very small cry escaped his lips, Fai stopped briefly.

"I'm sorry. Are you all right?"

"Keep kissing me like that and I will be," the prince teased lightly, quickly returning kiss for kiss and caress for caress.

They lay together, kissing, talking, and touching long into the night, both languishing in their newly-fashioned reality - the one where they would lay down together every night and wake in each other's arms every morning, where they would be together until the end of their days, and beyond that, even.

If they had known what the coming day would bring, they never would have left the safety of each other's arms when the sun rose.

XxX

"Do you think he's asked him yet?" Yuui asked.

"I'm pretty sure he has. I think it's late enough," Tomoyo replied, running her fingers through Yuui's long hair. They had left the masque a long time ago and they were both unwinding in Tomoyo's chamber.

Not too long after Kurogane and Fai's episode with Kyle, the baby had decided to blow off some energy, becoming active and beginning to shift around in Yuui's womb, causing her a great deal of discomfort. Tomoyo and Souma had taken her away from the crowd under the pretence that Souma was feeling unwell. That was a bit less suspicious than just the two of them leaving together. Souma had gone to her own chambers, telling them she was tired and that she wanted out of her evening wear. So Tomoyo had taken Yuui back to her chambers and they had started to strip each other of their kimono. Yuui had instantly started to feel better when her swelling stomach was freed from the suffocating confines of the kimono. From there, they had continued to strip naked, though they hadn't been intimate this evening. Yuui just wasn't feeling up to it after her child's episode. She was actually surprised that the baby was moving around so much in only the fourth month. From what she knew, that wasn't supposed to be happening for another month at least. However, she had decided not to worry about it for now, and to just enjoy her night alone with Tomoyo. The two lovers were naked on Tomoyo's futon. Tomoyo was sitting up and Yuui was lying down with her head in her lap. They were both cooing and sighing with excitement over Kurogane's plans to propose to Fai. Unfortunately, Tomoyo knew that some serious topics were about to come up.

"So…you knew?"

Yuui glanced up at her, her expression slowly turning serious.

"Yes. I saw it…not too long ago. But when you didn't come to me, I figured you would say something when you were ready."

"I'm sorry I never said anything. I just…didn't want you to worry," Tomoyo apologized softly as she allowed her hands to wander from Yuui's face down to her prominent stomach. The bump was much more visible now that she was unclothed.

"But you're not going to marry Mong Ryong, are you." It was said as a statement of fact, rather than a question.

"You know…I don't think I am," she said calmly, shifting her body so that she could lay Yuui's head down on the pillows. Then she moved down her body and rested her head against Yuui's stomach, pressing several kisses to the stretching skin. "What kind of mother would I be if I left the two of you now?"

Yuui sighed contentedly as Tomoyo continued to kiss the pale, naked swell of her belly. But even as she reveled in the fact that she was among her future family, she couldn't help but worry about the safety of the world she was bringing the last of that family into.

"Who is Koryu?"

"I don't know," Tomoyo said, pulling herself away from her lover as the conversation turned serious again. "Before tonight, I'd only seen him once. It was late one night and I didn't even know his name back then. I was wandering the halls after a nightmare…and I stumbled across him. I don't _think_ he saw me, but I stood watching him for a long while. I'd never seen him before and something about him intrigued me. He seemed…tired…and lost…and then tonight he seemed like a completely different man from the one I saw. He's definitely the same one, though. It looks like he's friends with _Kyle_. That…kind of surprised me, actually. I know I didn't speak to him that first night, but he really didn't _seem_ like someone who would associate with Kyle," she recounted.

"I think…we should be careful of him. He kept staring at Fai and I," she recalled nervously, allowing one of her hands to drift up and clasp Tomoyo's over her stomach. "If he's associated with Kyle, he might be trouble."

_Kyle certainly is_ , she thought, remembering the evening's events with anger and disgust. If Kurogane didn't kill that man, she certainly would. He had no business even _looking_ at her brother.

"Other than those two, did you enjoy the masque?"

Yuui grinned wryly as she glanced down at her bump. The little thing was moving again. She could feel it. "Well, _baby-chan_ down there certainly did. Got a little taste of wasabi and everything. But yes, I did have a wonderful time tonight. It was so much fun dressing up like a man and fooling all of those stuffy nobles."

Tomoyo giggled. "Yes. You were just as handsome as Fai-kun. I think you had half the girls in attendance wishing they were me."

"Only half?" Yuui asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly, because I'm certain that quite a few also wished that you were a girl. If only they knew. I'm willing to bet that you were causing problems for some of the men there, as well. You even caught King Syaoran's attention."

Yuui suddenly looked thoughtful at the mention of the Valerian king. "Maybe so," she said quietly. "But I don't think he was thinking of me like that. His attention was more…"

"Parental?" Tomoyo suggested when Yuui failed to finish the sentence.

"Exactly," Yuui didn't think she could put it into the right words, but King Syaoran's attention had felt a lot like…Watanuki's or Doumeki's. When he'd asked about her, she'd been sorely tempted to tell him her real life's story. She felt like she could trust him - like he might actually be interested in hearing what she had to say, which was amazing, considering the attitude of most of the people she'd met.

Yuui was drawn out of her musings, and the inevitable direction they would have led her in, when she heard Tomoyo gasp excitedly.

"She's kicking again," the younger woman whispered rapturously.

"I know," Yuui grunted lightly.

"Yuui?" Tomoyo started, looking up at her lover while still keeping her ear pressed against her stomach.

"Yes?"

"Have you thought anymore about what you want to name the baby?"

Yuui smiled softly. She had indeed thought about it. She had poured through names in her head for weeks on end and now, she finally had the perfect name.

"I have."

"Really?" Tomoyo whispered, her eyes shining. "Tell me! Tell me what it is!"

Yuui slowly sat up. Tomoyo quickly joined her, though she still kept one hand pressed against her womb. Yuui leaned right up against her, pressing her lips to her ear as if imparting some ancient piece of wisdom.

"That's perfect!" Tomoyo cried out when the child's name was whispered into her ear. "That name will work even if the baby's a boy."

"That's true. But…do you think we could keep her name just between us, Tomoyo? I don't want anyone else to know until she's born."

"All right. But can I still call her by her name when it's just us?"

"Sure. Why not?" Yuui said, her smile growing all the wider. As they sat together in silence for awhile longer, Yuui contemplated the one article of clothing that remained on her body: the green pearl ring that Tomoyo had given her to wear. In truth, she had seen the ring before tonight - in a dream. It signified to her that the time had come, but she was still nervous. "Tomoyo?"

"Yes?"

"Can I…ask you something?"

"Go ahead," Tomoyo prompted her, leaning forward in interest.

"Well, it's interesting that Kurogane-kun's asking Fai to marry him tonight…and that they announced your engagement tonight…because I know you're not going to marry Mong Ryong."

"How do you know?"

"I know because…in my dreams, I saw you marrying someone else."

"Oh?"

"I knew that tonight was the time when you gave me this ring. I've seen it before now."

"Have you?" Tomoyo asked, smiling softly. She knew exactly where this was going.

"Would…would you mind standing up?" Yuui asked shyly. Tomoyo nodded, grabbing hold of Yuui's hands and helping her to her knees as she stood. Then Yuui removed the ring from her finger and took Tomoyo's left hand in hers.

"Tomoyo…you know that I love you, right? And that you're the only other parent my baby could ever have?"

Tomoyo nodded. "I love you, too, Yuui."

"I may be a lowly peasant girl. I'm painfully aware of my unworthiness of you, but I firmly believe that I can give you what no other suitor could…all the love in my heart. Tomoyo-Hime of Nihon…will you marry me?"

Tomoyo remained silent for a moment, gazing lovingly down at the blonde she'd fallen in love with.

"You ask me this…even though you know I'm engaged?" she asked, smiling tearfully.

"Maybe you are, but we both know you're not going through with that marriage. I saw our wedding, Tomoyo. Everyone will be there. Our little girl will be there…and she's the most beautiful baby you'll ever see. Though I'm not sure Kurogane-kun will enjoy holding her very much. She's a very active little thing," Yuui giggled, smiling at the memory that had yet to occur. Tomoyo had a small giggle of her own.

"So…if you know it's going to happen, why are you even asking me?"

"Because it can't happen unless I ask you. So what do you say?"

Her first thought would have been to say that Yuui had just given her a miracle. She hadn't dreamt of Yuui and her brother's wedding for a few months now. Perhaps this dream meant that they really had managed to change the future? Perhaps this was the choice that Lady Kotori had spoken of? If that were true, then she certainly would not hesitate to take Yuui's hand in marriage. Maybe…the nightmare was coming to an end? Maybe they could all four have the lives they desired?

"Well, if you've seen it happen, then you already know what my answer is," she said, nodding as tears of happiness began to trickle down her face.

"I want to hear you say it," Yuui whispered, her own eyes growing misty as she slid the pearl ring onto Tomoyo's finger.

"Yes, Yuui of Celes. I will marry you. I will become your bride and bind my fate to yours. I will be a mother to your baby and the three of us will build a life together."

Yuui's smile only grew, joyful tears sliding silently down her cheeks as Tomoyo took her hands in hers. Then Tomoyo knelt before her and wrapped her arms around her. Their nude bodies blended perfectly together, Tomoyo's flat stomach curving gracefully around the gentle swell of Yuui's belly, as they shared a tender kiss.

They slept peacefully in each other's arms that night. It was the last time that peace would find them for a long while.

XxX

_At first, he thinks he's looking in a mirror. The red eyes, the tan complexion, the short, dark hair, the serious expression - all of them match his. But then he realizes that the figure standing before him is older than he is, by anywhere from five to ten years. The other man is also slightly taller and dressed in a set of clothes so outlandish, he can't hope to identify them._

_Almost the moment he realizes he's looking at a different man, he's drawing Sohi. But the very same moment his blade is against the stranger's throat, he feels the cold sharpness of a blade against his own neck._

" _Heh, not bad, kid," the other man says in his voice, though it has a slightly different timbre to it: deeper, rougher, more jarring. People have always told him his own voice is rough, but this man's voice sounds almost to be coming from the throat of a wolf._

" _Who are you?" he asks. "Why do you look like me?"_

" _Another alternate," the stranger says quietly. He has no idea what he means, but he somehow gets the feeling he knows this man. As the other man lowers his sword, he lowers his own. "I look like you because I_ _ **am**_ _you, in a way."_

" _That's impossible._ _ **I'm**_ _me."_

" _So am I. Just…different. I know it doesn't make any sense. It doesn't have to. I think you and I were supposed to meet."_

" _So what? Are we…dreaming?"_

" _Probably," the other man answers indifferently. "Don't know why it would start happening to me now, though."_

" _I know what you mean. The only people I've ever known who dream like this are Yuui and my sister."_

" _Your sister?" the other man queries, raising an eyebrow. "Who's your sister?"_

" _Her name's Tomoyo."_

_The other him's eyes widen. "_ _**Tomoyo** _ _is your sister? Who_ _**are** _ _you, kid?"_

_He squares his shoulders as he meets the older him's gaze. "I'm no kid. I am Kurogane Youou, prince of Nihon."_

_The stranger chuckles. "_ _**Prince** _ _of Nihon? Heh, that's a good one."_

" _What about that is funny?" he asks, feeling slightly enraged._

" _Nothing. Just odd. I'm from Nihon, too, but I'm no prince. In that life, Tomoyo-Hime is my_ _ **master**_ _, not my sister. And you? Is Kurogane your real name?"_

" _Yes. Why wouldn't it be?"_

" _No reason. It just isn't mine. My true name is Youou. Kurogane is a family name worn by the current lord of the province. I'm pretty sure it's okay for me to tell you that. It's a little ridiculous to think you could give power over your own destiny that you already had to yourself…or however that shit works."_

" _Excuse me?"_

"' _Excuse me'," Kurogane-who-isn't imitates, rolling his eyes. "You really_ _ **are**_ _royalty. Can you even_ _ **handle**_ _that blade, kid?"_

" _Care to find out?" he challenges._

_His other shakes his head, sheathing his sword. "No. You're me, after all. I trust ya."_

" _Not sure I can say the same about you," he replies, also sheathing his sword, but keeping a wary eye on the other swordsman, just the same._

" _Good plan, kid. I know more about you than you do about me."_

" _So…if Tomoyo isn't your sister, who_ _ **is**_ _your family?"_

" _Actually, I'm pretty sure I'm distantly related to Tomoyo-Hime. It's complicated. But if you're talking about immediate family, my parents were Makoto and Nozomi, lord and priestess of Suwa Province."_

" _Were?"_

" _Yeah. They were killed…a long time ago." When he says this, Kurogane begins to notice something odd about Youou. It's like he_ _ **wants**_ _to be angry about this,_ _ **wants**_ _to be saddened, but can't. Certainly, he's sad, but it isn't over his parents' deaths. There's something…else on his mind. Now that he takes another moment to look at him, he notices that he's bleeding. His strange clothing is badly shredded and he looks like he hasn't slept or bathed in weeks._

" _What happened to you?"_

_For a moment, Youou tries to appear casual, but that façade soon falls away, leaving exhaustion and heartache in his gaze. "Got beat up by a kid trying to protect an idiot."_

_Kurogane immediately notices a shade of affection in the other's voice when he speaks of the 'idiot'. Suddenly curious as to the depth of that affection and the similarities between this person and himself, he asks, "Who is this idiot of yours?"_

" _A mage," he answers, the sadness in him already doubling at the mere mentioning of this person. "Guy named Fai D. Fluorite."_

" _Fai?" Kurogane whispers, his mouth falling open. "You_ _ **know**_ _Fai?"_

" _You've got one in your world, too?" Youou returns, smiling bitterly. "Looks like we're stuck together no matter where we go."_

" _Fai's my…well…we're getting married," he says, blushing lightly._

_Youou turns to him once more, raising an eyebrow. "Married? You're actually marrying the idiot?"_

" _Yeah. Something wrong with that?" he asks defensively._

" _No, I'm just…jealous, actually," he admits, his face coloring._

" _Why? Can't you be with your Fai?"_

" _No," Youou says softly. "He's…untouchable. He's not_ _ **for**_ _me."_

" _Do you love him?" he asks bluntly._

_Youou studies his face for a moment before answering with a simple, "Yes."_

" _Did you tell him that?"_

" _No."_

_Kurogane narrows his eyes, glaring at his other self. "Coward," he accuses._

_Youou glares right back. "Who's a coward, boy?"_

" _I used to be just like you. I thought I couldn't have him. I was afraid to tell him how I felt. Because of that, I almost lost him…forever."_

" _You almost lost him because you didn't tell him you love him?"_

" _It's…a very long story."_

" _I'm not going anywhere."_

" _Maybe it would be easier if I just showed you," he says, hesitantly approaching the other man and placing a hand on his forehead. He gives him the memories of his days with Fai, of his growing love, then of his battle with Seishiro, and the ultimatum imposed upon him. Then he shows him the results of that ultimatum…the horrible nightmare that Yuui had shown him._

" _It almost killed him," he says sadly. "Even_ _ **I'm**_ _amazed he let me in after…that."_

_Youou's eyes are filled with rage. His body trembles silently with it._

" _He was…just a boy," he says angrily. "Tell me you killed that bastard!"_

" _Believe me, if I could, I would have," he replies, sounding just as angry. "He's one of the fey. The moment I find a way to kill him, I will. But…even_ _ **that**_ _didn't keep me from my Fai. What's keeping you from yours?"_

_Youou sighs bitterly, closing his eyes. "Nothing but the mage himself."_

" _What do you mean?"_

_Youou reaches out his own hand, placing it against his forehead, and images begin to flash through his mind. He sees images of Fai - only this Fai is older, and dressed very strangely…and this Fai is unhappy. He knows Fai's face, knows the many expressions it's capable of creating, knows every line and soft hollow. He knows how that beautiful face expresses happiness, anger, desire, sadness, pain, need, love. He knows Fai's face as intimately as he knows his own…and it cannot conceal anything from him. He knows the way that face can form itself into a smiling lie…the smile that screams, 'I'm more miserable than you can fathom, but that doesn't matter so long as you're happy'. It was the smile that Fai had worn that year between his fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays…and it's the smile that this Fai wears nonstop. He fools the other people in Youou's memories, but he does not fool Youou himself, nor does he fool Kurogane. As the images dance by in quick succession, he feels Youou slowly become attached…almost against his will. He feels his heart begin to heave, swell, beat, and tremble with a love neither looked for nor expected…but undeniably_ _**there** _ _, just the same. He also feels the heart that is not his heart twist with agony at how little that precious person cares for his own life. That precious life has become the very center of Youou's own existence. How_ _**dare** _ _he throw it away so carelessly?!_

_Then he sees Fai, lying broken and bleeding. He almost cries out before he remembers that this is not his Fai…but…at the same time…it is still_ _**Fai** _ _…and he is suffering._

" _What happened to him?"_

" _We were betrayed. He was dying. He_ _ **asked**_ _me to let him die. Fucking_ _ **asked**_ _me! I…I couldn't do it. For once in my life, I wanted to be greedy. I've…had to let go of so much in my life…had a lot taken from me. After my family was gone, I never complained about it. Not one God damn time! This one time…just this once…I could hold onto something that I didn't want to let go of. I'd never saved anyone before. I had the chance to save him…so I took it. I couldn't bear to watch him slip through my fingers like everyone else did…even if he'll hate me for it. I_ _ **know**_ _he'll hate me for it…but I can handle that. I_ _ **couldn't**_ _handle it if he wasn't around to hate me."_

_Then Youou shows him a vision of blood dribbling into Fai's mouth…he sees him screaming and writhing in agony…changing…into something inhuman. When he's free of the vision, he's shocked to see pain on Youou's face…clenching in the muscles that create his expressions…glistening in his crimson eyes. It had broken him…to put Fai through so much agony…to know that it will only lead to more heartbreak for him. But he ha done it, just the same…to keep Fai alive…to be able to hold onto this one tiny, precious thing._

_It's this shared desire to protect Fai that finally causes the two men to understand each other perfectly. They hold each other's gaze, seeing that the thing that holds their universes together is one and the same - an undying love for a man named Fai._

_Youou is the first to break their long, soul-cleansing silence._

" _Take care of your idiot, kid. Enjoy your time with him while it lasts. You never know when it might be taken away from you."_

" _I_ _ **will**_ _take care of him. And you shouldn't worry about your Fai. If he's anything like my Fai, then he_ _ **can't**_ _hate you…not for long, anyway. He loves you just as much as you love him…even if he can't always show it." If there are other Kuroganes - other Youous - he knows they all have at least one certain thing that can be counted on in the reeling uncertainty of life…_

_Fai's love…_ _**that** _ _is certain._

The sun shining on his face woke Kurogane that morning. He started awake to find Fai sleeping peacefully in his arms. When he saw the ring on his finger and heard the gentle murmur of his sleep talking, he smiled and pulled the blond's warm body closer, relieved to see that he was unhurt.

Meanwhile, in a world that could have been eons away or as close as the upturning of a stone, Youou was awakened from his fitful sleep by the sound of a newborn vampire stirring. As he stood from where he'd been leaning against the rough concrete wall, he tried to steel himself against what he knew was about to happen. He knew he would never get the chance to thank the boy from his dream for it, but being able to see Fai, safe, happy, and so loved, had given him peace - even if it was only for the length of a dream.

"Good morning…Kurogane."


	19. In Slumber Repose

"Fai, if you don't stop playing with that ring, so help me, I'm going to take it away from you," Yuui said sternly.

"Oh~, don't be like that, Yuui. I can't _help_ it. I'm sure Tomoyo-chan's doing the exact same thing this very moment."

"And I'm sure that Kurogane-kun's doing the exact same thing as I am this very moment," she teased right back.

"How did you even know I was playing with the ring when you can't see me?" This was indeed so. Yuui was sitting in the front of Leval's saddle with Fai behind her as they rode toward home through Celes.

"I didn't. But it was a pretty good guess on my part. Besides, you kind of gave the game away when you started protesting."

"Fai's ring is soooooo pretty," Soel sang excitedly.

"I still can't believe it," Fai whispered, gazing down admiringly at the ring on his finger. "I can hardly believe that we're _really_ going to be together…forever. I'm almost…still waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Don't think like that, Fai. You two love each other more than your own lives and nothing's going to stop you from being together forever," Yuui lectured.

Fai nodded, beginning to nervously twist the ring. "I just…I love him so much, I…I can't-"

"What did I say about playing with the ring, Otouto? Nothing bad is going to happen. Everything will go according to plan tonight."

The plan was that Kurogane, Tomoyo, and Souma would come to the glen tonight to finally be introduced to Himawari and Watanuki, and Kurogane would be able to formally ask their guardians for Fai's hand in marriage while Yuui informed them of her own engagement plans. They would figure out a way to deal with Amaterasu and Kyle later.

"Today's also the day that we find out the truth," Fai said slowly. It was the day Doumeki had promised to tell them about their parentage - about why Fuuma had done what he did to Yuui, and about why Seishiro was after them. Would it…change anything?

" _Today's the day," Fai said softly as Kurogane held him close. "The day I find out who I really am."_

_The couples were in the stables, saying a last goodbye. Yuui was already sitting in Leval's saddle and Tomoyo was holding her hands, kissing them and whispering to her. Fai knew that Yuui had similar fears about this day._

" _You know I don't care about that, don't you?" Kurogane asked before kissing his forehead._

" _I-I know…but I'm still…scared. Will you still love me…if I turn out to be some crazy mass murderer's son?"_

" _I don't care if Yuuko herself is your mother. I don't care what's in your blood, Fai. Your past doesn't mean anything to me. All that matters is that you're here with me now and I love you."_

_Fai smiled. "I love you, too, my Kuro-puppy," he said as Kurogane leaned forward to give him one more kiss on the lips. When the kiss was finished, they remained pressed together, foreheads resting against each other._

" _You're never going to give up with those ridiculous names, are you?" Kurogane whispered against his lips._

" _Never," Fai said with a giggle, playfully pressing his nose against Kurogane's._

" _Oh, well. I can dream."_

" _Fai-kun?" Tomoyo's voice suddenly broke in on their tender embrace. "Be careful today, okay?"_

" _Why?" Fai asked as he and the prince separated. "Is something wrong?"_

" _No, just…I've got an odd feeling. Don't let Yuui out of your sight…and try and stay close to your guardians until we come to get you."_

" _Are you sure nothing's wrong?"_

" _Please, Fai-kun. Just stay alert today. It will make me feel better."_

" _Don't worry," Larg consoled cheerfully from its place atop Leval's head. "Soel and Larg are on duty. Nothing will happen to Fai and Yuui."_

" _Of course not," Fai giggled as Kurogane walked him over to Leval and helped him climb on behind Yuui. "Not with our_ _ **big**_ _,_ _ **strong**_ _body guards around to scare the bad guys away."_

" _Don't worry, koibito," Yuui assured her lover. "We'll keep each other safe. Nothing's going to happen to us between now and tonight."_

_Before they headed out of the stable, Kurogane took Fai's hand in his one last time._

" _Do what she says," he ordered sternly._

" _I will, Kuro-koi. You don't have to fear," he said, smiling gently as he pulled his cloak over his face with his free hand. Kurogane raised his hand and pressed a loving kiss to his knuckles._

" _I'll love you…no matter what happens."_

"What do you suppose Tomoyo-chan was worried about?" he pondered as he rubbed the hand that Kurogane had kissed against his cheek.

"I don't know. I haven't seen anything. Maybe she was just worried about our reactions to whatever it is we're about to find out?"

"What if it's…something bad?" Fai postulated, a disquiet look settling onto his face. "What if it's something that could hurt them?"

"I don't know what it is they're about to tell us," Yuui said calmly, sliding her hand back to let Fai slip his hand into hers. "But we'll get through it together."

_We have to get through it…for_ _**everyone's** _ _sake._

XxX

For some reason, Kurogane couldn't seem to sit still. He'd been painfully on edge ever since the twins had ridden out early that morning. Perhaps it was because of Tomoyo's small worry, but it had gotten him feeling very anxious. Part of him wanted to forget the plan and ride to Celes now. He had been wandering the corridors aimlessly for hours now, even though his backside was still bothering him. Yuui had healed the tearing upon Fai's request, but he was still a little sore.

Something inside kept telling him that he needed to be with Fai right now - that he shouldn't have let him go. But what could he have said? He had no grounds for his worries.

That fact, however, was about to change - along with everything else in his life.

"There you are," a sultry voice suddenly whispered in his ear as he was seized from behind and shoved against the wall.

"What the hell?!" he shouted, trying to get a look at his attacker.

"I've been following that scent for hours, only to find that it's not coming from the person I've been looking for. You're such a little cheater."

It was Koryu, Kyle's little buddy from last night. But…there was something…different about him today.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, glaring at his captor, unable to free himself. Koryu didn't look it, but he was ungodly strong.

"Where is the prince?" the man asked, burying his nose in Kurogane's hair. "His scent cleaves to you like flesh to bone. You were lying with him. The scent is plain upon you."

"What are you talking about?!" he growled, struggling to get free. " _I'm_ the prince!" The only person he had lain with was…Fai.

"You mean to tell me you didn't know?" he whispered in his ear. "All this time you've been sleeping with him and you didn't know who he really was? It's incredible. We've all been waiting so long for this day to come. Generations have lived and died for the sole purpose of preparing its way. We are standing on the brink at this very moment."

"What are you talking about?" Kurogane repeated, growing still in Koryu's hold. A suspicion was growing in the pit of his stomach, slowly hardening into a certainty.

"I'm talking about the end of your world, human."

At that moment, everything clicked in his mind. A sort of ethereal air descended upon his attacker and the scent of juniper berries attacked his nose.

"You're…fey," he whispered, shocked.

"Mm, yes," the faerie said with a lazy smile, pressing his lips to the pulse point in Kurogane's neck, causing the prince to shudder with disgust. "So what does that make Kyle?"

As he whispered these last words in Kurogane's ear, his body twisted into smoke and faded away, leaving only the scent of juniper berries hanging faintly in the air. Kurogane stood, shocked, for no more than a second before springing into action. He would need weapons - lots of them. Kyle had to be dealt with _now_.

Even though he couldn't be seen by human eyes, Koryu still lingered in the corridor.

_All right, Kyle, I've done what you wanted. I wash my hands of this Nihon business. I'm going home._

XxX

"Kyle!" Kurogane shouted as he burst into the throne room. Kyle was seated beside his mother on the royal dais. His first clue that something was amiss should have been that the room was empty save for the three of them, but he was still seething over Kyle's treachery and, more importantly, his treatment of Fai. He was going to make good on his promise to destroy him.

"Ah, my prince, I was wondering when you would make an appearance."

"Silence!" Kurogane hissed. Almost faster than the human eye could track, he was before the couple, Sohi drawn and pressed to Kyle's throat. "You're fey!" he accused. "You've been working all these years to take this empire through guile. I will not let it go on! You will not live another minute!" Without wasting another word, he plunged the blade into Kyle's throat.

A small grunt was the only indication of pain the faerie gave. As blood trickled from his throat, leaking out around the blade, he gave Kurogane a casual sneer.

"I guess this proves it, doesn't it?

"Bastard!" Kurogane shouted angrily as he pulled the sword out, bringing a gush of blood in its wake. "I'll chop you to pieces!"

Kyle just laughed as he stood. Amaterasu had not even blinked. The hole in his throat had already closed over. Kurogane was about to make another attack when his next words stopped him dead in his tracks.

"You love him…don't you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied quickly. If Kyle knew about Fai, he would be in great danger.

"I'm talking about _this_ , of course," the dark faerie began, producing a mirror from thin air and holding it up to Kurogane's face. An image slowly began to appear on the reflective surface - an image of Fai, his head thrown back as his body arched upward, his face the very picture of rapture.

"Oh…oh…Kuro-sama…yes! _Kurogane!_ " he cried out in ecstasy.

"Stop this!" Kurogane hissed threateningly.

Kyle only sneered. The next image to appear was of Fai's left hand resting on his pale stomach, his engagement ring clearly visible. As Kyle laughed wickedly, the mirror vanished.

"My, my, but you have been a naughty boy, little prince. Taking hapless, innocent boys…getting engaged when you're promised to another…just how are you any better than Prince Seishiro?"

The mere mention of the Dark Prince in the same sentence as Fai sent Kurogane over the edge.

"STOP IT!" he screamed in rage, swinging Sohi for another attack. This time, it didn't even hit. Kyle vanished and reappeared behind him, quickly seizing his arms, preventing further movement.

"We really can't have this… _Kuro-rin_ ," he hissed in his ear.

Kurogane froze for the barest of moments. Then he started to struggle to free himself, but as with Koryu, he could not hope to match Kyle's superhuman strength.

"Let go of me!"

"No, my prince. I have something much better in mind. Kurogane and Fai will never see their wedding night," he intoned slowly. The tone of his voice brought Kurogane's struggles to a halt. "No matter how strong their love is, they can never marry. If ever their hands are joined in matrimony, Fai will die. The moment Kurogane takes his hand in marriage, his heart will cease to beat and his spirit will pass from his body. Only if Fai can produce a child _of his own body_ that Kurogane is father to can they marry without the threat of death…and of course, this is impossible. This is my curse."

The moment he had finished speaking, he released Kurogane. The prince stumbled a few steps away from him before collapsing to his knees.

"No…no…Fai…" he whispered over and over as Kyle laughed at his despair. There was no doubting the truth of those words. He couldn't marry Fai without killing him.

"Of course, we're assuming that Fai lives past tonight's sunset…and that's a big assumption."

Raising his head, the ninja slowly turned to look at the dark faerie. "What are you saying?"

"You still haven't figured it out? You really _are_ thick. Perhaps you just didn't _want_ to see it? Twins sequestered in Celes Forest for eighteen years…Seishiro seeking to destroy them…who, oh who, could that be?" he asked mockingly.

That was the moment when everything came together for Kurogane. Twins cursed and pursued by the queen of the Dark Court…hidden…kept safe…a pair of twins encountered by chance on a forgotten path…Fai and Yuui's supposed orphaning…the Mokona…three guardians…their power…How had he not seen it before?! _This_ was the secret that Doumeki and the others would reveal to them. Yuui…one of his best friends…a girl he'd grown up with…was really Princess Yuui Fluorite of Valeria…the girl he was to marry…and Fai… _his_ Fai… _his_ idiot…his beautiful, wonderful idiot…was really Prince Fai Fluorite of Valeria…and they were eighteen today. Yuuko's curse of sleeping death would activate _tonight!_

The instant he realized what was about to happen, he was on his feet, racing out of the chamber. There was nothing he could do for his mother, not anymore. Perhaps Kusanagi could do something? He had warned him of Kyle's treachery. But even if he could not save his mother…maybe he could still save Fai? He _had_ to believe that.

"He'll be dead long before you can get to him!" Kyle shouted after him. "There's _nothing_ you can do!"

Kurogane closed his ears to Kyle's taunts. He couldn't think on them now. His one and only focus had to be getting to Fai.

_Tomoyo! What about Tomoyo and Souma?!_

_No! Fai first! Warn them later…once the twins are safe. Get to Fai_ _**now** _ _!_

Within moments, Suwa was racing out of the city gates toward Celes, Kurogane pressing him harder than he'd ever pressed him in his life.

XxX

Himawari was crying softly in a corner as Watanuki paced. Doumeki sat, calmly watching the two of them.

"You're sure nothing bad happened last night?" Watanuki demanded.

"Positive. They'll be home soon," he replied. On the contrary, many _good_ things had happened last night _\- too_ many good things, especially since today was the day they would be destroying all of their illusions.

"Did…did they have a good time?" Himawari asked haltingly.

"Yes." As far as Watanuki and Himawari knew, the two sets of twins had just gone on their last camping trip last night. Now they would be coming back to one last birthday party at home. Watanuki had put all of his arts into making them the perfect cake and Himawari had made them each a new set of clothes - the clothes that they would meet their real parents in. She'd made Yuui a dress of shimmering blue silk with flowing wing designs around the hem and the bust. The short sleeves would hang off the shoulders and the dress had no waist so that Yuui could continue to wear it even as her stomach continued to swell. It was more of a fey style than a Valerian one, but Himawari had to admit she would like seeing her daughter in the style of her own people. Fai's set of clothing was also more fey-styled and it was made from the same fabric as Yuui's dress: a pair of pants and a tunic and undershirt with flowery wing designs similar to the ones on Yuui's dress. They'd even gotten them something they'd never had before: shoes - a pair of boots for Fai and slippers for Yuui. The twins would be even more dazzling than they already were. The silk would bring out the blue of their eyes to shine like stars. Himawari smiled slightly through her pain. If this was a normal day, a normal wedding, she might almost be happy for Yuui. The prince wouldn't stand a chance against her beauty. But it wasn't a normal wedding. Yuui was being sold into the hands of the people who would kill her. If things went badly today, they could _both_ die, and even if things went well, the three of them would have to walk out of their lives forever. After today, there was nothing left.

Watanuki could see that Himawari was crying and he wanted to comfort her, but he knew she wouldn't let him. She would shrink from him, keeping her curse and her agony to herself. He himself just continued to pace, attempting to hold back his own emotion in an uncharacteristic display of control. Doumeki, as usual, kept his own feelings to himself. But all of their action came to a halt when they heard Leval approaching.

"They're here," Himawari whispered, quickly wiping away her tears and trying to rein in her emotions. By the time the twins came tumbling through the door with their camping supplies, talking and laughing with the Mokona on their shoulders, the three guardians were all gathered around the table.

"Happy birthday!" Himawari greeted, giving them a cheerful smile, wishing she could take them in her arms as she used to.

"Did you have fun?" Watanuki asked, moving forward to hug them enough for both the guardians.

"We had a wonderful time," Yuui replied, her eyes sparkling. She could hardly wait to tell them their news. "In fact, I think this just might be the happiest day of our lives."

"Well, that's good to hear," Himawari said, trying her hardest not to cry. "Maybe birthday presents will make it even better. There's new clothing in your room when you want to go and see it."

"Everything's so wonderful," Yuui sang, spinning around with Larg in her arms. Fai watched with a contented smile on his face while Soel bounced up and down on his head. "Just wait 'til you meet them."

The happy atmosphere in the room was instantly transformed. Himawari and Watanuki both froze.

"Them?" Himawari whispered.

"Yuui-chan, you…you've met some stranger?" Watanuki asked, dread building in the pit of his stomach.

"Oh, she's not a stranger. She's the love of my life," Yuui exclaimed as she danced back to Watanuki, giving him a big hug.

Watanuki glanced over Yuui's head toward Himawari, horror etched into his face.

"She's…in love."

"Oh, no!" Himawari cried out, placing a hand over her face.

Yuui looked around when she realized that her news was not getting the reaction she'd wanted. "What-"

"Wait," Fai said, placing a hand on her shoulder to silence her. Suddenly fearing the direction things were heading in, he hid the hand where his engagement ring rested behind his back. "What's wrong with her being in love? We are eighteen, after all." He made no mention of himself being in love.

"It's nothing like that, Fai-kun," Watanuki said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You're already betrothed, Yuui-chan," Himawari explained.

"Betrothed?" she repeated, uncomprehending.

"Since the day you were born," Doumeki said, finally joining the conversation.

"To Prince Kurogane Youou of Nihon," Himawari added.

Yuui's eyes went wide and her mouth fell open in shock. Fai remained frozen. How…could it be?

"But…that's…impossible. How could I…marry a _prince?_ " Specifically _that_ prince? A small suspicion was beginning to take shape in her stomach as she tried to reason with her guardians. "I'd have to be-"

"A princess?" Watanuki suggested evenly.

"You _are_ , Yuui-chan," Himawari finished softly.

"Princess Yuui Fluorite of Valeria…and Prince Fai Fluorite of Valeria. Daughter and son of Queen Sakura Fluorite and King Syaoran Fluorite," Watanuki explained.

_This is what they were going to tell us._

"But…why…?"

"Why did you bring us here?" Fai articulated more fully. He seemed to be in better possession of his senses than Yuui was at the moment.

"We brought you here to live…eighteen years ago. We've protected you all this time…kept you hidden…because your lives were in danger from Yuuko," Doumeki explained, straightforward as always.

"So…all these years…you've just been doing your job? Did we…ever mean _anything_ to you?" Fai asked bitterly.

"Of course!" Himawari shouted, fighting not to run to the twins and embrace them. "How can you even _think_ that?! You mean the _world_ to us!"

"Then why are you selling us out like this?" Yuui asked. Himawari had never seen her look more hurt.

"Please, Yuui-chan. You have to know that we would never choose this life for you. But it's not up to us. We're not your real family. Tonight we have to take you back to your parents."

"But…Himawari, you _are_ our family! You, Doumeki, Watanuki, Soel, and Larg. We _love_ you!"

Himawari moved as close as she possibly could to Yuui, tracing her hand through the air along the line of her cheek without actually touching her. "We love you, too, Yuui-chan. You have no idea how much I don't want to do this to you, but I'm not your real mother."

Yuui took a step back, also pulling herself away from Fai in the process. "If you love us so much, then why won't you hug us like you used to?! Were you just trying to distance yourself from us? Why did you even get saddled with us in the first place?!" Tears were streaming down her face now.

"Because we were asked to do it…by Clow Reed, King of Faerie," Watanuki put in. "I am the king's vizier."

Fai's eyes widened. "You lied to us!" he accused. "You're not part fey. You're full-blooded fey!"

"We were trying to protect you!" Watanuki tried to defend.

"You could have trusted us with the truth!" Fai shot back. "Did you not think we could handle it? Heh. Keeping the pawns safe…playing the game of thrones...just how are you different from _Seishiro_? _!_ " It was the most hurtful insult he could think of.

And it did hurt. Coming from Fai, it felt like being accused of the rape themselves. In some ways, this betrayal was worse.

"I'm sorry, Fai," Doumeki finally said as he moved toward the group. "But we don't have to explain ourselves to you. We do only what is best for you and Yuui…and now it's time for you to return." He was hurting just as much as the others. The only difference was that he concealed it better. The only thing that mattered right now was keeping Fai and Yuui safe. They could all deal with their own feelings later.

"But…we _can't_ go!" Yuui protested. "They're coming here tonight…to meet _you_."

"I'm sorry, Yuui-chan…but you can't ever see this young woman again," Watanuki said sadly.

Yuui could feel her heart freezing over in pain and shock. How had she not _seen_ any of this? She slowly turned her eyes on everyone in the room. First on Himawari, standing before her, on Watanuki, standing by Fai, on Doumeki, standing by the table, on the Mokona, who had somehow come to be sitting on the table, and finally, she turned to look at her brother. He was not looking at her. He was looking at Doumeki with what could only be described as rage in his eyes. Without wasting another word, Yuui fled from the confrontation, up the stairs and into their room.

" _You knew_ ," Fai hissed quietly, glaring first at Doumeki, then at Soel and Larg. "You knew…this whole time…and you still let us…I can't _believe_ this!" He had never felt so betrayed. They had known from the very start. They had _let_ him fall in love with Kurogane, knowing full well they could not be together. Yuui was the one who had been thrown between them from the very beginning and none of them had even known it. Could things _get_ any worse?!

"I've had enough of this," was all he could get out before following after his sister. He heard Himawari finally burst into tears behind him, but he did not look back. He was seeing red right now.

Kurogane had fought for them to be together. Well, now it was his turn. Nothing was going to stop him from being with Kurogane. _Nothing!_ Nothing and no one was going to stand in their way. If nothing else, the fact that he had royal blood just made him an even better match for the prince. He would be married to Kurogane if it was the last thing he did. They _would_ have their wedding night.

The first thing Fai did upon entering their room was to lock the door behind him. Yuui was curled up on her bed, crying, holding a new dress in her hands. When she heard him enter, she threw the shimmering garment aside and ran to him, throwing her arms around him and sobbing into his chest.

"Oh, Fai! I'm so sorry! I can't believe I didn't see any of this!"

"It's not your fault," he said soothingly as he rubbed her back. "It's not even their fault. They were just doing what they had to."

"And those…people we met last night. They're our _parents_ , Fai! Our real parents!"

"I know," he said quietly. It was a fact he hadn't quite managed to wrap his mind around yet.

"I don't _want_ to marry Kurogane-kun!" she cried. "He's…like my brother! It would be like marrying _you!_ "

"You won't have to, Yuui. You and Tomoyo-chan _will_ have your wedding night. I'll make sure of it. I have a plan."

Yuui slowly lifted her head up from his chest, gazing at him with a small flicker of hope in the despair that had consumed her eyes.

"I have no right to ask this of you. You've done so much for me already. You still believed in me when I'd given up on myself. But if you want to stop this from happening, then we have to do what we can."

"I'll do whatever you ask. Just tell me what your plan is."

Slowly, Fai extricated himself from his twin's embrace, gazing down at his engagement ring for reassurance.

"If they want a wedding…we'll give them a wedding."

XxX

"What do you suppose is going on out there?" Tomoyo wondered aloud.

"I don't know. No one would tell me," Souma responded. She had already told Tomoyo all that she knew. Kusanagi had come into her room and told her to be ready for a fight. She had armed herself to the teeth while Kusanagi had told her that they were going to arrest Kyle. Then he'd told her that it was her job to guard Tomoyo. When he left, Souma had immediately made for Tomoyo's chambers. Now she, Chitose, and Tomoyo were all gathered in her chamber, awaiting news of Kyle. Tomoyo herself was pacing the room, her thoughts constantly straying to Yuui. Perhaps this was the source of her fear? As she pondered the situation over and over again, she nervously twisted the ring on her pinky in an attempt to reassure herself.

"Oh, dear. It's worse than I feared."

When Tomoyo heard his voice in her ear, she couldn't help it. She screamed. Souma was alerted by her cries, but it was not at the princess' side that the foul beast appeared. He appeared standing beside her futon without a sound, as if he had always been there.

"Kyle!" Souma snarled, quickly drawing her blades.

"How did you get in here?" Chitose demanded, her voice trembling with fear.

"It would appear that they haven't found me yet," he said to himself as he began to move toward them. Souma quickly moved to stand in front of Tomoyo.

"Stay where you are!" she commanded, brandishing Sumomo and Kotoko.

"I got in here because I had a need to be in here," he explained, never ceasing his slow advance on them.

"Th-that's blood," Tomoyo whispered through dry lips, pointing to the still-wet blood covering the leech's front.

"Indeed, it is. Spilled by your brother, no less. Why do you recoil, little Tomoyo? I came here for you, after all."

Tomoyo's eyes widened in fear. If he wanted her now, there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.

"I don't know how you got away from Kurogane and Kusanagi-san, but you won't get by me. You are under arrest, Kyle Rondart. If you harm one hair on her head, I'll make you rue the day you set foot in this castle."

"Souma-chan," Tomoyo whispered, her voice trembling in terror. "Please stand down." There was nothing Souma could do against Kyle. She understood that now as she gazed at him. He was fey. How could she not have seen it? If she stood in his way, Souma would be killed.

"Never, my princess. He will not touch you."

Kyle just shook his head…then vanished. Souma had only a moment to blink in shock before she heard Tomoyo's screams of terror. She spun around to see Kyle holding the princess in his arms with Kotoko pressed against her slender throat. Souma glanced down in shock, realizing that she only held Sumomo.

"Let her go!"

"Ah, ah, ah, ah! One step closer and I slit her pretty neck." As if to back up his threat, he pressed down, causing a tiny trickle of red to dribble down her neck. Tomoyo cried out in pain as the skin split and Souma froze in place.

"Chitose, get help," Souma said quietly. The woman nodded, quickly moving for the door. But before she could get five feet, she screamed in pain and sank to her knees, blood gushing from where Kotoko was buried in her shoulder.

"No! Chitose-san!" Tomoyo screamed. But the next moment, she and Kyle were _both_ gone.

"NO!" Souma cried out as she fell to her knees. "TOMOYO-CHAN!"

Kyle and his prisoner reappeared in a place many miles away. It was getting dark, but Tomoyo could still recognize the room as Yuui and Fai's bedroom.

"Yuui?" she whispered, still dazed.

"She's not here. In fact, I believe we've only just missed them. But you know all about that, don't you, my lovely yumemi?" he whispered in her ear as he ran his fingers through her hair.

Tomoyo cried out in disgust. "Let go of me!" she shouted, trying to struggle out of his grasp, but he was impossibly strong.

"Don't make a fuss. I brought you here to keep you out of the way. No matter how big a fuss you make, no one can hear you out here. You can make all the fuss you want when I take your clothes off. In fact, I _want_ you to scream when I take you, but for now, I want you to listen. Do you know what a Hand of Power is?"

Tomoyo just nodded.

"Do you know what mine is?"

She shook her head.

"I have an aptitude for hypnosis. I can turn a person's mind into a lump of clay. I can turn bodies into my weapons…or my toys. I can _make_ you want me. I can make you writhe for me…make you cry out my name in desire. If I so chose, I could make you pick up a sword and slay Yuui."

"No!" Tomoyo cried out weakly as she sank to her knees, tears pouring down her face. "Please, no!"

"Then you will do what I say," he said, kneeling before her and gently taking her chin in his hand, forcing her to look up at him as he leaned down to kiss her. She did not resist, but she did not participate, either.

"It's happening," she whispered in despair as she allowed him to pull the clothing from her body. "It's happening right now, isn't it?"

"Yes. Such an unfortunate thing. Especially since she asked you to marry her, didn't she? I don't suppose you'll be _needing_ it anymore," he said viciously as he reached for her ring.

"NO!" she screamed suddenly, pulling back from him, holding her left hand against her body, cradling the engagement ring desperately against her heart. "No! She's not dead! She's not!"

Kyle sneered as he stood. "And yet you will lie with another as if she were already dead and buried? You really are a little whore."

Tomoyo said nothing. If Yuui was already gone, then she had no reason left to fight, but if she yet lived…Kyle could do something awful if she did not bend to him. So she closed her eyes and forced the world around her to disappear as he carried her to Yuui's bed. She withdrew deep inside herself, remembering her happy times with Yuui as his hands caressed her body. As his lips and tongue defiled her, she whispered prayer after prayer for Yuui's safety. She held the ring close to her heart the entire time.

True to Kyle's word, no one heard her screaming. One cannot hear a heart as it screams in silence.

XxX

Clow Reed smiled to himself as he stood on the shores of Spirit Lake, taking in the sight of the forest at dusk. No matter what time of day or night, Celes was always beautiful. He would miss seeing it.

Thankfully, he could no longer feel the presence of the twins or their guardians. They had left the forest entirely. For some reason, he was relieved. He didn't want anyone around to witness what was about to happen.

"They're gone," he said with a satisfied smile. "They've gone back to Valeria."

"I'm well aware of this," Yuuko's cold voice sounded from the tree line just before she stepped into his view. "But I didn't come here for them."

"Hello, Yuuko," he greeted, still smiling softly as she moved toward him.

"I'm amazed that you chose to come here by yourself," she said when she was finally standing before him.

"I've seen this moment in my dreams," he explained, spreading his arms to indicate the two of them and the area surrounding them. "This is how it happens."

"You know what's to happen here today…and still you came to me? Why?"

"Because I still love you, Yuuko."

"Liar," she breathed in his face.

"My love is no lie," he said as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "I've tried to tell you what happened time and again, but you wouldn't listen. Perhaps the only way to show my sincerity is to let the vision I saw play out to its conclusion? You are the only one my skin glows for, dear Yuuko."

Yuuko shook his hands from her body and turned her face away from him. "You lie."

"What could I possibly gain by lying to you now? My magic is growing weaker by the minute. The fact that you can stand here before me now is evidence of that. I came to you today to free both of our souls from the burdens they bear."

"I'm still going to kill them, you know?" she said as she turned back to him with a sneer on her face. "I will destroy the world of men for the dream that we once shared."

Clow laughed as a sad smile took up residence on his face. "The only dream that you and I have shared for a long time is that we both wish we were dead. Maybe for different reasons, but we both wish it."

Yuuko bowed her head slightly. "Even now…will you still not set me free?"

Clow shook his head. "I will not kill you, Yuuko. I cannot. There is only one path for you now. Strange, isn't it, how the paths one takes to avoid one's destiny can lead one straight to it?"

"You will really make me do this?"

"I will not _make_ you do anything. What comes next is up to you. But please, at least do this for me…kiss me one last time."

Yuuko sneered, but it was a request that she was all too willing to grant. She moved forward, pressing her body up against her husband's. She didn't realize it, but her kiss revealed more to the king than she would have liked. Clow felt the depth of the pain she'd suffered all this time…though half the time she remained shrouded in the depths of her insanity to spare herself the torture of dealing with it. Only rarely did her true self emerge anymore - like this fleeting last moment they were sharing. He felt how much she still loved him, and how much she'd missed him - how much she _would_ miss him. He felt her body ache with the desire to be one with him once more. His own body ached for it, too, but he knew that the time for such things was long past. He could feel the raging fires of her psychosis reaching up, ready to drag her back down the moment they separated. He would have given anything in his power to stop that from happening, but he also knew that she herself would not allow that. Instead, he simply allowed himself to feel her in his arms this one last time. He gloried in the press of her soft lips against his, felt her skin beneath his fingers, felt the warm weight of _her_ in his arms. He would be content with this as his last moment. It was enough to know that, even from the depths of her suffering, she still cared for him, no matter how much pain they had caused each other. He barely even felt the pain when he felt the sword pierce his heart.

Slowly breaking the kiss, Clow smiled briefly at Yuuko before glancing down to see Assassin's Hand sheathed in his chest. Yuuko's hand was closed around the hilt. As he glanced back up at her, he could see her lips twisted into a sneer, but there was heartbreak in her eyes. She leaned in very close to him once more, bringing her lips to within inches of his.

"You brought this on yourself, you know?" she whispered against his lips, her voice breaking. "You brought me to this."

"I know. I'm sorry," he whispered back, running his fingers through her long, dark hair as blood began to seep from his mouth. "I know you were only ever faithful…until _I_ stepped out of line. You should know that I never wanted to hurt you. I never meant to betray you."

"No more," she whispered, tears gathering in her eyes. "Please…no more."

"Thank you, Yuuko…for setting me free," he said, gently taking her face in his hands and giving her one last brief kiss, leaving blood on her lips. "Maybe now…you can be free, too."

Yuuko bowed her head, her bangs hiding her eyes from sight. She could not bear to look at him. "I will never…be free of this." Then she violently pulled their son's sword from his chest, causing a great fountain of blood to gush up in its wake. He was still smiling as he fell backward. King Clow Reed was dead before he even hit the water.

His body floated upon the crystalline blue surface of the water, his lips caught in his last loving smile as his sightless eyes stared up at the sky. The first few stars were beginning to appear overhead, but he would never see the stars again, nor feel the evening wind on his face.

Yuuko slowly fell to her knees, clutching the sword that was stained with her love's blood to her chest. The world would never see his like again.

"You made me do it. You _made_ me do it, my love!"

As she watched his blood stain the pure water red, the Dark Queen sobbed heartbrokenly.

XxX

Queen Sakura was nervously pacing Eriol's chamber, and had been doing so for about an hour now. Preparations for the wedding had been going full swing ever since she and Syaoran had returned from Nihon early that morning. The palace had been decorated and the banquet prepared. The people of the city had been celebrating all day. But Sakura wasn't even nervous about the wedding anymore. In fact, she felt downright bad about it. What she was afraid of was finally seeing her babies after eighteen years. She desperately wanted to see their beautiful faces…but at the same time she was terrified.

"Don't worry, Aunt," her twelve-year-old nephew tried to console her yet again.

"What if…they don't _like_ me?" she asked nervously, feeling very much like a lost child instead of the forty-year-old woman that she really was.

"That's impossible," Eriol said, smiling softly as he stood from his bed. "They'll _love_ you, Aunt Sakura. What's not to love?"

Sakura smiled sadly as she pulled the boy into her arms. If only things were that simple. She _knew_ that her babies couldn't love her the same way they probably loved their guardians. It just wasn't possible. She had sacrificed that kind of love to protect them. But was it so selfish to hope that they could care for her just a little bit? She and Syaoran had never been able to have any more children and she knew she was long past her childbearing years, even though she didn't look it. That was something amazing. Sakura still looked no older than twenty. It was almost as if her body had stopped aging altogether. However, even though she still _looked_ to be in the prime of her youth, she _felt_ old. She felt the years weighing heavily upon her whenever she saw Syaoran's body slowly aging before her. She almost felt like he was leaving her behind somehow.

The queen was drawn out of her somewhat morbid thoughts when she felt her nephew's body stiffen in her arms. She glanced down at him and saw that his face had gone blank.

"Eri-chan?" she called to him, shaking him lightly. He did not respond. "Eri-chan?!"

"Hello, Sakura-chan," a voice that was and was not Eriol's issued forth from the boy's lips. Sakura tightened her grip on his shoulders, fearing magic.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Eriol Fluorite."

Sakura shook her head. "Maybe so…but not just Eriol-chan."

Eriol-that-wasn't sighed bitterly. "Clever, Sakura-chan."

"Will you… let my nephew come back?"

"Of course," he said, smiling sadly. "I'm not that kind of ghost. I'll only stay for as long as I must, which isn't very long."

"A ghost?"

"Yes. I suppose that's what I am. I know myself to be dead, after all. I am the ghost of Faerie's former king."

"Clow Reed?" she whispered in shock.

"Yes."

"But…but who could possibly be powerful enough to kill _you?_ "

"It was Yuuko who did that…but I let her. I wanted her to."

"I…I never got the chance…to thank you…Clow-sama," the queen said sadly. "You're the one who gave me my Fai and Yuui, aren't you?"

The boy nodded. _I gave you much more than that, dear Sakura-chan. You just don't know it yet._

"I'm sorry. You must have missed them terribly all these years. I, too, know what it is to never be near one's children. If I had never lifted Yuuko's curse, then you wouldn't have had to miss them. I'm sorry to have brought this on you."

"No, Clow-sama! It's not like that at all!" Sakura protested. "I've missed my babies dreadfully, it's true…but I'm glad to have had them at all. I'm glad to know that they're alive and breathing, and not just some dream. They're _my babies_."

"I understand."

"Clow-sama…why is it that you've come here?"

Again, the boy sighed. He didn't know how to tell her what he had come to tell her, but he _had_ to. There was no one else who could tell her the whole story.

"I came here because there is something that I must tell you before I leave this world. Something about you…and your children. Sakura-chan…do you know the story of your birth?"

"I do. My father, King Fujitaka Fluorite, died before I was born. He was killed in a scuffle with some dark faeries. My mother, Queen Nadeshiko Fluorite, died giving birth to me. After her death, Yukito's father, Lord Seichiro Aoki, became Lord Protector of the kingdom until Touya turned eighteen."

"Yes, that's right…except for one part."

"What do you mean?"

"Sakura-chan, Fujitaka-sama…was not your father."

Sakura took a step back from the possessed boy, staring at him in shock. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry to have to tell you like this, but you need to know…and I know of no other way. Sakura-chan… _I_ am your father."

Sakura's eyes widened. She could have almost sworn that her heart had stopped beating. "That…that's not possible. I was born seven months after my father's death. Are you accusing my mother of lying with another man?! She would never have betrayed my father like that!"

"It's not like that," he replied, remaining calm in the face of the queen's anguish. "You were born in seven months' time because fey children develop within six to seven months instead of nine like human children. Your mother was a dear friend of mine, much beloved of Faerie. As you well know, I've been separated from my own wife for…a long time. On the night Nadeshiko received news of Fujitaka-sama's death…I lay with her."

"Stop," she whispered. "Please, stop."

"No," he said softly. "You have to hear this. I don't want you to judge your mother wrongly. She was torn up with grief. It was only one night and…we both needed it. I even took on Fujitaka-sama's appearance for her. We remained friends afterward, but when she came to me with the news that she would have a child, I panicked. It is…rare…for the mother of a half-fey child to survive the birth. A fey child is just…too strong for a human body. I told her that she didn't have to go through with it, but she said…that it was her honor to bear a child for her friend. She said…that it would help her to be with Fujitaka-sama faster. I spent those seven months hating myself…but it was her wish. She always told me that her children would be in good hands when she left."

"But…if what you're saying is true…then I…I…" Sakura felt like she was going to be sick.

"It wasn't your fault, Sakura-chan! It was Nadeshiko's choice to see you into the world. If it's anyone's fault, it's _mine_. I was weak. The only human to know the truth was Seichiro-san's wife, the high priestess, Karen, the only other person present at your birth. Nadeshiko and I asked her to keep the secret. We had decided that you would be better off the less you knew about your fey heritage. I used my magic to hide the injuries Nadeshiko's body had taken giving birth to you, so that no one else would know. After that, I walked out of your life forever."

"But I…I _can't_ be fey. I don't have magic or anything like that," Sakura protested, clinging desperately to this last fraying thread.

"That's not so. Your power simply manifested in a different way than most. Don't tell me you never questioned the fact that there's literally _no_ sickness in Valeria? Nihon goes through its bouts with plague and other such things, but Valeria has nothing. All of its citizens are healthy and happy. That's because of you, Sakura-chan. Because you never had a chance to manifest your gifts in a recognizable fashion, the power within you simply sought to express itself in a different way. Like your own daughter, you possess a Hand of Healing."

"So…they have power, too?" Sakura asked. As confused and upset as she was feeling right now, she couldn't help but feel proud.

"Yes. They have been given a chance to grow. They are very strong in magic. And…it is also my fault that their lives have been in danger all this time," he admitted sadly.

"What?"

"I'm not certain how, but Yuuko somehow found out about you…and how you were conceived. Her banishment from Faerie effectively ended our marriage, but we both continued to see ourselves as husband and wife. She took my mistake very hard. She hated you from the moment of your birth. She hates you still…because of what you represent for her. It is the reason why she cursed your womb with infertility. It was this curse that I lifted from you for but that one night. She also feared that you would take our son's place as heir to my crown. That fear faded when you became a queen in your own right, but it flared to life again when the twins were conceived. You are not only Queen of Valeria. You are a princess of Faerie as well. It is the same with Fai-kun and Yuui-chan. They are prince and princess of Valeria as well as Faerie. When they were born, they became my heirs. Now that I am dead, one of them will rule over all of Faerie. This is why she has pursued them all this time. I'm sorry…for bringing this on all of you…for putting them in so much danger."

"No," Sakura whispered, finally raising her head. "Were it not for you, we…the three of us…would not have life at all." She had come to grips with what the former king was telling her. After all, he was dead. What could he possibly have to gain from lying to her? "Thank you for telling me. I know what I have to do now."

Eriol-who-wasn't's lips curled into a relieved smile as she stepped back toward him and embraced him. He was almost free. There was but one small vindication that remained for him.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry that I could never be a part of your life."

"It's not your fault. You've more than made up for it with the gift you already gave me. Fai and Yuui exist because of you. That's enough."

A few tears suddenly dribbled from the boy's eyes. "Well, I imagine Eriol-kun's getting tired of my being here. It is time for me to let go. Please…give Fai-kun and Yuui-chan all my best."

"I will."

"And know that I love you, daughter. I have always loved you."

"I know…Tou-san," she whispered, hugging him to her breast as his spirit passed from the boy's body.

When Eriol was free again, he glanced up at his aunt. He seemed to be a little confused…but at the same time, he seemed to realize what had just happened.

"Come on, Eri-chan. We need to go find your uncle."

XxX

"Hisui? Hisui?"

Hisui remained silent. She knew that Ryuuki would enter whether or not she said anything. The next time she heard his voice it was right beside her.

"I brought you some soup, Hisui."

"Thank you," she said, not looking up at him. "You can set it on the table."

She heard Ryuuki sigh as he did what she asked. She hadn't eaten and she had slept very little for a little more than a year. After the first three months, most of the court had stopped trying to get her to eat. After being brought under the protection of Faerie, Kokuyo had been moved to her quarters. She sat by him day and night, keeping her lonely vigil without food and almost no rest. People had come to see her at first but she hardly ever spoke. She only stared down at Kokuyo's unchanging face. Sometimes she slept, but mostly she just stared, holding his ice-cold fingers in hers. Sometimes people thought they could hear her singing to him. It was almost as if Hisui was frozen in time, waiting for the moment when her beloved would return to her.

"Your father's been asking about you."

Six months back, that statement might have drawn tears from the wind master's eyes - might have summoned up guilt in her chest. But now she felt nothing. A part of her _wanted_ to feel badly for leaving her father to grieve like this as if she were already dead. She was all he had, after all. But she could only feel empty. It was the only way to not feel the crushing pain of Kokuyo's absence…an absence that she knew to be her own fault.

"He never knew his mother, you know," she said softly, as if Ryuuki had not spoken at all. Gently, she ran her fingers through his dark hair, remembering the things the former general had told her of his family. "He thinks it was probably a woman in his father's harem, but he has no way of knowing."

Ryuuki sighed once more as he moved over to the bed where Kokuyo lay, placing a hand on Hisui's shoulder. She did not react.

"I'm sorry…Hisui. I…I can see how much you still love him." It was the first time he had offered condolences over Kokuyo's condition. He had cared very deeply for Hisui himself and he had hoped that perhaps someday…they could…be something more than just friends. Her relationship with Kokuyo had come as quite a blow to him, especially when she had told them that he made her glow…and that he glowed for her. There was no putting _that_ asunder. Besides, if he truly loved her, then he knew that he had to have the strength to let her be with the one she loved.

_I'm sorry…that you have to suffer so much. I swear on the bones of my sister, I will find a way to bring him back to you._

Hisui did not look up when she heard the fire master leave. Instead, she leaned forward and placed a kiss on Kokuyo's cold lips.

_**I'm** _ _sorry, Ryuuki-san. I know everyone else is worried…but I can't bring myself to leave his side._

As she continued to gaze down on her love's frozen, ashen face, Hisui began to sing. It was one thing that made her feel better…made her feel like Kokuyo could still hear her. She sang him a love song…a song that her father had given to her mother long ago…before her death in the Last War.

_Deep in my soul_

_The love's so strong_

_It takes control._

_Now we both know_

_The secret's bared_

_The feelings show._

_Driven far apart,_

_I'll make a wish_

_On a shooting star._

_There will come a day,_

_Somewhere far away._

_In your arms I'll stay,_

_My only love._

_Even though you're gone,_

_Love will still live on._

_The feeling is so strong,_

_My only love._

_My only love._

_There will come a day,_

_Somewhere far away._

_In your arms I'll stay,_

_My only love._

_You reached the deepest part_

_Of the secret in my heart._

_I've known it from the start,_

_My only love._

_My only love._

XxX

Kurogane's first hint that something was wrong should have been that he wasn't stopped by a barrier, but he was too worried to notice something as trivial as that. He wasn't completely certain of the way, but Fai had told him that all he needed to do was want to be somewhere and Celes would make it so. All he needed was to believe. Well, he didn't _want_ to find Fai. He _needed_ to find Fai. That's why he wasn't surprised when Suwa came barreling into the glen where the cottage was located. It was easier to recognize as a cottage in the light of day, but there was still something…different about it - something he didn't like.

"Fai!" he shouted as he leapt off of Suwa. The first thing he did was run around to the small stable. Leval and Tomoeda were both gone, as were all of their other animals.

_No! No, no, no! NO!_

"Please, Fai. You've _got_ to be here," he mumbled as he ran around to the front door. It was almost night now. He couldn't be too late! He just _couldn't_ be!

"Fai!" he shouted as he threw the door open. The house was dark.

"No! FAI!" he screamed.

"You're too late, little prince."

Kurogane froze upon hearing the cold, feminine voice. He knew it. He still heard it in his nightmares.

"Yuuko!" he shouted, spinning around and drawing his sword. There was no sign of her.

"Ah. I see you remember me. Excellent."

"Where are you? Show yourself!"

"Show myself? I am all around you, little boy. I could be here," her voice whispered in his ear. He turned and slashed through empty air.

"Or here," the voice whispered in his other ear.

"I could be anywhere. Even right behind you."

He turned…and found himself face to face with her pale face and cold, red eyes. But when he attacked, the blade passed harmlessly through her body like she wasn't there.

"Where's Fai?!" he demanded. "What have you done with him?!"

"What _haven't_ I done with Fai-kun?" another voice whispered in his ear.

"YOU!" Kurogane screamed, also recognizing this new voice. Sohi did strike this time when he spun to attack, but not in a way he'd expected. Seishiro caught the blade in his hand, not even flinching when blood began to spill from the wound. " _Where…is…Fai?!_ " he demanded furiously.

"You know," Seishiro began as he casually dropped Sohi and began to lick the flow of blood coming from his palm. "Your Fai-chan truly is a wondrous piece of ass. I'll enjoy fucking him into the ground on a more regular basis when you're not around to stop me. He won't fight for himself, after all. And honestly, all I'd have to do is threaten to kill you and he'd just lie back and _take it_ like the little slut he is."

"ENOUGH!" Kurogane snarled in rage, launching himself at the Dark Prince once more. Seishiro vanished and Kurogane crashed into the chair he'd been standing in front of. The next moment, he found himself sitting in the chair, tied down and bound hand and foot. Candles flickered to life in the small main room and both Yuuko and Seishiro appeared before him. Shouting in fury, he attempted to struggle free of his bonds, but they wouldn't give. Yuuko laughed and came to him, lifting his chin up in her hand.

"Oh, you're so cute when you're angry. I could just eat you up."

Kurogane twisted his neck away, sickened to have her hands on him. When he found that getting free was a lost cause, he settled for glaring at his captors.

"Where's Fai?!" he repeated.

"Always this ridiculous obsession with Fai. He's becoming quite annoying. Perhaps a night with _me_ would change his tune?" the Dark Queen suggested in a sultry voice. Kurogane shuddered in disgust.

"Maybe. He might be a bit harder to finagle into bed than his precious lover, but trust me, it's well worth the effort," Seishiro replied, staring at Kurogane as if he could strip him with his eyes alone - which he probably could. Such unmitigated lust…it made the prince want to vomit.

"Where _is_ he?!" he asked again, pretending that they _hadn't_ just been talking about gang-raping both him and Fai.

"Oh, fine," Yuuko pouted. "I imagine little Fai's all the way to Valeria by now…and you _know_ what's going to happen there, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"No! Stop this!"

"Why should I stop? I've waited forty years for this. There are things about your sweet fiancé you don't yet know - things that even _he_ doesn't know about himself, and that you'll never know because you'll never see the Fluorite twins again."

"NO!" he shouted, struggling against his bonds again, but the more he struggled, the tighter they became. "DON'T HURT HIM!"

"Too late, little Kurogane. _Far_ too late. The man you love will die tonight. There is nothing you can do to save him."

"Care to fucking _bet_ on that?!" Kurogane snarled.

"Why, yes. Yes, I would. Because in mere moments, their fate will be sealed…and where are you? You're tied up in the middle of a forest and no one knows where you are. You're in no position to help anyone and I can prove it. Kyle!"

At the sound of the queen's command, the snake made his way down the stairs. Kurogane's eyes widened in shock when he saw that he was dragging Tomoyo with him, bound hand and foot. Before he had a chance to call out to her, he was stricken into silence by the look in her eyes. Her cheeks were wet from crying but her eyes were empty - devoid of everything. It was the look he had seen on Fai's face the day after his sixteenth birthday. No! Kyle couldn't have…could he…?

"Tomoyo!" he called out to her. The moment she heard his voice, expression returned to her face. Her eyes filled with tears once again and she began to cry.

"Nii-sama! Nii-sama! I'm so sorry! I couldn't help them! I couldn't help Yuui!"

Kurogane snarled at Kyle when he roughly threw his baby sister down in the chair next to his. "Why did you bring us here?" he demanded. He now realized that he'd been set up to make the discovery. God, how could he have been so foolish?

"Because you're the only ones who could have stopped it, and now that you're our prisoners, you're of no use to anyone," Yuuko said with a sneer. "So…while I go to Valeria, you all are going to stay right here and watch events unfold from your own personal corner of Hell, unable to do anything." With that, Yuuko snapped her fingers and a large mirror appeared in front of the two bound royals. They could see Fai and Yuui reflected within its depths - only Yuui now appeared to have short hair. She was sprawled out on a magnificent four-poster bed, looking utterly drained. Fai was leaning against one of the posts with his arms crossed over his chest, and he looked _nothing_ if not enraged.

"Well, I'll be off now. See you later, little Kurogane…but then again…maybe not." Then she was gone.

"Damn it! COME BACK HERE, YOU EVIL PIG!" It wasn't anger he was feeling right now. It was helplessness - utter uselessness, and something else he had only experienced once before. There was a tightening in his throat, like something was trying to squeeze the air out of him, and an itching, burning sensation in his eyes. He had failed.

_No! No! NO! FAI! I have to help him! I have to save him! FAI!_

Kurogane screamed in rage and despair, trying to stop the tears he could feel coming as something began to happen in the mirror.

XxX

The twins had not spoken once since emerging from their room. They were both dressed in the new clothes that Himawari had made for them, but Yuui had cut off her long hair. Were it not for the fact that her baby bump was beginning to show beneath her dress, the two would have been indistinguishable. Himawari made a little bit of a fuss over Yuui's lost hair, but the three guardians had quickly realized that they were receiving the silent treatment and stopped trying. Fai, still looking angry, had led a despondent-looking Yuui out of the cottage for the last time. Himawari had let Leval and Tomoeda out of the stable and sent the other animals back to Faerie. Fai had helped Yuui onto Leval and the breaking family had made its way out of Celes.

They had not set foot in Valeria for eighteen years. The twins, of course, didn't even remember the last time they had been in Valeria. The journey to the capital city of Cephiro had been fairly easy and the guardians had easily managed to slip them into the city without detection. As the first stars began to appear in the sky, they had slipped the twins into the palace unnoticed. They had figured that it would be best for them to have some time alone before they met their parents - before the wedding.

So now the three guardians were sitting outside the set of rooms that had been prepared for the twins while the twins themselves and the Mokona rested inside. Even if they wanted to give the children some privacy, they were not willing to have them separated from the Mokona. It was still too dangerous.

"I can't stand this," Himawari cried softly, tears running down her face. "Yuui-chan _can't_ marry the prince! It's too dangerous!"

"Maybe we should tell Syaoran and Sakura about this young woman she spoke of?" Watanuki suggested. Doumeki nodded his agreement.

Indeed, they would have done. But there was no longer any time for it to make a difference.

XxX

The scene before the Dark Queen appeared exactly as it had in the mirror. The girl had removed her cloak and was lying on the four-poster bed, facedown in the pillows. The boy was still cloaked and leaning against one of the posts. The manjuu things were sitting on a dresser. There was a distinct wall of tension separating the pairs of twins. It wouldn't be too hard to eliminate the cream puffs from the picture.

Knowing full well that she was invisible to the twins, Yuuko smiled. This was it - the moment of her vengeance. She lit her staff with an entrancing green light as her magic filled the room, sealing the Mokona in a tiny shield. They were no longer a threat. This was going to be all too easy. The girl first.

"Come to me."

XxX

_The scent of pomegranate fills my nose. I can feel magic filling the air around me and I can hear Soel and Larg crying out, but none of that matters._

_A voice is calling to me._

" _Come to me."_

_The command is too strong. I cannot resist it. I do not even want to. I look up and see a glowing orb of light hovering before me._

" _Come to me," the voice commands. I must obey. I rise, moving toward the glow. I can hear my twin calling out to me but I do not heed the cry. It is not important. I must obey._

" _Come to me." The light begins to move away. I follow. I have no choice. I must._

_A panel beside the fireplace vanishes. A secret passageway._

" _No! Stop! Please stop! Come back!"_

_My twin is still calling me. I can still hear my other half's voice as the panel closes behind me. I can hear fists pounding against the sealed door. None of it matters. The only thing that matters is obeying the voice._

" _Come to me. Come to your death."_

_I must obey. The light guides me through a dark corridor. Then we begin to climb some stairs, spiraling upward._

" _STOP!"_

_I feel arms around my waist. My twin. How did my twin get here?_

" _Please! Don't go! It's not safe!"_

_It does not matter. Nothing will stop me from obeying. I continue moving up the stairs, dragging my twin with me._

" _Stop! What's wrong with you?! **Stop!** "_

_I keep moving. The worry and fear in my twin's voice does not matter. My twin will not stop me. I must obey._

" _Come to me. The life you knew is over. It all ends tonight. You belong to me."_

" _Please! Please stop!" My twin is crying now. It is not important. We come to the top of the stairs and a door opens before us. There is a spinning wheel inside._

" _Please! Wake up! You've got to wake up!"_

_My twin is still trying to hold me back. I keep moving forward._

" _Touch the spindle."_

_A command. I must obey. I must. I have no choice. I do not want a choice. I reach my hand forward._

" _Goddess! Wake up! Please! Come back!"_

_Then…another voice. A warm voice…desperately trying to get through to me._

" _ **Please! Don't listen to her! You can't go away! I**_ _need_ _ **you!"**_

_Something is wrong. I should stop. I need to stop. I_ _**must** _ _stop! My hand hesitates._

" _Touch the spindle! Touch it, I say!"_

_No. I shouldn't stop. I_ _**can't** _ _stop! The voice is too strong. I am not here anymore. There is only the voice…and it_ _**must** _ _be obeyed. I must obey. I_ _**must** _ _obey! If I do not obey…I will die._

_**I'm sorry.** _

_I reach my hand forward again. I feel a tiny prick at the tip of my finger as I finally obey and touch the spindle._

_Then everything stops._

XxX

The moment they heard one of the twins cry out, the three guardians were at the door, trying to get it open. It took them all of five minutes to break through the spell. They found the Mokona trapped under a shield and a panel missing from the wall.

"Yuuko took Yuui!" Larg shouted.

"But Fai broke through and went after them!" Soel added.

"SAVE THEM!" they screamed.

Instantly, the three were through the secret passageway and barreling down the corridor. As they rushed up the stairs, they started yelling.

"FAI-KUN!" Watanuki shouted.

"YUUI-CHAN!" Himawari screamed.

"DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!" Doumeki bellowed. Just as they reached the top of the stairs, a scream echoed from behind the door.

_No. No! NO!_

When Doumeki threw the door open, they were greeted by Yuuko, standing there sneering.

"You poor fools…thinking you could defeat me. ME! The mistress of all darkness! Well, here's your precious princess!" She swept aside, revealing Yuui, collapsed on the floor. Fai was cradling her head in his lap, sobbing. Yuuko's wicked laughter echoed in the room long after she had vanished.

"Oh, Yuui!" Himawari cried out, rushing forward. "Yuui!" She dropped to her knees, cringing in pain when she remembered that she could not touch her sweet little daughter.

"I'll never forgive myself," Watanuki cried out as he fell to his knees beside Fai.

"We're all to blame," Doumeki said quietly, standing protectively over all of them.

"No! No, it's not your fault!" Fai cried out. There was something odd about his voice. "It's my fault. Oh, Fai! Fai!"

"Wait," Watanuki whispered. He reached forward, pulling aside Fai's cloak…to reveal the swell of Yuui's pregnant belly.

"Yuui?" Himawari whispered in shock.

" _I'm sorry!_ He said everything would be all right! I believed him! It's all my fault! I didn't mean for this to happen! I didn't know! I-I didn't _know!_ Fai, please forgive me!" she sobbed, cradling her brother's lifeless body closer against her chest.

"Dear God," Watanuki whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter is 'My Only Love' from Sailor Moon.


	20. Seldom All They Seem

Fai was laid out comfortably on the four-poster bed in the room that had been set aside for him and Yuui. A silver and blue coverlet made of fine linen and stitched with a pattern of fleur-de-lis covered his body. Watanuki had arranged his hands so that they lay clasped upon his chest, as if holding something precious against his heart. He was now dressed in the clothes that had been made for him. When making the switch, the guardians had learned they'd actually fallen for the trick of Fai tying a pillow to his stomach to appear pregnant and stuffing Yuui's gown with fabric to give him the appearance of breasts.

The young man looked to be peacefully asleep. He might have been were he not as pale as death and cold as ice. His body had stiffened with the sleep of death and the healthful color had utterly left his bright face. The only thing that testified his life was the weak rise and fall of his chest. The beat of blood in his neck was undetectable and the flutter of his heart was so faint it was almost more sporting to say that he no longer lived. The only immediate sign of life on the body of this prince of ice was a single red rose that Watanuki had entwined in his golden hair. It was an enchanted rose that Watanuki had grown straight up from the palm of his hand. The delicate bloom was tied to Fai's life. As long as he lived, so would it.

Yuui lay beside her still, cold brother, weeping softly as she ran her fingers through his hair, whispering apology after apology. Soel was cuddled up against Fai's head, crying, longing for him to wake, smile and laugh, and tell them all that it was just a big joke, but it knew he would not _\- could_ not. Larg was curled up against Yuui's womb, also crying weakly, seeking comfort from the unborn child. Himawari sat at the vanity, crying softly as she watched over her suffering babies from afar. Doumeki was standing beside the closed curtains that led out to a balcony and Watanuki was leaning against one of the bedposts, his mismatched eyes bright with unshed tears. They had destroyed the spinning wheel and sealed off the secret passage. They had briefly talked about setting up wards, but none of them had had the heart for it. What more could Yuuko do to them?

"Yuui…what _happened?_ " Watanuki finally managed to ask.

The young woman sat up very slowly, her eyes red and puffy from crying and her voice thick with emotion as she began her tale.

"Fai…told me that if they wanted a wedding, we would give them a wedding. I cut…my hair off…and dressed in his clothes, using his cloak to hide my baby. He even let me wear his moon charm. Then we…tied a pillow to his stomach and…everything else that you saw…before he put my dress on. He said that I would pretend to be him for a few days and he would marry Kurogane-kun in my place. Once the switch was discovered, it would have been too late for anyone to do anything about it. But _this_ …" She gestured weakly at her twin's lifeless form. "It was an accident. I didn't _mean_ for it to happen. I didn't _know!_ I'm sorry! _Goddess_ , I'm sorry!"

"Of course you didn't know!" Himawari insisted vehemently across the space between them. "How could you have known when we didn't tell you? This is our fault, Yuui-chan."

"No. You're wrong!" Yuui cried, shaking her head. "It's me. She was after _me_ , wasn't she? _I_ did this to him! Why did I listen to him? Fai! Fai, please! _Please_ come back! Wake up! Wake up!"

Watanuki quickly went to the distraught young woman and pulled her away from her brother's body. He held her close, stroking her now-short hair as she sobbed into his chest. As he held her, he pondered her story.

"But…why would Fai-kun _do_ such a thing? Marry a young man he's never met? Was it…just so Yuui-chan could have the one she wants?"

"I can explain that," Doumeki cut in, wanting to spare Yuui the agony of having to recount the last eight years. "That's part of the reason, yes, but Fai did this because he's in love with Prince Kurogane."

"What are you talking about?" Himawari asked.

"They've never even met!" Watanuki insisted.

"That isn't so," Doumeki said softly. "They met eight years ago…when the twins were ten and the prince was thirteen. They have remained close friends all this time…and fallen deeply in love with each other. The young woman that Yuui loves is Princess Tomoyo."

Himawari was speechless. Watanuki was caught somewhere between shock and rage.

"We have more to thank those two for than you'll ever know. It was Kurogane's love that saved Fai's life the night he was raped. He was the one who stood between Fai and Seishiro. It was Tomoyo who gave Yuui hope for the future when she learned she was pregnant. She is going to be the other parent to Yuui's child."

"You knew?" Watanuki demanded quietly, tightening his grip on Yuui. "You knew this whole time…and you never told us?"

"Not the _whole_ time…and it was their secret to tell, not mine. I only knew because of the nights when I kept an eye on them with my magic."

"Doumeki-kun, how could you put them at risk like that?" Himawari asked, rising from her chair and moving toward him. "You _knew_ how dangerous it was!"

"They needed more, Kunogi. You must have known that…deep down," he said, capturing her eyes with his intense gaze. "Besides, I trusted Soel and Larg to keep them safe."

"You two!" Watanuki rounded on the Mokona, who both bounded to the edge of the bed. "You knew from the start! You knew they weren't supposed to be seen by other people. What do _you_ have to say for yourselves?"

"Fai belongs with Kurogane," Soel explained seriously.

"And Yuui belongs with Tomoyo," Larg continued.

Watanuki sighed as he glanced back down at the sobbing girl he held - his child by everything but blood. Of course he _wanted_ her happiness, but…

"It's not that simple," he said sadly.

"It is! It is!" Larg insisted.

"It's their _destiny!_ Soel and Larg know it!" Soel chimed.

"They're soul mates," Doumeki added.

"You mean-" Himawari began slowly.

"Kurogane is the one person in this world who can make Fai's skin glow. It is the same with Yuui and Tomoyo."

"Oh, Consort!" Himawari cried out, turning to face her children. "We _can't_ come between that! We just _can't!_ "

"Do you know what this means?" Doumeki asked Watanuki. The nature sprite's eyes widened in realization as he raised his head to look at his companion.

"The prince…he-"

"Kurogane can break the spell."

"What?" Yuui asked, raising her head from Watanuki's chest. She had only heard snatches of the conversation thus far, but that grabbed her full attention. "How?"

"You see, Yuui," Doumeki began. "When you were born, Yuuko put a curse on you and Fai. That is the reason why we fostered the two of you in Celes. The curse said that before the sun set on your eighteenth birthday, you would prick your finger on a spindle and fall down dead. Fai was to die of grief soon after."

Yuui nodded in disbelief, still clinging to Watanuki as silent tears continued to stream down her face.

"The three of us were present at your naming and I still hadn't given my gift to the two of you. So I used my power to cheat the curse. I changed it so that the two of you would only fall asleep if the time came. In order to prevent the curse from claiming you, it was agreed that we would raise you as our own until it was safe to bring you home. When Yuuko saw the two of you, she must have thought that Fai was you and enchanted him to act out her curse."

_We truly were fools…to think that we could outsmart Yuuko._

Yuui's tears only flowed faster as the depth of her guilt was revealed to her.

"If…If I only hadn't-"

"No, Yuui-chan," Watanuki whispered soothingly. "This isn't your fault. You couldn't have known."

"Yuui, you also need to understand what might happen to you," Doumeki continued, stone-faced as ever. "Just because Fai was the one struck down doesn't mean things have changed. There's still a good chance you might fall asleep, too…if you succumb."

"Succumb to what?" Himawari whispered.

"Despair, guilt, grief, exhaustion. Any number of things could call the curse down on her now that Fai's been taken. The next time she closes her eyes, she may well not wake from her sleep."

Yuui was only half-listening to Doumeki. She heard Himawari's cries of despair and she could feel Watanuki's arms tighten around her, but their fears for her safety meant nothing to her.

"Before…what did you mean…when you said that Kurogane-kun could break this curse?" she asked calmly. Doumeki answered without missing a beat.

"That was also part of my gift. The spell can only be broken by true love's kiss."

Yuui blinked, a flicker of hope shining in her eyes. "Then…Kurogane-kun _can_ break the spell!"

"Yes."

"Then why are we standing here? We have to go find him! He and Tomoyo must be in Celes by now. We'll go and get them! We can bring Fai back!"

Just as Doumeki was about to agree to her plan, a light appeared before them, growing until it became the kneeling figures of Kamui, Subaru, and Fuuma, and the standing figure of Kero in his true form. The great creature slowly bowed its head before Yuui, who shrank silently against Watanuki.

"Hail, Princess Yuui. Greetings from Faerie," he greeted in a voice like thunder.

"Who are you?" she asked shakily.

The creature smiled wearily to see her fear and he suddenly seemed much more gentle to the young princess. "I am Keroberos, guardian of Faerie and advocate of the sun. It is given to me to choose the next ruler of our land. But you can call me Kero."

"What are you doing here?" Watanuki asked, never once loosening his hold on Yuui.

"The king is dead," Kero said sadly, shaking his great head. "The prince must be crowned at once."

Himawari gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Doumeki closed his eyes, bowing his head. Watanuki's eyes widened in horror.

"How?" he whispered. "How did this happen?"

"It was Yuuko. She slew him with Assassin's Hand," Fuuma explained sadly. "His blood still stains Spirit Lake."

"Yuuko could…come as far as that?"

"Yes. I can still keep her out of Faerie, but that will not last long. You all know as well as we do that Yue and I are the _advocates_ of Faerie's will, but it can only be directed by a king or queen. We _must_ have the next ruler," Kero said.

"Clow-sama…is dead?"

All of the faeries in the room fell silent upon hearing Yuui's whispered question. A look of shock and sadness had masked her features. She had only met the faerie king once, but she had forged a connection with him in that one meeting. She suddenly felt as if a large chunk of her heart had been torn away. First Fai. Now Clow. Who would leave her next?

Watanuki sighed sadly at the look on his daughter's face. They had all lost someone very important today and the day was not yet over. Yuui had already lost more than she realized. The last piece of her shrouded history was about to fall into place.

"You've come too late," the former vizier reported sadly. "The boy whom you would have named king is gone from us." With that, the princess and the guardians reluctantly parted ranks to reveal Fai, lying on the sheets as if dead.

"No," Kamui decried in shock.

"Lady and Consort!" Subaru cried out.

Fuuma's eyes lingered on Fai's still form very briefly before he turned his gaze to Yuui. Then he bowed low before her. "Forgive us, my princess. We have failed you."

Yuui shook her head as she extricated herself from her guardian's arms. "Don't say that. This isn't your fault, Fuuma-san. It's _mine_."

Before any of them could argue with her, Kero spoke up.

"There's nothing for it, then. Princess Yuui must be the next queen. We must take her to Faerie right now."

Yuui froze in shock. Her? A queen? No! It wasn't possible! She had only just found out she was a princess. She hadn't asked for any of this. No one even seemed to _care_ what she wanted.

"That's…why would you want _me_ to be queen? I'm only _part_ fey! How can I rule Faerie?"

"Do you _know_ who your fey blood comes from, Princess?" Kero asked. "Clow Reed was your mother's father. He was your grandfather. You and Prince Fai are his heirs."

The only ones present who were shocked by this news were Himawari and Yuui herself. She had met her own grandfather and she hadn't known it?

"This…this is too much," she whispered, sinking soundlessly to her knees, a look of utter shock plastered onto her face.

"Oh, Yuui-chan!" Himawari cried out, rushing to her child, stopping just as she was about to kneel beside her and take her in her arms. Watanuki did it instead.

Yuui was too shocked to be hurt by Himawari's actions or to notice Watanuki beside her. In only a few short hours, her entire life had been turned upside down. Her brother had been taken from her, she had discovered a family she never even knew existed and that was already starting to disappear, and she had gone from believing herself to be nothing more than a simple peasant girl to suddenly being integral to the futures of three kingdoms. Among all of these new identities and pieces of identities, was Yuui, just plain Yuui, twin sister of Fai and the girl that Tomoyo loved, still in there somewhere?

 _Wait_ , she suddenly realized. _If Clow-sama was my grandfather…and Fuuma-san was his nephew…that makes him my…_

The confused girl briefly glanced at Fuuma again before turning away, feeling like she was going to be sick. Her child had been fathered by her own _cousin!_ Everyone except her had known the true extent of Fuuma's sin.

"No," she finally whispered, shaking her head. She could sort through all of this new information later. None of it was important right now. The only thing that mattered was rescuing Fai. "I can't go to Faerie yet. We have to save Fai."

"Yes," Watanuki agreed, immediately latching onto this new thread - anything to delay them naming Yuui queen when she so clearly wasn't ready.

"How can you?" Kamui asked.

"Fai's true love waits for him in Celes," Doumeki explained. "We were just going to get him when the four of you showed up."

"Oh. Then don't let us hold you up," Kero said, his fearsome face breaking into something like a smile. "Save him."

"All right," Doumeki began, immediately taking charge. "Larg, Kunogi, Yuui, and I will return to Celes and bring Kurogane and Tomoyo back here. Watanuki, you, Soel, and these four will stay here and guard Fai. We'll discuss this further when Fai is safely back to us."

Rather than argue, Watanuki just nodded, helping Yuui rise to her feet. Larg hopped over to them and up onto Yuui's shoulder and Soel took up its post beside Fai's head once more. As Watanuki went to sit on the bed beside his comatose son, Himawari and Doumeki moved to stand beside their daughter. Kero took up a position at the balcony and the three knights all took up posts around the bed, keeping watch over the slumbering prince. For the first time in several hours, Yuui felt a little better, knowing that her twin was well cared for and that he would soon be back with them, and that she would soon be reunited with Tomoyo.

Then the four were gone.

XxX

Kurogane felt like he was trapped at the bottom of a deep, dark well. The water was pushing him further down into darkness, filling his lungs and drowning him. He was too far gone to have any prayer of finding his way back to the surface.

His north star was gone.

After Seishiro and Kyle had left, he and Tomoyo had been made to watch events unfold in the mirror. He had been fooled at first, but when he saw the person he'd thought to be Yuui rise from the bed and move forward in a trance, heard the voice calling out to 'her', he'd realized the truth. He _knew_ Fai. He would know him no matter what sort of tricks the twins tried to play. No one knew him better.

"It's Fai," he'd breathed in shock and agony. They'd tried to trick their guardians so that Fai could marry him in Yuui's place. Whatever end lay before them, it would be _his_ fault.

"Oh, God," Tomoyo had whispered. "How can it be?"

They'd both watched in baited silence as Fai succumbed to the curse, as Yuui tried so hard to stop him. When the spinning wheel appeared before them, the prince could almost hear his own heart screaming in agony. For the barest of moments, the barrier that separated his soul from Fai's dissolved and his spirit cried out, willing the man he'd fallen in love with to hear him.

" _ **Please! Don't listen to her! You can't go away! I**_ _need_ _ **you!"**_

For an instant, it seemed to work. Fai hesitated, but then the barrier crystallized in between them once again and Fai was gone - Kurogane with him.

As he watched his love fall, Kurogane knew what it was to have his heart ripped out of his chest and smashed against the cold, unfeeling ground. He did not scream or cry He _could_ not. He had simply…lost the will to sustain his existence. There was no rage - only pain and despair. Was Fai dead? Alive? He did not know. The mirror had vanished after that moment. Either way, the prince sensed that Fai was somehow gone from him.

_Damn you, you idiot! I_ _**love** _ _you! You_ _**can't** _ _leave me now! Not now!_

"Fai…please come back," he cried so softly that _he_ could hardly hear it. He did not hear his sister's quiet sobs.

Kurogane may have lain there in pain and darkness for years or seconds. He did not know. Each second, knowing he had failed Fai - as he'd failed him two years ago - was an eternity to him, an eternity to suffer in fresh torment. He was not drawn out of his hell until he heard Tomoyo calling out Yuui's name - and then heard her call back! He raised his head just in time to see the blonde rush forward and seize his sister in her arms.

"You're all right! You're all right!" Tomoyo sobbed in relief. "I'm so sorry, Yuui! I'm sorry I couldn't protect Fai-kun! I should have known!"

"It's not your fault, Tomoyo. It's mine. I'm not having this discussion with anyone again. What happened to the two of you?"

"Yuuko, Kyle, and Seishiro beat us here. They set a trap…to keep us from getting to you."

"What did Yuuko mean?" Kurogane asked dully. He only vaguely registered Doumeki and Himawari's presence. "What did she mean when she said that we were the only ones who could have stopped it?"

"You still _can_ stop it, Kurogane-kun," Yuui said urgently as she began to untie Tomoyo. The two faerie guardians moved forward to untie the prince. "You can still save him."

"How?" Kurogane demanded, instantly snapping out of his funk. He didn't care what he had to do. If he could get Fai back, then he would do anything.

"Fai is trapped in an enchanted sleep," Doumeki began to explain as Kurogane shook the ropes from his body and went to retrieve Sohi. "The counter spell I put in place eighteen years ago can only be completed by you. Only true love's kiss will break the spell."

"What if it doesn't work?" Kurogane asked, suddenly uncertain. Was his love really all that was needed to break such a dark curse?

"It _has_ to work," Yuui said harshly. "And if it doesn't, we'll find another way."

Kurogane closed his eyes for a moment, centering himself. He was _terrified_ that the counter spell wouldn't work, and that Fai was truly lost to him forever, but he also knew he couldn't give Fai up without a fight. He would _not_ give Fai up! He couldn't just let him slip away like this! Yuui was right. Even if his kiss did not work, they would find a way to break the curse. His love was certainly strong enough for that.

"Let's go," he said, quickly sheathing Sohi. Yuui and Tomoyo both smiled.

"Thank you, Kurogane-sama," Himawari said, smiling gratefully.

"Prince Kurogane is a hero!" Larg cheered.

XxX

How do you tell a mother that you failed to protect her child?

When you swore to lay down your own life for his, gave up eighteen years of your life like it was nothing, gave your solemn promise that no harm would come to the child - how could you face the mother and father? How could you tell them that harm had come and touched their greatest treasure with its clawing, uncaring fingers?

How do you tell a mother that her son has died?

These were the thoughts in Watanuki's head as he paced back and forth before the door that led to Fai's room. He had decided it would be best for Sakura and Syaoran to know what had happened, but he didn't want to be any further from Fai's side than absolutely necessary. So he had sent Fuuma to bring them. Soel, Kero, Kamui, and Subaru were all still inside, watching over Fai, and he was waiting to tell the king and queen the horrible news. Fuuma wasn't going to tell them anything. It would be his job to tell them of Fai's fate before he allowed them through to see him.

The nature sprite was abruptly drawn out of his morbid thoughts by the sound of footsteps approaching him. He looked up to see Fuuma moving swiftly toward him, followed by Syaoran and Sakura.

"Watanuki-san!" Sakura cried out as she rushed to him. "What's going on? What's happened? Is…is Yuui-"

Watanuki shook his head. "Yuui-chan is…fine." Actually, he wasn't certain if he could back that up. She was physically all right, but he couldn't speak for the fragility of her current mental state.

"Thank Goddess," Sakura whispered in relief. It almost broke Watanuki to know that he was about to destroy that relief.

"Can we see them?" Syaoran asked anxiously.

The former vizier sighed. "You misunderstand me, Your Majesties. Yuui-chan is fine…but…but Fai-kun, he…"

Watanuki trailed off at the sight of the relief melting off of Sakura's face. He couldn't make himself continue as the smile was replaced with a look of shocked horror.

"No," she whispered.

"We…we tried our very best…but it wasn't enough." Again he felt his anguish welling up in his chest, threatening to spill over. "We were too late."

As tears began to well up in her green eyes, Sakura's gaze flitted to the door that Watanuki guarded. "Fai," she whispered weakly as she pushed past him, throwing the door open.

"Sakura! Wait!" Syaoran called after her. Watanuki did not bother to stop her.

Sakura stopped briefly when she saw her son, laid out like a corpse on the bed. Kamui, Subaru, and the others all watched her with sad eyes.

"My baby!" she cried out as she rushed forward. The tears that had been threatening to fall finally burst free as she threw herself across his body, sobbing heartbrokenly into his still chest. "My child!" She had waited so long for this day. She had nearly wasted away wishing for it…but now…to find her precious son like _this_ …

Watanuki desperately wanted to look away, but he forced himself to keep watching as the queen broke. He knew he deserved this agony for failing to keep his promise.

Syaoran moved swiftly toward his wife and son. Tears fell silently down his face as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Sakura just held her boy tighter.

"Why?" she cried. "Why? I didn't even…get to _talk_ to him! My son! My baby!"

When Syaoran had gotten better control of himself, he finally turned to face Watanuki and Fuuma. "Where is our daughter? Where is Yuui?"

"She's gone to get the one who can break the spell."

Syaoran's eyes widened in surprise, as if he were almost _afraid_ to hope. "There is…someone who can? Fai's in love?"

"Yes," he said with a soft smile.

_Very much in love, apparently._

"Wh-who?" Sakura whispered, finally looking up from her child.

"Prince Kurogane."

Both parents could hardly contain their shock.

"But…when could they have met?" Syaoran asked.

"I don't know. You'll have to ask Yuui-chan when they get here. I only just found all of this out myself."

"Kurogane-kun _can't_ be in love with Fai. We…saw him with a young lady just last night," Sakura protested.

While Watanuki didn't relish the thought of the twins being able to sneak into Shirasagi without his knowledge, he was fairly certain he knew what they'd seen. "Look at your son, Queen Sakura. You might find that you recognize him."

Sakura did as he said…and found that she _did_ know this boy. He _was_ the young lady from last night. The hair was cut short, but it was still the same blond hair, the same delicate frame and fine skin. She imagined that if his eyes were open, she would see pools of dazzling blue. They had met their own children last night and they hadn't even known it.

"Oh…oh, God," she whispered as she leaned down over him and pressed a gentle kiss to his cold forehead. How could she not have known her own child? "I'm so sorry, my darling Fai. I didn't know! Why didn't I know? I should have known! My child! My baby!"

"Sakura?" Syaoran called gently as he came up beside the bed again. "How _could_ we have known? We were all wearing masks last night."

Sakura shook her head, carefully brushing Fai's fair hair out of his eyes as she sat back up. "I _should_ have known, Syaoran. They're _part_ of me."

"You shouldn't worry, Highness," Watanuki tried to console. "You'll have plenty of chances to speak with him. He'll be back with us soon. Yuui-chan and the others should be back here before too long."

Sakura was about to reply when Yukito suddenly appeared at the door.

"Pardon me, Majesties, but an ambassador from Nihon has just arrived." That was when Yukito saw just what he had walked in on. "Oh…oh, my. What's happened?"

"Later, Yukito," Syaoran replied, moving to his high priest. "Is it really just one ambassador? Shouldn't the wedding party be here by now?"

"It's just the one. Amaterasu-sama's own consort, actually. He insists on speaking with you."

"Send him up here," Sakura said without looking away from her sleeping child.

_I will not leave his side._

Yukito nodded once before turning and leaving, muttering worriedly to himself.

"We'll sort this out," the queen muttered as she reached a hand forward to stroke Fai's pale cheek. She had realized that Yuui must also be in love. She was the young man that Princess Tomoyo had been with. She could not, in good conscience, allow a marriage between Kurogane and her daughter to happen, not when it would cost four young people their happiness. They would have everything worked out by the dawning of the new day. When she felt Syaoran's hand on her shoulder once again, she placed her free hand over it. The other hand was still occupied with memorizing every detail of her son's perfect face.

"He's so beautiful," she whispered, running her fingers through his silken hair. She could have wept for joy at the utter beauty and perfection of her child, but she managed to hold it in this time. She needed to be in control of herself when Kyle came to them.

"Your Majesties," Watanuki started stiffly. "I wouldn't be surprised if Kyle Rondart does not wait for Yukito-san to escort him here."

"Why? What's wrong?" Syaoran asked, noting the cold tone of the faerie's voice.

All of the faeries had stiffened when Yukito had announced that Amaterasu's consort had come. They were all well aware of what was happening in Nihon. Kyle Rondart was nothing less than a harbinger of doom.

Indeed, no sooner had the question left Syaoran's lips than Kyle appeared in the doorway, smirking self-importantly. Syaoran began to walk forward to greet him.

"We are, of course, pleased to welcome you, Rondart-san, but I confess myself confused. Shouldn't the wedding party be here with you?"

Kyle just sneered.

"Stay back, Your Highness!" Fuuma warned, quickly moving to stand between the king and the dark faerie. "He would kill you if you gave him the chance."

"What's going on here?" Syaoran demanded.

"I regret to inform you, _King_ Syaoran, that the wedding of Prince Kurogane and Princess Yuui is cancelled."

Both rulers stared at the ambassador in confusion.

"We changed our minds," Kyle clarified, looking smugger by the minute.

"You have no right to speak for Empress Amaterasu, Kyle Rondart!" Kamui said angrily, taking up a defensive stance in front of the royal family. Subaru quickly joined him. Kero moved to stand beside the bed and Soel hopped to the foot of it.

"I think you'll find that I do. She will soon grow fat with my child. When the baby is born _, I_ shall be emperor. I have no need for the prince or Valeria."

"Majesties, Kyle is a dark faerie," Watanuki explained as he glared at said faerie. "He has been infiltrating Nihon for years, poisoning the empress' mind."

"Now, now. You have no proof of that," Kyle chastised.

"Proof? Here's my proof!" Watanuki snarled, flinging a spell at Kyle. Instantly, his glamour bled off of him, revealing him as he truly was. He took on that ethereal air that all fey were possessed of. Though his physical stature did not change, he seemed altogether bigger. Power flashed in his dark eyes and the scent of decay filled the room. The dark faerie reeked of rotting flesh. He might have been angry at his unmasking were it not for the fact that using such a spell had destroyed Watanuki's own glamour, the shield he had kept around himself for the past eighteen years. He, too, seemed to grow in presence, to an extent that he demanded attention merely by existing. His own power rippled in the air about him and the scent of wild flowers erupted from him, battling with the scent of death. However, the breaking of the shield also threw into sharp relief the fact that dark magic had been used to save his life. A human would not have been able to discern why, but something looked off about the right side of his face. It just…didn't mesh, somehow. Seeing that things were quickly heating up, the other three faeries dropped their own glamour shields, allowing their own essences to fill the air, attempting to conquer the presence of death.

"All right," Kyle said with a wicked laugh. "You've found me out. This changes nothing. I only wish that Shizuka Doumeki could be here to watch you die…just as he was there to watch when his father died."

"Be silent!" Watanuki hissed angrily.

"Only one will die tonight," Subaru said calmly. "And it won't be any of us."

"You think so, child of rape?" Kyle taunted with a sneer. "You, too, will die tonight, but _I_ won't be the one to kill you. That is for someone else."

"Don't you _dare_ speak to Subaru that way!" Kamui snarled.

"I'll speak to that accident any way I choose."

"Do you honestly think you can defeat all of us?" Fuuma asked calmly, trying to keep the tension from exploding and setting Kamui off.

"Maybe _I_ can't…but _they_ certainly can," he crowed triumphantly, pointing behind all of them. All eyes turned in the direction he indicated, and they beheld their worst nightmare standing in the room with them.

Yuuko and Seishiro were both standing beside the bed on the opposite side of where Sakura sat and where Syaoran and Kero kept guard. Yuuko smiled languidly at the terror she was receiving. Save for the three dark ones and the unconscious one, every single heart in the room screamed out, _NO!_

"Oh, dear," Yuuko drawled as she gazed down at Fai's sleeping form. "It seems I've made a mistake. Ah well, no matter."

" _Get away from him!_ " Watanuki shouted, not daring to move forward for fear of causing something to happen that could not _un_ happen. All of the others remained stark still, fearing the same thing. Yuuko did not even acknowledge the outburst. She stared coldly at Sakura.

"Pick _that_ up," she ordered her son, pointing at Fai.

" _NO!_ "

XxX

When Kurogane heard Queen Sakura screaming, he knew they were too late. He found the queen crumpled against the far wall of the room, having been thrown by the Dark Queen's power after trying to protect her son. The king was crouched protectively over her. The manjuu was lying, unconscious, at the foot of the bed. Those who remained standing in the room were poised for battle, but no one dared to move for fear of bringing harm to Fai.

Fai himself lay helpless in Seishiro's arms. When Kurogane saw _Seishiro_ holding _Fai -_ he snapped.

"PUT HIM DOWN _NOW!_ " he shouted, drawing Sohi as his vision went red with rage. Seishiro only smiled amiably.

"If I don't…what are you going to do about it? You have nothing but a plain, metal sword. Just what do you propose to do?"

"I will _kill_ you!" he hissed, his eyes narrowing in anger.

"You just can't _stand_ that I knew him first, can you? You may not think it consciously, but deep down you _hate_ the fact that your dearest love was soiled by another man before you could have him yourself. You resent him for it. Some part of you _knows_ that it's _his_ fault."

That wasn't true! He _knew_ it wasn't true! But…if it wasn't true…then why were his hands shaking?

"Stop it!" he ordered.

"Why fight it, Kurogane-kun? Why not just let me have him? You _know_ that the man you love is nothing more than a little whore."

"Call him a whore again and you'll regret it!"

"Why shouldn't I call him what he is? Did you know that when I took his virginity, he didn't lift a finger against me? He _wanted_ it."

"THAT'S A LIE!" the incensed prince shouted.

"He didn't fight because _you_ put a spell on him!" Yuui accused, standing protectively in front of Tomoyo as Himawari and Doumeki moved in to guard Kyle.

"I don't have a spell on him now. Shall we see what he does?" With that, Seishiro lifted Fai's face up to his and kissed him, plunged his tongue into his mouth, plundering every inch of it.

"Stop it!"

Seishiro only smiled as he pulled out of Fai, a trail of saliva briefly connecting his lips to Fai's. "You see, little prince. He's _still_ not fighting me. Fai-kun can't say _anything_ …not anymore."

"I SAID _STOP IT!_ " Kurogane screamed, springing forward. But just as he made to lop off Seishiro's head, the Dark Prince vanished, reappearing a few feet to the prince's left.

"Seishiro?" a very quiet voice was suddenly heard whispering. "What are you doing?"

Subaru was afraid to see his lover like this. Seishiro had promised that he would officially defect to them if the worst should happen. Well…it was happening now. What was he playing at?

"Ah, yes," the dark prince said, the smile never once slackening as he looked toward his lover. "My beloved Subaru Shiro."

Subaru gulped nervously. There was something…not right about this. Something was different.

"Would you mind holding this for me, Kaa-san?" Seishiro asked. Yuuko nodded, holding out the hand that wasn't holding her staff. Seishiro passed him to her. Then he moved slowly toward Subaru. He smiled at his trembling lover as he pulled him into his arms. "It seems the time has come to settle our bet."

"Bet? What bet?"

Seishiro said nothing. He simply leaned forward and claimed Subaru's lips with his own. The moment their lips touched, they both vanished.

"Subaru!" Kamui cried out, moving forward.

"Don't move!" Doumeki ordered, immediately sensing the dark magic in the room. "Subaru is trapped in an illusion."

Subaru blinked - and found himself standing in a dark room. The only thing visible was a giant bed, and on it was Fai, sobbing heartbrokenly. The boy was naked and he was bleeding, his body broken. The horrified faerie lord could also see traces of semen on his body.

_He…he's been raped!_

"Fai-kun!" he shouted, beginning to move toward him. But just as he started, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his body. "Let me go! I have to help him!"

"It's only a vision from the past," Seishiro's voice whispered in his ear. "There's nothing you can do about it now."

Subaru twisted in his lover's grasp, turning to face him. "Seishiro? I don't understand. Who…hurt Fai?"

"Don't you know?" Seishiro asked, still smiling coldly. "It was _me_."

Subaru felt his insides go cold as he shook his head in denial. "No. No, it _can't_ be. You swore to me you'd given up that life."

"My dear Subaru, don't you know that it's quite impossible for me to 'give up' that life? Do you know what I am?"

Subaru shook his head, attempting to struggle free. He easily admitted to himself that he was scared. Something wasn't right here, but he could never hope to free himself - not from Seishiro's grasp. The Dark Prince leaned down close to him, pressing his lips right up against his ear.

"I am the Sakurazukamori."

"No!" Subaru shouted. "No! You can't be! It's impossible. That power was sealed away three thousand years ago!"

"Don't quote our history to _me_ , Subaru. I _can_ be the Sakurazukamori and I _am_. It was _my_ awakening that truly began the Last War."

"But…if you _are_ …really…how can you love me?"

Seishiro just continued to smile that same icy smile. "I really can't."

The young faerie lord felt as if he'd been stabbed through the heart with a spear of ice. He went limp in Seishiro's arms as the Dark Prince continued to talk.

"It has been three hundred years since you and I met again."

"Again?" he repeated weakly.

"Yes. You and I met for the first time nearly a thousand years ago…when you were still a small child."

"Why don't I…remember?"

"It's simple. It's because I erased your memory. Do you want to see it, Subaru? Do you want to know about the bet we made? What is the real reason for _you_ becoming master of your clan instead of your brother?"

_He was running…running very fast through Celes. Why was he running? Because he was afraid. Why? Was he being chased? No. He was lost. He couldn't find his mother or his brother._

_Finally, he collapsed beside the banks of the Hana River, crying as if his heart were broken. He was tired and hungry and he had no idea where he was._

" _Mama_ _! Brother!" he cried out helplessly. "Where are you? Please! Come find me!"_

" _Are you lost?"_

_Subaru sat up when he heard the voice, glancing around, seeking its source. It wasn't his family. Who was it?_

" _Are you lost?" This time, when the question was posed, a figure stepped out of the trees. He was clothed all in black and he was smiling amiably. The five-year-old nodded in response to the question, attempting to wipe the tears from his eyes. He shouldn't be crying in front of this man._

" _I can't find my mother or my brother. I'm scared!"_

" _Would you like to go home?" the man asked as he lifted the trembling boy into his arms. Again, Subaru just nodded, clinging tightly to the man._

" _All right then. First let's dry those tears." With that, the stranger carried him toward the river. Kneeling down beside the flowing water, he dipped his hand into it, bringing his cupped palm up filled with water. With an encouraging nod, he pressed his hand to the boy's lips and Subaru drank, already feeling better as the cool water slid down his throat. Then the man wet his fingers and washed the salty tracks from Subaru's face._

" _Are you hungry, little one?"_

" _Yes, sir."_

_With a wave of the stranger's hand, an apple appeared in the boy's small hands. He smiled and gratefully began to munch on the juicy fruit. When he'd finished the offering, he licked his fingers to catch any sticky juice still lingering on them. He smiled again, hugging the man in gratitude._

" _Feel better?" he asked as he set Subaru on his feet once again._

" _Yes. Thank you, sir." He liked this man. He had a nice smile. The stranger continued to smile as he knelt beside him, coming down to his level._

" _Your mother and brother are close now. They're very worried about you."_

" _Really?" the boy asked excitedly._

" _Yes. What's your name, little one?"_

" _It's Subaru Shiro."_

" _Mine is Seishiro Reed. Do you like me, Subaru?"_

_The boy nodded. "Yes, Seishiro."_

" _Then I'll make a bet with you. If you and I should ever meet again, let us live together until a new sovereign comes to rule over Faerie. Would you like that?"_

_Subaru nodded._

" _My heart is the direct inverse of yours. You are kind, pure, and honest…and I'm sure that is how you will continue to grow up. Your heart will remain pure. So, if we should ever meet again, I will try my hardest to learn to love you. For however long we'll have…and after that time, if I can consider you special…you will have won, and I will not kill you."_

_Subaru's eyes widened. K-kill him?_

" _But if I decide that I cannot consider you special to me…then…I will kill you. So today…I will let you go. But so that I may recognize you when we meet again, I will carve a symbol into you…a symbol to show that you are the prey of the Sakurazukamori."_

" _S-Seishiro…I don't understand," the boy whispered as Seishiro took his hands in his. The next sound to fill the air was the pained scream of a child. Vines erupted straight out of Seishiro's back and seized Subaru's arms, digging into his flesh. He sobbed in pain as the Sakurazukamori marked him for all eternity._

_When the carving was finished, the child fainted. The experience had been too much. Seishiro caught him before he hit the ground and cradled him close to his chest._

" _You intrigue me, Subaru Shiro," he crooned to the boy, rocking him as blood dribbled down his small body._

" _SUBARU? WHERE ARE YOU?" a voice suddenly sounded not far away. Seishiro smirked._

" _They should have kept a better eye on you, little one. You belong to me now. But…until next we meet…keep this with you," he said softly as he pressed his lips to the child's forehead. Then he laid him down beside the river and vanished._

_No sooner had Seishiro vanished from sight than Kamui came bursting through the trees. His eyes widened in horror when he saw his little brother lying on the riverbank, helpless and bleeding._

" _MOTHER_ _! I FOUND HIM!" he screamed as he raced forward. He knelt beside his baby brother and gently lifted his tiny body into his arms. "Subaru? Little brother? Please! Please wake up! Please be all right!"_

_Tohru Shiro gasped in shock when she entered the clearing moments behind her eldest son. "My baby!" she cried out as she, too, raced forward, collapsing to her knees before her sons._

" _M-Mother_ _?" Kamui whispered as he examined his brother's arms. "What are these?"_

_The bleeding had stopped. He was healed already, but scars still remained on the skin. Tohru slowly began to clean the blood from her child, trying to make out the marks on his forearms. When she could at last see them, her eyes widened in horror. No! It couldn't be! Not here! Not on her child! It was impossible!_

_The scars on Subaru's arms looked exactly like the clinging branches of a sakura tree. The mark of-_

" _Sakurazukamori."_

" _What? Mother, are you sure? That…that_ _ **can't**_ _be…can it?"_

" _Kamui," Tohru murmured softly as she lifted her youngest into her own arms. "No one can ever know about this. No one! Do you understand me?"_

_Kamui nodded, standing and helping his mother to her feet. He still didn't fully comprehend what was happening, but he would do anything to protect Subaru - as he had failed to do today._

"Oh, God," Subaru whispered. "This…this can't be happening."

"Oh, but it can. I will prove it to you." As he spoke, Seishiro grabbed Subaru's arms and the cloth of his tunic began to melt away. "Dear Subaru, did you know that you've worn a very tight shield of glamour ever since you were five years old? It's true. You and I have never truly seen each other naked. Your mother wove it around my marks while you were still passed out that day. And the former Shiro Master was apparently very good at what she did if you never even felt it. But I knew…when I saw you walking in Celes seven hundred years later…even through such a tightly woven spell…I knew you. I _knew_ you were mine. That is why your mother gave her title to you instead of Kamui. They both hoped he'd be able to protect you from me…even though they hadn't the faintest inkling of my true identity. Though I was amazed to find out who _you_ truly were upon beginning a relationship with you. I had no knowledge of your heritage when I found you that day. Your position just made it easier to carry on with you without arousing my mother's suspicions. Don't misunderstand me, Subaru, all of the information you passed to me was exceedingly helpful, but the reasons for our affair were purely selfish on my part. I wanted to see who would win…if you could change me."

"But I…I _must_ have," Subaru attempted to argue, even as the scars from the memory became visible on his arms. "If…if you're really the Sakurazukamori…and you really have no heart, then…how can you love me? If you don't care for me…why does your skin glow when you make love to me?"

"Ah, yes. That. Well, I have a theory about that. I was not always possessed of the Sakurazukamori. I imagine that, were I still in possession of my proper self, you and I would indeed be soul mates. I think that I _could_ have loved you…but I cannot feel anything. For the longest time now, I haven't been able to distinguish between people and things."

Subaru didn't speak. He couldn't. His face was wet with sorrow and the words would not come. They could not get past the lump in his throat, the pain in his chest as his heart shattered. All this time…he had been used…lied to.

"For instance," Seishiro continued, pressing a brief kiss to the scarring on Subaru's right arm - before snapping it cleanly in half. The Dark Prince continued as his betrayed lover cried out in pain. "To break your arm like this…or to break a glass cup? Where is the difference?" With that, he tossed the younger faerie to the ground. Subaru could only lay where he'd been thrown, crying silently as his arm healed.

"If you and I ever did meet again, I would consider you special and continue to say that I loved you, and if I _did_ fall in love with you, I would take the appropriate actions. I would look only at you…protect only you. If you did become special to me, even just slightly…if I could come to think of you as more than just an object…then I would not kill you. But it appears to have been all for naught because…seeing you suffer like this…I feel nothing," he said softly, giving Subaru a swift kick in the stomach. The young faerie heard and felt his ribs shatter under the impact. Seishiro continued to kick him around, breaking a new bone with every harsh blow…and breaking Subaru's fragile heart a little more each time. "To me, this is no different from kicking a pebble across the road. It appears I have won this bet…so I will kill you now."

Subaru suddenly felt a great swell of dark magic in the air around him. He turned his head as best as he was able and found that an ancient sakura tree had sprouted up behind them. He could feel rage and pain welling up from the very core of the creature. That was the only way to describe this apparition. It was no ordinary tree; it was a sentient thing…a thing that lusted blindly after other living things…lusted for blood. Subaru did not even cry out when the branches of the tree reached out for him and seized his body, pulling him into the tree itself…trapping him…claiming him.

"This is what I really am, Subaru. Do you feel it? The power that lives inside of me? The sakura claimed me so thoroughly…that my true self was somehow lost along the way. You have never known Prince Seishiro Reed. I am only the Sakurazukamori."

As Seishiro moved toward him, the cloth of his own tunic melted away and Subaru could see scars similar to the ones on his arms on Seishiro's. Only the marks did not merely cover his forearms; they extended up his upper arms, and when he turned his back to the younger faerie, a complete sakura tree was revealed, carved into the flesh of the Dark Prince's back. As he turned to face him once more and the glamour continued to melt off of his body, the branches of the sakura extended slightly around his chest and neck.

"Why don't you fight back?" Seishiro queried, looking slightly perplexed. "If you were to seriously resist, I'm sure you could break free of my spell."

"Sei…shi…ro…" Subaru whispered brokenly.

"Why do you…look so sad? Are you really so hurt that I've betrayed you? Things like this happen everyday. You shouldn't take it personally. I don't hate you, Subaru. But then…I don't love you either. You're just an object…and despite prolonged contact with your pure heart…in the end…I haven't changed at all. All of the people the Sakurazukamori has killed…they are waiting for you to join them." Seishiro reached a hand forward and traced it in the air right beside Subaru's cheek. "There is nothing standing between the two of us anymore. No glamour, no shields, no protection, no control…no nothing. When my skin touches yours…you will die. Goodbye…Subaru Shiro."

Subaru made no move to resist as Seishiro leaned forward to kiss him his last goodnight. He did not care anymore. Caring was far too painful. He was ready to die. Death would bring an end to this terrible pain.

_Seishiro…please!_ _**Please!** _ _Even if you…don't care for me at all…take away my pain. Make this horrible truth end. Set me free!_

"I…love…you."

"NOO!!" Yuui's voice suddenly screamed. " _Don't kill Subaru-san!_ "

As the princess' voice split the air, the illusion began to shatter all around them. As the sakura vanished and Subaru fell, he heard Seishiro's voice somewhere above him.

"It seems you have broken my illusion. To have broken the spell of the Sakurazukamori…you must have paid dearly…Kamui."

No more than a moment had passed in real time. The moment Doumeki had spoken of Seishiro's Hand of Illusion, Yuui had screamed, immediately remembering Fai beneath him, bleeding and screaming. The next moment, Subaru and Seishiro were before them once more. Seishiro was standing casually beside his mother and Subaru was lying on his back, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Kamui was crumpled on the floor beside his brother, blood spilling from the numerous slash wounds on his body. Weakly, he reached a trembling hand out to his brother.

"Su…ba…ru…" he whispered.

"KAMUI!" Fuuma cried out, instantly snapping into motion.

"No! Don't move!" Watanuki ordered frantically, but Fuuma was already kneeling by his side, gathering his shredded body into his arms. Kamui cried out, still trying to reach for his brother.

"No…Su…ba…ru…"

"Kamui, be still," Fuuma pleaded with him. "You've done enough. You'll only hurt yourself more."

"Fool. You should have left him to me," Seishiro berated.

"He's…my…brother…"

"How could you do this?" Fuuma demanded.

"You _knew_ this would happen," Seishiro shot back.

Fuuma swallowed painfully. He had known…of course he had known. Like Clow, he had hoped…but it now seemed that he had hoped in vain. Fai was gone, Yuui and Kurogane were breaking, and the Shiro brothers had been destroyed.

_Kamui, I'm sorry. This is_ _**my** _ _doing._

"You know, Kaa-san, I can't help but feel that we're forgetting something," the Dark Prince commented casually as he took Fai back.

"I believe you're right. Yue!" The Dark Queen called out in a voice like thunder. "Guardian of Faerie, advocate of the moon, heed my cry! Come here to me!"

At the sound of her voice, the chains that had bound the Goddess' advocate for so many lifetimes of men broke. In moments, the moon guardian was standing among them, blinking his eyes, painfully unused to the light.

"Yue!" Kero cried out in shock.

"Kero?" the white-haired guardian murmured, his voice slightly hoarse from disuse.

However, there wasn't any time for a reunion. No sooner had the two guardians exchanged shock, than Seishiro turned his eyes on Yuui, whom, though she was afraid for Subaru, had not left her guardian's position in front of Tomoyo.

"Princess Yuui Fluorite," Seishiro began formally. "As the son of the former king, Clow Reed, I, Prince Seishiro Reed, contest the choice of the God's advocate. I challenge your right to be queen."

"Well, Yue? Tell us. Who is worthy to be the next master of Faerie?" Yuuko asked, sneering wickedly.

"I told you," Yue started bitterly. "I will never choose the prince."

"Judge them!" Yuuko ordered harshly. "The choice is not yours. It is only given to you to know who is worthy."

Yue just shook his head, calling on the power of the Goddess that was in him. He was fairly certain he already knew the outcome. Seishiro's black heart stood no chance against Yuui's pure light.

But then, the moon guardian saw something he had not expected.

_No!_

"It…it can't be!" he whispered in shock, taking a step back.

"What is it, Yue?" Kero asked.

The mark of worth - of the God and Goddess' favor to rule over Faerie - was not a light, as some might imagine. It was not the light of divinity. Many bore the marks of a true ruler, but the sign of one who had the strength and the heart to rule Faerie…that was a mark only Yue had the eyes to see. It was something that could only be seen in the eyes - the window to the holder's soul. It was a knowing, a willingness to give everything, a readiness. It was there, even if the bearers themselves were unaware of it, and Yue saw this truth in both of their eyes.

"They…are both worthy candidates…to ascend to the throne of Faerie."

"I knew it," Seishiro said smugly.

"That…that can't be," Kero said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Seishiro does not exist anymore. The Sakurazukamori cannot possibly be worthy to rule Faerie!"

"It doesn't matter!" Fuuma insisted. "Yuui-sama is four months gone with child. There is no way Seishiro could get a child on a woman in time!"

"There is, what do they say, more than one way to skin a cat?" Seishiro wondered aloud, casting his eyes on Yuui's swollen belly. Noticing the gaze, rage and fear rose in Yuui's eyes.

"Seishiro, I'm warning you, if you _dare_ to harm my child, I'll-"

"You'll what? What do you think you can do against me?" Seishiro asked with a sneer. "You can't even save your own brother. You couldn't save him two years ago and you can't save him now. At sunrise…it begins."

Then Seishiro vanished into thin air, taking Fai with him.

For a moment, it did not sink in. But then…

"FAI! _NOO!_ " Kurogane screamed. In a blind rage, he rushed at Yuuko, ready to slice her to pieces. But as Sohi swept down to cleave the Dark Queen in two, the sword met with an impenetrable barrier. The blade shattered on impact. Casting the broken hilt aside, Kurogane lunged forward again, reaching for Yuuko's neck with grasping, desperate fingers. But Yuuko attacked swiftly and calmly, bashing the maddened prince over the head with her staff. He fell to the floor, senseless, slicing his arms open on the broken shards of his sword.

_Again! Again! I lost him_ _**again** _ _!_

"What could you possibly hope to gain by attacking me, Kurogane? Your weak flesh cannot stand against me. The symbol of the warrior in you broke in the face of my power. You are nothing, little prince."

"You took my father away from me! You took my mother away from me! You took _Fai_ away from me! Give him back to me! I WON'T LET YOU HAVE HIM!"

"If you want your sweet koibito back, then you must come and take him from me. Until then, your dear Fai will remain my prisoner…and a prisoner of his own mind. I challenge you to come and face me. But first…you will have to rescue your precious sister."

Just as Yuuko finished speaking, she vanished, and Kurogane heard Tomoyo scream and Yuui cry out in rage. He lifted his head weakly and saw Kyle holding his sister and Yuui holding a blazing ball of energy in her hands, ready to incinerate Kyle.

"LET HER GO, YOU MONSTER!"

"Ah, ah, ah, ah! Make one move and I wring her precious neck," Kyle warned as he dragged Tomoyo away from Yuui and toward Kurogane. None of the other faeries dared to move. When Kyle reached the fallen prince, Kurogane felt a tingling something shoot through his body and he was instantly lifted up into the air, face to face with Kyle.

"Clearly such a weak boy is unfit to rule the great empire of Nihon," Kyle hissed in his face, spitting on him. "Prince Kurogane Youou, as Empress Amaterasu's royal consort and as future emperor, I hereby declare you unfit to inherit the throne and strip you of your titles in perpetuity. From this day forward, I shall take the title of Emperor of Nihon in full. My first act as emperor is to dissolve the alliance between Nihon and Valeria. King Syaoran, Queen Sakura…when the sun rises in the morning…we are at war. And you," he continued venomously, turning his attention back to Kurogane. "For allying yourself with Nihon's enemies, you are banished forthwith from the Nihon Empire…under pain of death. But I believe I'll be taking our princess back with me. It's not too late for her."

"NO!" Yuui shouted.

"Poor Tera's so frail. I don't believe she'll survive the birth of our son. When she passes on, I shall be in need of a consort. Tomoyo-hime will suit me perfectly. She is strong in magic and her body is young and strong. Being with a faerie as powerful as I am will only make her stronger and more beautiful. She will service me well…and bear me many sons."

With a last mighty cry of rage, Kurogane lunged for Kyle, but Nihon's new emperor reacted much too quickly for him. He felt his left arm break and something sharp puncture his lung as his body crashed through the wall. The last thing he heard as he plummeted from the tower to the ground below was Tomoyo screaming for help.

"YUUI! NII-SAMA!"

 _I failed. I failed them both,_ he thought weakly as his body fell - down, down, down, slicing cleanly through the air toward the crushing ground. He was almost ready to welcome the painful shattering of his body. But then he heard a voice, screaming his name.

"KUROGANE!"

Then he felt a pair of arms wrap around him - just before they both smashed into the ground.

But his life did not end. It was not over.

For a long moment, all was panic and chaos. They had crashed right into the middle of the happy pre-wedding partygoers, smashing a tent. Guests scattered around them, screaming in terror and confusion. He was lying on top of his rescuer. It was she who had saved him from the crushing devastation of his fall from the tower.

"Why…did you save me?" he asked Yuui as blood dribbled from his mouth.

"Because you're my friend, Kurogane-kun," she whispered, her body already beginning to recover from being smashed into the ground. "And you're the only one who can save him. I won't let you two give up now."

Then Yuui wrapped her arms around him again and the two of them were back in the tower. Subaru was catatonic and Kamui was out of commission, with Fuuma devoted completely to him. Yue had collapsed from the strain of the judgment and Kero was tending to his fallen friend. Larg was attempting to rouse the unconscious Soel and the three guardians had gathered at the demolished wall, awaiting Yuui's return with baited breath. Himawari was sobbing openly, a few tears leaked from Watanuki's eyes, and Doumeki actually _looked_ pained. Sakura cried out at the sight of her daughter and the prince, but Yuui was already fairly well healed. She climbed shakily to her knees and reached for the wooden spike that had pierced Kurogane's lung, pulling it free of his chest with a sickening slurping sound. Then she immediately placed her hands on the wound as it gushed blood. Kurogane cried out weakly as the princess' hands began to glow, healing his injuries, closing his wounds as if they had never been. She healed his body easily…but the pain in his heart was not so easily diminished. When he regained full control of his body, he reached up and grasped her wrists in his hands.

"They…they're gone. We failed them."

Yuui nodded sadly, but then a hard, determined expression took up residence on her face. "We're going to get them back, Kurogane-kun. They're _not_ leaving us. Not now!" she insisted, pulling the prince into her arms. He did not return the hug. He just stared emptily at the bed where his love had once lain.

When Yuui realized that Kurogane would need more help than she could give him right now, she released him, almost wincing at the pain she felt inside of him. Everything lay in ruins and both she _and_ Tomoyo had failed to see it coming.

"Yuui-sama?" She was suddenly drawn from her own inner turmoil by the sound of Fuuma's voice. "They say that…you possess a Hand of Healing."

"That's true," she said softly.

"Would…could you…heal him?" he whispered, nodding down at the broken fey captain in his arms. His body had been shredded by dark magic. It was not something that was easy to heal…unless you had a talent for it. Yuui nodded as she moved toward them. She had seen what was between them and she would be damned if she let yet another pair of lovers be separated today. She placed her hands over Kamui's heart and they began to glow once more, working her magic. Slowly, but surely, his body began to knit itself back together under the warm glow of her power. When Kamui was whole again, his eyes fluttered open and he gazed up at Yuui.

"P-princess?" he whispered, still a little dazed.

"It's all right, Kamui-san. Subaru-san is…okay," she said, glancing toward the stricken faerie lord. Kamui instantly disliked the hesitation in her voice and was out of Fuuma's arms and by Subaru's side.

Subaru gave no indication that he noticed his brother, but when Kamui was with him, he began to speak.

"Brother? Is…what he said…true?" the younger faerie whispered.

Kamui gazed sadly down at the scars on his brother's arms…the telling marks that had been hidden for so many centuries. The sakura branches were the symbol of his failure to protect Subaru.

_How could I have not known? How could I have not known that Seishiro was the Sakurazukamori? The one who would claim Subaru and drag him down in death!_

"Yes," Kamui said heavily. He had no idea exactly what Seishiro had said, but there was no reason to think that it was anything but the truth of what happened a thousand years ago. That alone was enough to break his poor brother. Tears began to leak from his eyes as he pulled Subaru into his arms. "Subaru, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Subaru did not react. He just lay in his brother's arms, tears flowing silently down his face.

"Kamui…I…loved…him."

"I'm sorry!"

"Yuui…chan?"

The newly anointed princess was drawn away from the horrifying scene by the sound of the queen's hesitant voice. Slowly, her gaze slid to the figures of the king and the queen…her mother and father. She remained silent as Sakura rose and moved toward her.

Sakura hadn't been injured by the throw, just dazed. She hadn't quite managed to accept that her son was gone. She was clinging desperately to the slender, fragile thread of her sanity. The young woman standing before her was that thread - the daughter of her heart, soul, and body - Yuui.

"You are…my mother," she said softly, her gaze moving down to her feet. She couldn't bear to see the fragile hope in this woman's eyes. She knew she wasn't ready to satisfy Sakura's prayers yet. She had lived her whole life believing herself to be an orphan. Himawari was mother to her. Queen Sakura Fluorite was a stranger to her. She was not her mother. She wasn't _ready_ for her to be her mother.

Warning bells sounded in Sakura's head when she saw her daughter's eyes shift away from her, but she kept moving forward anyway. She needed to touch her, to hold her in her arms, to know that she was real and not some cruel dream that had haunted her for eighteen years. The queen breathed a sigh of relief as she took Yuui in her arms.

_My child. My baby._ _**You** _ _are my daughter…my Yuui._

She wanted to comfort Sakura…she really did, but Yuui could not make herself return the embrace. She felt no connection to this woman. She had been irrevocably severed from her at the moment of her birth. It is a strange, sad thing to look into the eyes of your mother and not feel that she is your mother.

Sakura felt another arrow shot through her heart when Yuui did not react to her in any way. When Yuui only stood stiffly in her embrace, she clung tighter, praying, _needing_ for her child to feel something. The tears were coming again. She could feel them. She had tried so hard to steel herself for this moment. She had told herself over and over again that there would be no joyful family reunion. But it seemed that all of her conditioning, all her years of telling herself not to expect anything from her children, had been in vain. This moment was still unbearably painful.

When Sakura finally released the stoic girl, her blue eyes spoke the words that she could not.

_I'm sorry. Not yet. I'm not ready to be your daughter. It's all too much. I know too much. I've_ _**lost** _ _too much today._

Sakura nodded her understanding as hot tears spilled down her face. First Fai…kidnapped. Now Yuui…a complete stranger to her.

That was when she noticed the swell of her child's belly. She had known her baby girl all of ten minutes and she was already expecting a child of her own? How was that possible if Princess Tomoyo was her lover? Slowly, she reached out a hand and pressed it to Yuui's swelling stomach.

"H-how…when did you-"

"It's a long story."

"Then…why did you jump from the tower?" Sakura asked worriedly. "One of the others could have helped him."

"Honestly, Your Highness, I would say that Yuui-chan was in more danger from that fall than the baby," Watanuki began to explain. "That child is at least three-quarters fey. It could survive a mere fall. At this point, I'd be more worried about Yuui-chan."

Syaoran instantly picked up on the worry in the faerie's voice. It was not just the concern of a father for his daughter.

It was the concern that life would fade…change, inexorably and unalterably, into death.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"There is much to tell, Highnesses, and I'm sorry, but the princess must come to Faerie. It is vital to the survival of our people," Kero said solemnly.

"No! Please!" Sakura protested, reaching for Yuui's hand. "I don't…want to be separated from her again."

Yuui allowed the contact, neither rejecting nor accepting it. She almost hated herself for it, but she found herself thinking that she could use the fact that Faerie had need of her for her own ends.

_It's only fair. If they want to use me, they should let me use them._

"I'll go to Faerie with you," she finally relented. "But Queen Sakura and Kurogane-kun will come, too…and I'm not agreeing to anything until Tomoyo is safe."

"Of course, Yuui-sama," Fuuma responded, glancing toward the catatonic prince, who still hadn't moved from the spot where he sat. "I think Faerie would be the only safe place for you and the prince right now. The queen may come and have her questions answered."

"I'll remain here. If Nihon really means to attack, Touya and I must ready our defenses. Can we count on any help from Faerie? We are up against the full force of Nihon _and_ the Dark Court, after all," Syaoran said, turning his eyes to Clow's former vizier. He knew that Clow was dead, but this was a force that Valeria simply wasn't strong enough to handle on its own.

"Insofar as we are able, we will aid you, Majesty, but you must understand that Faerie is in chaos right now, and will remain so until a new sovereign sits on the throne. When we return, we will gather the clan masters and come up with a battle plan."

"Valeria will never be completely alone. My uncle made plans for this day. Looking back on it…I think he _knew_ he was going to be killed," Fuuma said sadly.

_How much…did he_ _**really** _ _know?_

As the others continued to make plans concerning their futures, Yuui moved swiftly and silently back toward her future brother-in-law. The emptiness of his gaze struck her every time she looked at him. She could hardly fathom his pain. At least she knew that Tomoyo was alive and would be kept somewhat healthy for the time being. Kurogane had had to endure the horror of seeing Fai pale and lifeless, laid out like a corpse waiting to be buried. The sight had caused something inside of him to snap.

She did not think she had ever truly seen Kurogane in shock…at least, not without the help of a spell. He had reacted badly to the news of Fai's rape, but nothing like this. He looked as if he'd been charmed into some kind of trance. He sat upright, staring at the far wall as if it weren't even there. His hands rested in his lap, clenching and unclenching, almost trembling. Occasionally, his lips would move, silently forming four syllables.

_Fai…Tomoyo…_

With the patience of the Goddess Herself in her, Yuui knelt before him and took his shaking wrists in her hands, looking him directly in the eyes.

"Kurogane-kun…look at me. Come back," she commanded, softly but still firmly. The prince blinked rapidly as his eyes focused on her…almost as if he didn't understand where she had come from or why she had suddenly appeared in his line of sight. "You need to get up and come with me."

"Where are we going?" he asked, his voice taking on an almost child-like quality. Had he really not heard any of the conversation?

"Some place safe," she explained comfortingly. "A place where we can regroup, maybe get you a new sword, and find a way to save Fai and Tomoyo."

"Fai?" he repeated, something like hope briefly sparkling in his eyes.

"Yes, Fai," she said, noticing the name seemed to give him some small measure of comfort, a firm link with reality. "We're going to get him back."

"Fai," he repeated once more, allowing Yuui to help him stand. As she led him toward the group, he continued to repeat the name like a charm.

_Fai…Fai…Fai…_

While Yuui was relieved to at least see Kurogane moving and responding, a small part of her was terrified to see him taking Fai's loss so hard. How far would he fall before he could stand again? Madness was a very deep hole to slowly sink into. What would it take to snap him back to reality? She could clearly see that he was nothing without her brother. Without Fai, there was no Kurogane. However…

…without Kurogane, there was no Fai, either.

XxX

The Dark Court lay far to the north, up past warmth and sunlight, where the ground was always frozen. It was hidden deep within the Shirahime Mountains, far beyond the northern borders of Nihon.

When Yuuko and Seishiro had first been banished from Faerie, many had expected them and those who followed them to die. It was hard to be severed from the wild magic that was at the core of Faerie. Many believed that it would bring death to be permanently separated from it. But no such thing happened to the dark throng. So great was the rage in Yuuko's heart, that she formed a new dark core from her own magic. The new court grew up around her - a new Faerie…a _dark_ Faerie.

Now the darkness at the court's heart was stirring. It knew that something was happening. As the Dark Prince brought the prince of light among them, the children of the night began to rejoice. The promised day was at hand. The darkness swelled with hunger and forbidden, passionate desire as it opened its arms to receive Fai into its heart for all eternity. The dark heart of Yuuko's realm lusted after Fai's purity blindly and without mercy. Its desire was so vile, so lurid, it would have made the most dirty, amoral harlot feel unclean. The darkness would gorge itself on Fai's milky skin, his lithe limbs, and his beautiful, white soul. It would relish every beautiful scream it could tear from his slender throat. It would hold him down and take everything away from him, make that fragile light suffer. It would plunge deep inside him and claim him for its very own. _Yes_ …the darkness smiled to itself. It would rape the defenseless boy a thousand times more painfully and thoroughly than Seishiro ever could. It would ravish his body and violate his mind…destroy his soul and remake it in its own image. That would be the most exquisite part of the rape of Prince Fai Fluorite. The darkness would only defile him at first. The rape would slowly transform into seduction. As time went by, Fai would beg for darkness to take him, to lie with him, to enter him and fill him until he could endure no more, to make disgusting, forbidden love to him. It would make Fai long for its cold touch, make him sigh and gasp in desire as it pulled him further and further away from the light. His own pure light would slowly fade away into nothingness. It would remake him into a child of the night and he would become one of its many lovers. To defile the prince of light and make him lust for it…that would be the darkness' ultimate victory…to snare Fai's beauty and twist it into something evil.

The prince of light would perish. He would die in the lustful embrace of the dark power. The kingdoms of men would fall…and the world would come to darkness. This was how it was always going to happen.

"Why here, Mother?" Seishiro asked Yuuko as he laid Fai down. Yuuko had prepared a coffin made out of glass, crystal, and obsidian for the young prince in the very darkest depths of her realm…the place where its dark core resided.

"Because there is no better place to imprison this little wretch than in a vortex of dark energy. When his precious prince finally does come for him, he will be able to see him perfectly, locked in this cage of glass and buried in this dark heart…but he will never be able to reach him…not without destroying himself in the process. There is nothing anyone can do anymore. The prince is mine…and his sister will soon lie beside him in her very own glass cage."

Inside the coffin, Fai was laid out on bedding made of black silk…and if Yuuko's words proved to be true, then he would conceivably lie there for all eternity. Yuuko had also decided that a change of clothes was in order and had transformed the beautiful blue clothes that Himawari had made into burial clothes the color of night. Smiling wickedly to herself, Yuuko leaned down over him and arranged his hands over the right side of his chest in the fashion of the Valerian people when they prepared their dead for burial. Then she waved a hand and a bouquet of dead roses appeared in his clasped hands. An excellent touch.

"Good night, sweet prince," she whispered in his ear before pressing a cold kiss to his cheek. "May you have a thousand harrowing nightmares." Then the Dark Queen waved her hand once more and a lid was called into existence, sealing the coffin completely. Fai was perfectly visible, but there was no way to penetrate the casket. The only thing that could enter and leave at will was the darkness that held him captive. Darkness was the only one who would lie with Fai from this day forward. No one would ever be able to disturb his eternal slumber.

As Yuuko was turning around to leave, closing the door on this part of her past, she suddenly heard Seishiro calling to her.

"Mother? Are you certain you want to leave _that_ with him?"

Yuuko glanced in the direction he pointed and noticed that Fai's moon pendant was still resting on his chest. The charm and its twin had been made by Clow. She knew that much. If Clow had still been alive, it might have been a problem, but he wasn't. What could Clow possibly do from beyond the grave?

"Leave it be. Clow can't do anything anymore. It's nothing more than a dried up piece of junk." Then she was gone.

Seishiro glanced down at Fai one more time before leaving, smiling lasciviously as he did so.

"Goodnight, Fai-kun. I'll look forward to being with you again…when you dream of me tonight."

Then he, too, was gone…and Fai was alone…alone in the darkness.

_He was naked in the dark. He could feel…hands on his body._

_No! Not again!_

" _Come to me."_

" _No. No…please, no. Leave me alone. I don't want this."_

" _Have you ever been raped, Fai?"_

_Tears spilled down his face as he nodded. "Please…I don't want…to go through that again."_

_The hands traveled lower. "I'm going to take you."_

" _NOOO!"_

_**Kuro-koi…I'm scared. Please come find me. I need you!** _


	21. I Walked With You

_The wedding is beautiful. It's the most lavish affair any of the kingdoms have seen in many years. Both of their families come together in peace to wish the young couple a happy future. Kurogane will be emperor and Fai will be his consort and high priest. Yuui's daughter will follow them to the throne. There are no complications. After so much darkness, the future is finally bright._

_The wedding_ _**night** _ _is even more wonderful. They bathe together and servants bring them the choicest delicacies to feast upon. Then they make the sweetest, most passionate love they've ever made. All of Fai's dreams have finally come true. At long last, he belongs only to Kurogane…and no one can ever separate them again._

" _It's just you and me now," his dark-haired husband whispers in his ear as he gently caresses his cheek. "Together forever."_

" _I love you, Kuro-rin," he whispers back to him, stealing one last kiss before drifting off to sleep. He can't be more content. They have a lifetime before them to revel in their joy and passion for one another. They have an eternity to love each other._

_However, with that last kiss, the dream is already at an end…and a new and terrible nightmare is only just beginning._

_First, there's the sound of someone screaming._ _**Something terrible must have happened to that poor soul** _ _, Fai thinks, trying to turn away from the keening, shrieking, shrilling cry, too dreadful for the real world - the noise of a nightmare._

_The wild, terrified scream comes from a great distance, but its distress is so insistent and disturbing that Fai cannot push it aside, and seeks to awaken from his heavy sleep and escape the cries. They grow more and more frightening until he realizes that his eyes are open and that the tormented soul he pities is not dreamed or even distant. The screams are his own; the unearthly sound is coming from his twisted mouth._

_He is covered in blood. His arms are coated with the thick, warm blood that runs from Kurogane's throat and courses like a river down the futon and onto the floor. His blood coats Fai's cheeks and stings his eyes and salts his lips. His blood soaks through the blankets and burns Fai's chest, streaming down his legs, coating his toes. He is drowning in his lover's blood. He is screaming loud enough to summon the dead, and yet no one seems to hear. No guards burst through the door. No servants rush in. It seems that he is the last person alive in the world._

_He hears no footsteps and has no warning before strong arms seize him, prying him loose from his beloved. They carry him off the futon trailing blood, screaming into the blackness of the night. He does not see who it is who lifts him, stops his mouth, and trusses him hand and foot like a sacrifice._

" _He is not for you," Seishiro's voice whispers spitefully in his ear. "He was never for you. You were his doom. All of Nihon will pay for your mistakes."_

_But Fai knows nothing of the murder the Dark Prince will wreak. He knows only that he wants to die. Nothing but death can stop his horror. Nothing but death can give him peace from the vision of Kurogane slashed, bleeding, dead in his startled sleep. As he's dragged away from the city, further and further away from Kurogane, he screams in silence._

_**Oh, God! Oh, Goddess! Oh,** _ _**Kurogane** _ _**! Why do I still live?** _

XxX

"Friends, fellow lords, we have summoned all of you here tonight because Faerie is facing an unparalleled crisis," Fuuma announced, calling the room to attention. The two guardians, the four generals, and the ten faerie lords all possessed a very strong connection to the ruler. They had all felt Clow Reed's death deep within themselves. Formal summons had been sent to all of the lords not present in the capital at the time, but they had all started to make for the sithen the moment they felt the king's death.

"Why do you begin the council when we are not all present?" Lady Sai, master of the Jounouchi clan, asked. She was the youngest of them, only three hundred years old, quite young by fey standards, but she was wise and powerful; so upon her mother's death, she had been named as clan master.

"In the presence of humans, no less," Lady Karura, master of the Garuda clan, added snidely, indicating Sakura and Yuui, who stood just behind Fuuma, flanked by the three guardians and Larg.

"Lord Subaru is…indisposed at the moment. His brother will sit in on the Shiro clan's behalf," Fuuma explained, nodding toward Kamui, who sat on his right hand. The generals and lords all sat around a table with Fuuma at the head, as he was the one who had called tonight's council.

"The princess and her mother have just as much right to be here as any of us," Kamui said in response to Karura's comment.

"King Reed failed to name a successor before he died. What are we to do? Name Lord Fuuma king?" Lord Tenou asked. He had been named as clan master of what remained of the Asura clan after his twin brother, Ashura, had been killed by Seishiro.

"That isn't so," Fuuma said softly. "My uncle did name his heir."

"Who?" Lord Rasetsu asked urgently. His title was more show now than anything. He was a lord without a clan. When his older brother, Yasha, had been killed by Seishiro, he had briefly been lord of the Yama clan. But then Seishiro had turned his insane rage on the surviving members of the clan. Rasetsu was the only survivor.

Fuuma sighed heavily. He didn't want to even _think_ about the world of pain and turmoil he was about to drag Yuui into. She had already been through enough, but he had no choice. Faerie needed a sovereign, or all would fall into darkness. Besides, he was certain that Yuui was well aware of the fact that this was the only way to save Tomoyo and her brother. She would go through with it - even if she didn't want to.

"Princess Yuui Fluorite Reed, I name thee King Clow Reed's chosen successor. As heir to our throne, come and take your place at this table."

Yuui moved forward to sit beside Fuuma, even through the outcry of voices.

"The princess is a child!" Eagle protested. He was Himawari's father and master of the Kunogi clan.

"How can she possibly be eligible? Seishiro was the king's only child," Tenou said wonderingly.

"I will not have a mortal brat as my master!" Karura declared, fury and disgust lighting her eyes.

Yuui remained silent throughout, unmovable, unreadable. She was only barely managing to keep her own fears silent in her head. The only thing that mattered right now was keeping the people she loved safe. She would do what they asked of her and they would help her rescue Tomoyo. The two of them would rouse Kurogane from his trance, and together, they would rescue Fai.

"SILENCE!" Kamui's voice suddenly rose above all of the tumult. He slammed his fist down on the table and turned furious eyes on Karura, whose protests were the loudest and most ugly. "The king chose her. Keroberos has blessed her, and if Yue has made her worthy, then who are you, Karura, to reject her?"

"I can reject her on the grounds that she is human. A mortal cannot control Faerie. Its power will destroy her body and eat away her mind and soul. She _cannot_ handle it. She's _not_ strong enough."

"She has fey blood," Fuuma countered.

"From where?" Tarta, master of the Chizeta clan, asked.

"Forty years ago, when King Fujitaka Fluorite died, my uncle lay with his widowed queen, Nadeshiko. She walked away with a child. The current queen, Sakura, was that child. Her children, Prince Fai and Princess Yuui, were Clow's chosen heirs to the throne. Prince Fai was his first choice, but in the event that he could not fulfill the role, Princess Yuui was to be next in line."

"Then what's become of Prince Fai?" Ransho asked. In addition to being the master of earth and the lead general, he was also master of the Sol clan.

Tears began to pour silently down Sakura's face again. Himawari also began to cry softly. Watanuki, Fuuma, and Kamui all looked defeated. Doumeki now looked stern rather than stoic, and Yuui looked nothing if not on the edge of her control.

"Events that Yuuko set in motion eighteen years ago have reached the crisis point that the king predicted," Doumeki began. "Her curse has risen and taken him from us. The princess seeks this council's aid to rescue him."

Yuui shuddered. It was strange to have Doumeki call her 'the princess'. For the last few hours, her three guardians hadn't felt remotely like the family she had known all her life. They treated her like they were her servants instead of the guardians who had loved and nurtured her for eighteen years. They didn't even _look_ like the people she had known anymore. Ever since entering Faerie, all three of them had been made to strip themselves of the glamour that she'd unknowingly become familiar with. They seemed colder, more distant from her own state of being - _other_. They were all three of them strangers to her now. Soel and Larg were part of the conspiracy. She couldn't contact Souma. Fai and Tomoyo were gone and Kurogane was well beyond her reach.

_I am alone._

"Her claim is hardly a legitimate one," Touki commented.

"That doesn't matter," Ryuuki said softly, though his eyes still burned with their usual fire. He wasn't sure why, but there was something about Yuui that he liked. She would certainly have his loyalty. "If the king chose her and Yue saw worth in her, then there is nothing to question. It could be that she has enough fey blood to stamp out her mortality."

"There must be someone else," Karura continued to protest. "Fuuma, why didn't you stand to be judged? You have every right-"

"I will not challenge Yuui-hime's claim. My uncle chose them and I will not contest his wisdom. I refuse to be king. Besides…she has enough opposition as it is."

"What do you mean?" Tarta asked.

"Seishiro challenged her…and he was found to be worthy."

"That cannot be!" Rasetsu insisted angrily. "He is a murderer! I will never serve him!"

"You've nothing to fear," Fuuma attempted to calm the sudden tension. "As things stand, Yuui-sama will be the one to wear the crown."

"But…Yuui-hime is still very young. She has no hope of matching Seishiro in strength. What can she do against him? What does she have that he doesn't?" Tenou asked.

This time, Fuuma remained silent. He turned to look at Yuui. This was her news to reveal. She nodded and pulled aside her cloak, revealing the swell of her growing child. As the council began to titter again, she placed both hands protectively over her womb. She had lost so much already. They would not take her baby away from her. She would _die_ first.

_I love you. I don't even know who you are and I love you more than my own life. You are all I have right now, but you can't help me._ _**I** _ _have to protect_ _**you** _ _, my sweet, innocent child._

"Who fathered this child?" Sai asked, sounding slightly suspicious.

"Yes. Who is the father?" Karura latched on. "We cannot have bad blood on the throne."

Again, Fuuma looked to Yuui. He would tell them, or not, as she chose. While no one present could possibly challenge the baby's lineage, the child would always carry the stigma of being the product of a sin. Now that Yuui knew the extent of his crimes against her and the reason for them, she was free to use him and that knowledge as she saw fit. Though he saw it differently, he saw her worth as surely as Yue did. She would always be his queen.

Yuui nodded, giving him the okay to proceed.

"I am," he said softly, waiting calmly for the storm to fall on his bare head.

"Sin!" Karura instantly cried out.

"Fuuma! How could you?" Tenou asked in shock.

"You should never have touched her!" Tarta hissed, glancing toward Yuui in pity.

"Quiet! All of you!" Kamui snarled, immediately leaping to Fuuma's defense. "Fuuma did it because I asked him to. There was no one else who could have. We did what we had to. This council could have easily torn anyone else down. There is nothing any of you can say against Fuuma."

"All was for the best," Yuui whispered. She was no longer certain if she was trying to convince the council or herself.

"So, Lord Monou, does being the father of Princess Yuui's child make you her consort…her _husband?_ " Karura asked derisively, eyeing the two with disgust.

"No. It does not. Except to say that the child was conceived with my seed, I do not claim the princess' baby as mine. She has another parent in mind to help raise the next heir and she will choose her own consort."

"Tomoyo-hime of Nihon will be my consort," Yuui said quietly. She had seen their marriage. Surely that meant that Tomoyo would consent to bear this burden by her side…the challenge and joy of raising their daughter, and now the heavy burden of ruling Faerie.

"Ah. So _that's_ why you want our help rescuing the Nihon princess," Karura began, addressing Yuui for the first time. "Tell me, little princess, do you actually _want_ to lead Faerie?"

Yuui debated her answer a moment before actually speaking. She knew it would not help her cause to outright say no, but could she get away with lying to these people?

"This morning, I woke up still thinking I was just an orphaned forest brat. I wasn't even used to being a princess before Kero-san told me that I had to be a queen, too. Honestly, Lady Karura, I don't know _what_ I think right now. I'm pregnant, I'm exhausted, and I'm sad. All I want right now is to get Tomoyo and Fai back. If I have to become your queen in order for you to help me do that, then I will."

"We have no use for a girl who has no commitment to us, Princess," Karura warned. "You would do well to leave Faerie far behind you."

"No," a new voice suddenly rose above the others. It was Kakei, master of the Dorragu clan. He had remained silent up to this point, observing the proceedings. He was the eldest of the fey, older even than Clow had been. His memory stretched further back than even Fei Wang's reign. Now he rose from his seat and came around the table to kneel beside Yuui. He took her hand in his, gazing directly into her eyes. "She will remain here…and she _will_ be queen…because there is no one else who can."

Yuui stared back at him, meeting his gaze unblinkingly. Something in her felt that it would somehow be blasphemous to look away, even though she knew nothing about him. He would be loyal to her. This she could see…but in return, she could also see that this lord would need her respect and her trust. They would all need that, but this one she had granted those things before he'd even asked for them.

_One so young…should not be so tired._

Yuui's eyes remained fixed on the brunette faerie as he turned to look at Fuuma.

"She killed him…didn't she?"

The Monou lord nodded sadly. "She finally made her move and none of us even saw it coming."

"What's happening?"

"The Dark Court has complete control of Nihon. Kyle Rondart poisoned Amaterasu's mind and took control from her. He banished Prince Kurogane and declared war on Valeria. King Syaoran has requested our aid against them. While war can only be declared by a sovereign, in the absence of one, the ten lords may declare war if the vote is unanimous. So…what say you? Shall Faerie battle the Dark Court one last time? Shall we make an end this time?" Fuuma asked the council at large.

"War," Kamui stated immediately, fire burning deep within his violet eyes. He would have revenge for his little brother's heart, and he would not allow Seishiro to kill Subaru.

"War," Karura agreed not even a heartbeat after him.

"War!" Rasetsu snarled. "Revenge for Yasha and the Yama clan!"

"Yes, war," Tenou agreed softly.

Sai nodded solemnly. "War."

"War," Tarta agreed.

"War," Ransho consented. "The four generals stand ready to defend our princess."

"Once more…then never again," Eagle said quietly. "The true last war. We will fight."

"We _must_ fight," Kakei said last of all. "If we do not, all will fall into darkness."

"The decision is unanimous," Fuuma announced. "When the sun rises, we are at war…and our first goal is to rescue Tomoyo-hime from Kyle. A small team will infiltrate the castle in Shirasagi. If we are discovered, we will mount an attack."

"Against human soldiers?" Sai asked.

"Kyle would not be so foolish as to leave Shirasagi unprotected. Koryu will have the Oni waiting. Ransho? Touki? Ryuuki? Can your battalions be ready by tomorrow night?"

"Yes, sir," Ransho answered for all of them. "I…cannot speak for the Wind Battalion, but _we_ will be ready."

"Do I have any volunteers for the mission to rescue Princess Tomoyo?"

"I will go," Sai said, raising her hand slightly.

"As will I," Karura volunteered. "I want to see what we're dealing with."

"I will help, too," Rasetsu added. Then he turned to look at Yuui. "If King Reed chose you, that is good enough for me. You have my loyalty, my princess."

"Mine as well," Sai said. Yuui suddenly found herself thinking that Sai reminded her a lot of Doumeki.

"Very well. This meeting is adjourned. We have tonight and tomorrow. Then it begins."

One by one, the masters and generals filed out of the council room. On her way out, Karura stopped beside Yuui.

"Nothing personal, Princess. I just don't believe you can handle this." Then she was gone.

Breathing heavily, Yuui finally allowed herself to slump forward a little. Watanuki reached out to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Sakura and Himawari were about to, but managed to stop themselves, realizing that their daughter either didn't want or didn't need their touch.

"You did well, Yuui-sama," Fuuma said. "Lesser women would have fallen before the council, but you held your head up. You can rule them."

"I'm not so sure." Her reply would have been inaudible to a human ear, but the room was full of faeries, save for her mother. "Can…can I rest now?"

"You're not going to sleep, are you?" Doumeki asked sternly.

"No. I…I just want to be alone right now."

"Of course. Uncle's quarters are yours to do with as you please."

"I'm going with you, you know," she said softly as she stood. "To rescue Tomoyo."

"NO!" Himawari, Sakura, and Watanuki all burst out at once.

"You're _much_ too young!" Sakura protested.

"You don't know how to fight!" Watanuki reminded her.

"Think of the baby, Yuui-chan!" Himawari implored.

"I'll fight for Tomoyo. I'll go into battle this once. You all can do whatever you want with me once she's safe. I won't endanger my child anymore than necessary…but this is necessary."

_Without Tomoyo…I am nothing._

"You know we would rather you stay behind where it's safe," Fuuma said as he and Kamui rose from their seats. "But I will not challenge your will. It will be as you say, my princess."

Just as the group was making to leave, Soel burst into the room.

"Yuui! Yuui! Kurogane's gone!"

"Gone?" she shouted, instantly snapping to life. Kurogane had been left outside the chamber due to the fragility of his current mental state. Soel had been left to keep an eye on him. "What do you mean gone?"

"Mokona was talking to Kero for just a minute. When Mokona looked back, Kurogane was gone! Mokona's sorry!"

Yuui sighed angrily. She knew she was being impossible right now but, honestly, what else could they possibly have been expecting? They had all dropped a thousand bombs on her defenseless head in the span of only a few hours.

"Come on! Hurry up! We've got to find him! He's unarmed and unprotected and…not right! If he gets hurt-"

"Princess!" Fuuma interrupted her tirade, seizing her wrist before she could run off into a palace that she was unfamiliar with. "Calm down. I think I know where the prince might go."

XxX

It had only briefly registered in his mind that Yuui had told him to stay and wait for her. He only responded fully when she mentioned his fiancé or his baby sister. It was almost as if when his sword was broken, his strength and worth were broken with it. How could he help Fai and Tomoyo? How could he help _anyone?_ What was he without his sword…without his Fai? He had _let_ them be taken from him. He had _let_ Kyle steal his mother and his birthright from him.

_I let this happen! It was me…my fault!_

He wasn't really sure what caused him to start walking, but he did. He moved through the hallways of the sithen almost as if he were in a trance. Had he been able to see himself in this moment, he would have reminded himself eerily of his love being led to his doom. The only difference was that Fai's eyes had held purpose - to obey the will that held his mind captive. His own eyes were empty and lost. The rhythm of his guilt pounded in his heart and head as he drifted, seeking some release from the aching hollowness that had consumed him. It was like all the strings that had connected him to his life had been cut all at once. He was reaching, grasping desperately in the dark for some thread to hold onto, no matter how frayed it might be. He needed something to be his way out of the blackness. Without Fai, he was faltering…failing. He could not do it alone.

He found himself remembering Youou and the indescribable pain in his eyes. He understood it now - knew it intimately…and…Youou had _chosen_ to bring that pain upon himself…to save Fai's life. But he knew what it was to truly _lose_ Fai, and that was…unbearable.

_How did you survive it? How could you bear to have him turn from you?_

_Because…he's worth it. He's worth any pain you could possibly suffer._

"Youou?" he whispered, his head snapping up. He could have sworn he'd heard the older man's voice.

"Who are you?"

For the first time, Kurogane actually looked around and found that he'd ended up in a bedroom. A fey woman was seated beside a bed and another figure was lying in the bed. Asleep? He didn't want to think about sleep right now.

"Kurogane," he said softly…questioningly, even. He saw no reason to add 'prince' to the introduction. What right did he have to call himself a prince? He was nothing but a failure.

"Oh," she said sadly. "It's you."

"Who…are you?" he asked. He didn't latch onto the fact that she seemed to know him. The only thing he could really see was the figure sleeping in the bed - and the empty sadness in the woman's gaze.

"Hisui."

"And…who's that?" He nodded toward the comatose form.

"That is Kokuyo…former master of the Oni…my love…"

"What happened?" he asked, noting the pale color of the other faerie's face. Instantly, he was back in the tower…staring at Fai's helpless, lifeless body.

"He betrayed Yuuko for me…she took him from me. He's been like this for a year."

"A year?" he repeated.

"He may…never wake up again," she whispered, tracing a trembling hand along the sleeping faerie's cheek.

"Never?" Kurogane whispered through dry lips. He once again had that feeling of crawling blindly, helplessly in the dark, grasping for something that was hopelessly out of his reach.

 _He's getting further and further away from me all the time. My God, I'm_ _ **losing**_ _him!_ _No! No! FAI!_

"Kurogane-kun!" he suddenly felt a pair of slender arms wrap around him. Yuui. "Why did you wander off? I told you to wait for me," she scolded as she moved around to look him in the eye. But he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at Kokuyo.

"He's not moving," he whispered, his face white. "That damned idiot's not moving at all. He's not breathing. Fai." Once again, he began to repeat the name over and over, like a protective charm that would keep him from slipping into the insanity that was pooling around his feet, ready to swallow him up and drown him.

"No. No, Kurogane-kun. Fai's all right." At least…all right as he _could_ be, considering the circumstances. "Do you want to know how I know?"

Kurogane finally turned to look at her. She had kept it secret from him because she wasn't sure what it would do to his mental state, but now she could see that he needed it. Before disappearing with him, Seishiro had torn Watanuki's enchanted rose from Fai's hair and tossed it on the ground. She had rescued it, and now she removed it from her own hair and held it out to the stricken prince.

"Watanuki put a spell on this rose. Its life is tied to Fai's life. As long as it continues to bloom healthy, Fai is alive. Will you keep it safe?"

Kurogane nodded weakly as he took the blossom in his hands, holding it close. Briefly, he held it against his nose, breathing in its scent. Roses were no longer just roses to him. They did not have their own scent. It was the scent of Fai. Roses smelled like Fai.

"Fai?" he whispered, nuzzling the delicate bloom against his cheek, feeling the softness of it. Yuui smiled sadly as she took the rose from him and tucked it behind his ear, twining it into his hair.

"Fai," she agreed, taking his hand. "Come on now. You need to get some sleep. Sorry to have bothered you," she apologized to Hisui. But the wind master did not acknowledge it. She continued to stare at Kurogane as he was led from the room, and he stared right back.

"I'm sorry for what you've lost, child," she said softly.

The others were waiting for them outside of the room. No one said anything as Fuuma began to lead them all toward the king's quarters. They had all heard everything. When they reached their destination, Fuuma addressed the guardians.

"You are all free to retire to your own quarters if you wish."

"We will remain with the princess," Watanuki said softly. Yuui flinched, tightening her hold on her new ward's hand. She _hated_ when they called her 'princess'. She wasn't royalty. It wasn't who she was. She didn't know _how_ to be a princess, and now she had to be a _queen!_

Fuuma nodded as he opened the doors. "As will we. Her Majesty must not be without her knights."

Kero and Yue were within. Yue was laid out on one of the many couches and Kero was holding one of his massive paws over his heart, attempting to banish the thousands of years of dark influence from it. It was a process that would take several days.

"What has the council decided?" Kero asked, glancing up. He and Yue had discovered that they couldn't sense it in its entirety. They both felt a connection to Yuui, but it was weak, hazy, only just beginning to form. It wasn't yet anything like what they had shared with Clow. They had also both noticed a faint connection to Seishiro, but neither dared to touch it. Such a connection was more likely to harm them than their enemies were they to attempt to use it.

"Faerie will go to war against the Dark Court one last time. We will make an end of it…as we could not do before," Fuuma said solemnly.

"What of the princess?" Yue asked.

"The only person who has a say as to whether or not she rules is the child growing in her belly. If the child is born before Seishiro can somehow produce a legitimate blood heir out of thin air, none can challenge her. The crown will be hers."

"Then we must do everything in our power to keep the child safe," Yue said, weakly raising his head. "Seishiro will come after it. He will murder it in the womb. He will not stop. He will do anything to prevent the princess' ascension to the throne."

" _Stop it!_ " Yuui commanded harshly, her free hand clutching protectively at her swollen belly, as if the little girl could hear their words and she had to prevent it. "Nothing…and I mean _nothing_ …is going to hurt my baby! She _will_ be born! She'll be the most _beautiful_ creature the world's ever seen! The first one to harm my daughter will know my rage!"

"No one is saying that it will be otherwise, Yuui-hime," Fuuma soothed, attempting to placate her. "But you must know what Seishiro can and will do."

"Oh, I've got an idea," she replied bitterly. "Are my brother-in-law and I allowed privacy tonight, or do any of you have something else you feel like shattering my illusions with?" Goddess, she hated how insufferable she sounded, but she was sad, angry, afraid, and lost.

Doumeki raised an eyebrow at her claiming Kurogane as her brother-in-law. It seemed that, to her, she and Tomoyo, Fai and Kurogane were already joined together as one. There was actually more that she needed to know, but it was clear that she wasn't in any state to hear it. It could wait until Tomoyo was safe.

Fuuma led Yuui and Kurogane to Clow's bedchamber and Himawari led Sakura to another bedchamber. No one had the heart to tell her that it had once been Yuuko's. The others would sleep in the main chamber, each one taking a shift to guard Yuui and Kurogane. There was no telling whether or not Kero and Yue would be able to keep Yuuko out.

"Sleep well, Yuui-sama. Someone will bring breakfast to you and the prince in the morning."

Yuui grimaced. "Why do you have to address me so highly, Fuuma-san?"

"You are my queen, Yuui-sama."

"I'm nobody's queen yet. You're the father of my daughter. I don't want there to be a wall between us. Could you please…at least call me Yuui-chan again?"

Fuuma looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he gave her a small, sad smile. "If that is what you wish…"

"It is," she whispered, a hint of desperation in her eyes.

"All right. Goodnight…Yuui-chan." He bowed; then he was gone.

"Come on, Kurogane-kun," Yuui said gently, leading the dazed prince toward the magnificent four-poster bed in the middle of the room. "You need to rest."

"Are you…going to sleep, too?" he asked.

"No," she said softly as she climbed up onto the bed. "I can't. I'm just making sure you're all right." She patted the spot beside her.

"Yuui?" he mumbled as he climbed onto the bed and lay down beside her. She met his gaze with surprise. He had only called her by name once before…on the day that she had carried the news of Fai's rape to him. He now looked at her with the hurt, lost eyes of a child.

"If…if I go to sleep…will I see him? Will I be with Fai again?"

Yuui smiled sadly as she reached a hand down to run her fingers through his hair, like a mother comforting her young son after a nightmare. God, but it hurt to see him like this. He was usually so strong. It seemed that Fai had taken that strength with him wherever he had gone. _He_ was Kurogane's strength, passion, and will. He was…his _essence_.

"Yes," she finally answered. "Close your eyes. If you go to sleep, you will meet Fai in your dreams." _And you will have peace from your torment._

A brief smile flickered across the young man's face - a smile that Yuui knew he saved for Fai. As he closed his eyes, his hand reached up to give the rose tucked behind his ear a few reassuring strokes. He made sure to lie down on his left side so that the fragrant bloom wouldn't be crushed.

When she was sure he was out, Yuui took his hand in hers, holding it tightly to keep herself from falling apart. For now, she was content to watch Kurogane sleep.

_He's running…running fast…faster than he's ever run in his life. He can feel the ground flying by beneath his feet…the wind rushing through his hair…buffeting his body. Not fast enough! He has to move faster! If he doesn't make it, he will never forgive himself._

_**It can't be too late! Sweet Goddess! It** _ _can't_ _**be!** _

_Then he sees him. He sees him standing on the edge of the cliff, gazing out into the distance._

" _Fai!" he calls out in fear. At the sound of his name, the blond turns to him and smiles. He holds out his arms, waiting for him to come to him._

" _Kuro-sama!" he cries out, tears of joy streaming down his face. "I'm so happy to see you! I missed you so much!"_

_Even through his panic, Fai's eyes lighten his spirit. He can't let him go. He just_ _**can't** _ _!_

_**Almost there! Almost there!** _

" _FAI!" he screams. "Get away from there!"_

_For a moment, Fai looks confused…but that confusion quickly turns into surprise when he feels air beneath his feet instead of grass._

_The moment in which Kurogane watches Fai's beautiful face twist into an expression of shocked terror seems to last for an eternity…but…the next moment…he's gone._

_**NO! NO! NO!** _

_At the last possible moment, he flings himself toward the edge, reaching. A jolt of relief passes through his body when he feels his hand close around Fai's. He looks down into his lover's relieved eyes._

" _Damn it! Don't scare me like that!"_

" _You caught me," he whispers back, the adoring smile returning to his face._

_Kurogane is about to respond when he discovers that he can't move his body. He can't move to help Fai up._

" _Can you climb up?" he asks, a trace of nerves entering his voice._

" _What's wrong?"_

_It's then that Kurogane notices that his fingers are slipping, loosening their hold on Fai. He just can't control them…can't make them grasp Fai's hand. Fai seems to realize this and instantly tightens his hold on the prince's hand. The panic in the gesture shoots straight to Kurogane's heart._

" _Don't let go!" he cries out, tears of fear filling his eyes._

" _I'm never…gonna…let…go!" the ninja grunts, trying desperately to make his fingers obey him. Fai's hand is slipping!_

" _Kuro-koi?" Fai whispers fearfully. "I…I love you."_

_The last thing Kurogane sees is Fai bravely trying to manage his terror as he speaks these last words of love. Then his hand slips through his fingers. He can hear him screaming his name as he plummets down, down, down into abyss below._

" _FAAI!" he screams, trying to fling himself after his beloved…but a pair of cold, hard hands stops him, binding him to a life without Fai._

" _I had him…He was right in my hands!" he cries out despairingly._

" _You let him slip through your fingers," Yuuko's cold voice whispers in his ear. "You let him down…and now he's gone. You will never be able to hold him in your arms again."_

" _AAAGGH_ _!!"_

Kurogane woke instantly from his nightmarish sleep, reaching for a sword that was no longer there to be drawn.

"Kurogane-kun! Calm down!"

The confused boy turned toward the source of the voice and found himself looking at-

"Fai?" he whispered hopefully.

"No," the twin responded sadly, reaching to place a hand on his shoulder. "Yuui."

_That's right. She looks like him now._

Kurogane began to sink back onto the bed, the life draining out of him once again. Yuui caught him as he fell, gently resting his head on her lap.

"It was only a nightmare, Kurogane-kun. We'll get him back," she soothed. As she reached a hand down to try and run her fingers through his hair, he grabbed her wrist.

"I want to see him again. I _need_ to see him again," he mumbled, clinging desperately to Yuui's hand. "I only wanted to see Fai again. I didn't want to see that. _Why_ did I have to see that? _Oh, God…Fai!_ "

"I'm sorry," Yuui whispered brokenly, finally allowing tears to fall from her eyes and onto his cheeks. "I'm _so sorry!_ " She repeated her desperate apology over and over again, holding his face in between her hands in an effort to keep both of them calm.

_It should have been_ _**me** _ **_!_ **

When they had both managed to rein themselves in, Kurogane allowed her to stroke his hair, accepting the comfort she offered - the comfort that had been denied him for so long…a mother's warm embrace.

"You mustn't give up, Kurogane-kun. You _can't_ let yourself die like this. Fai still needs you. You _have_ to save him."

" _I_ let him go," Kurogane finally whispered his guilt aloud, taking Yuui's free hand in both of his, clinging to her like she was the last solid thing in the world. "It's _my_ fault. It's my… _fault_. I should have tried harder…been faster… _anything!_ "

Yuui sighed sadly as more tears slid silently down her face, clinging to Kurogane just as tightly. They both blamed themselves for what had happened and there would be no convincing either of them of anything different. She wasn't sure, but she thought he might be crying…except his body didn't move and he made no sound. Maybe it was just her own tears she was seeing on his face?

As they cried together…or not…neither was certain…Yuui began to sing softly. It was a song that Doumeki had sung to them during one of those rare times when they'd been able to convince him to sing. She'd asked him why he knew such a song, but he had never answered her.

_Come out moon._

_Come out wishing star._

_Come out, come out_

_Wherever you are._

_I'm out here in the dark_

_All alone and wide awake._

_Come and find me._

_I'm empty and I'm cold_

_And my heart's about to break._

_Come and find me._

_I need you to come here and find me_

' _Cuz without you I'm totally lost._

_I've hung a wish_

_On every star._

_It hasn't done_

_Much good so far._

_I can only dream of you_

_Wherever you are._

_I'll hear you laugh._

_I'll see you smile._

_I'll be with you_

_Just for a while._

_But when the morning comes_

_And the sun begins to rise_

_I'll lose you._

_Because it's just a dream,_

_When I open up my eyes_

_I will lose you._

_I used to believe in forever,_

_But forever's too good to be true._

_I've hung a wish_

_On every star._

_It hasn't done_

_Much good so far._

_I don't know what else to do,_

_Except to try to dream of you_

_And wonder if you're dreaming too_

_Wherever you are._

_Wherever you are._

Neither of them slept anymore that night.

XxX

"Do you really think that Faerie will mount a direct attack on Shirasagi?" Koryu asked Kyle. Nihon's new emperor was lounging on his throne, sipping a glass of plum wine. His authority was absolute. Dissenters were being arrested even as they spoke.

"Of course they will. They have little to gain by it…but I have the bait right here," he said smugly, conjuring up a viewing mirror. The glassy surface reflected Amaterasu, Tomoyo, Souma, and Chitose all sealed within the princess' chamber. Amaterasu was lying on the futon, staring blankly up at the ceiling, her will destroyed. Chitose was leaning against a wall, a crude bandage wrapped around her injured shoulder. Tomoyo was sitting beside the doors that would have led out to her balcony, her knees drawn up against her chest and her face hidden from sight. Souma, trying to make some use of herself, was standing guard at the door that led out of the room. There was no escape. They were sealed in.

"What will you do with them?"

"Princess Yuui will come for Souma and her Tomoyo. When she does, I will spring my trap and we will possess both twins. Those with her will be killed…and I will _personally_ slay the child she carries. The despair will no doubt call the queen's curse down on her and the throne will be clear for Seishiro. Once Yuui is gone, I will make Tomoyo my wife."

"But…didn't you already claim her?" the Oni master asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not quite," the usurper said with a devious sneer. "I simply gave that supple body a _taste_ of what is to come. My _mouth_ has tasted every inch of her tender flesh and my _hands_ have thoroughly known her body…but I didn't actually _take_ her. They say that anticipation of a thing is almost better than the thing itself."

"You want Yuui to watch it, don't you," he said. An odd feeling was boiling in his blood. He wasn't sure what it was, but it might have been disgust.

"Every minute," he replied, sneering lasciviously.

"And what of Amaterasu?"

"She will not survive. The child will be born in about four months' time. She might have had a chance were she still in possession of her own mind and strength of will, but I saw to that. My son will dispatch her easily enough and Tomoyo will bear me many fine children."

Koryu raised an eyebrow at Kyle's speaking of 'his' son. He _knew_ they'd had a deal, but at the same time...

" _One_ fine child, you mean. How likely is Tomoyo to survive bearing a half-blood? No mortal woman has managed it yet."

"True enough. But no fey man has ever actually cared enough to see to the safety of the mother of his bastard child. I'm sure we could find a way."

"And the others?"

"The servant woman will die very soon, I have no doubt. The ninja girl will try and stop me from touching Tomoyo. I will kill her. Tomorrow night, by the time the moon reaches its zenith, all who could have stopped us will be dead."

"What of the prince?"

Kyle just sneered. "He is a prince no longer. He is only a loose end. It will be child's play to do away with him."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because it hardly would have been worth the effort. If I am to kill the boy who has been giving us so much trouble, I want there to be at least a _little_ fight in him when I do it. I want him to be fighting his hardest for his precious prince. I want him to be full of hope. That way it will be all the more satisfying when I drive my sword into his chest."

"It seems…that there will hardly be a _need_ for war," Koryu said, more to himself than to Kyle.

XxX

Himawari had forgotten how beautiful Spirit Lake was from this side. It was night now and her quarters had a beautiful view of the bridge between worlds. The full moon was shining down on the crystalline surface of the water, reflecting silvery light. Unfortunately, the beauty of the night was lost on Himawari. For her, the still promise of the night air was a lie. The people she loved were on the other side right now, risking their lives, and she couldn't help. Her curse would only make things worse; so all she could do was wait.

Kurogane had been moved to her chambers so she could keep an eye on him, but she was keeping her distance from the dazed prince. He didn't need any more misfortune. He was supposed to be sleeping in her bedchamber, but she highly doubted that he really was. She didn't blame him. Yuui had told her about his nightmare. If she couldn't get him to eat or sleep, she was at least supposed to make sure he didn't go wandering and get himself hurt. She had set a kind of magic alarm that would alert her if he tried to leave her quarters.

"Is he sleeping?" she suddenly heard her father's voice. She couldn't say that she hadn't been expecting him.

"I don't think he is," she said sadly, not turning to look at him. "He's…too tired to sleep…too afraid." It was such an awful thing - to know that there was someone who loved Fai so deeply, and to see how what had happened could destroy him so completely. She wanted very badly to know the man that her son loved. Would she ever have the chance to?

_Why am I still calling him my son…when his real mother is only a few rooms away waiting for our daughter to return? And there I go again._ _**Our** _ _daughter? Sakura-sama's daughter, not mine…_ _**never** _ _mine. But…what gives you the right, Sakura-_ _**sama** _ **_?_ ** _**I'm** _ _the one who cradled them as babies!_ _**I'm** _ _the one who sheltered them from harm!_ _**I'm** _ _the one…who's losing everything! They're_ _**my** _ _babies!_

_No, they're not, Himawari. Why do you keep doing this to yourself?_

"Clow…told me what happened to you," Eagle said sadly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Suddenly, Himawari felt his hand on her shoulder. On instinct, she flinched away from him.

"Don't touch me!"

"Himawari-"

"Father…I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I don't want to kill _both_ my parents."

"It doesn't matter that she gave birth to you. Alcyone was no mother to you. You shouldn't feel bad for what happened to her. She brought it on herself." He had secretly rejoiced in Alcyone's death. He had hated her. He hated her still…and it had nothing to do with their failed marriage. He had used her just as much as she'd used him.

Alcyone had only wanted the status he could bring her. He'd married her for several reasons - all of them selfish. When Umi had died giving birth to Kimihiro and Ascot had abandoned him, unfairly blaming him for the death of his beloved wife, Eagle had raised the boy as his own in memory of a woman who had been like an aunt to him. After the joy of having Kimihiro in his life, he'd wanted a child of his own. So, near the end of the war, when a romantic relationship with his childhood friend, Geo, had ended badly and Alcyone had come into his life, he'd married her, to warm his bed and to bear his children.

While he had never really liked Alcyone, it was never her machinations that he'd hated her for. In fact, they'd hardly ever taken notice of each other before Himawari's birth. No. He hated Alcyone because she'd left Himawari to die. Seconds after her birth, that creature had taken his sweet, innocent daughter and hidden her within the coldest depths of the Shirahime Mountains, hoping that she'd never be found…that her own _child_ would die of exposure. Even fey children only hours old could die like that.

Fuuma had told him the story. The young Monou lord had been walking with 'Lady Alcyone' when her birth pangs had suddenly come upon her. Fuuma had insisted on fetching help, but Alcyone wouldn't hear of it. She'd already been plotting the dark deed. She'd had Fuuma take her to one of the gardens and there, with his help, she'd delivered a beautiful baby girl.

However, even before her body had healed she'd snatched the newborn from Fuuma and vanished with her. Fuuma had rushed to find him and he'd demanded to be taken to the spot of her disappearance, immediately realizing her betrayal. Thankfully, because she was his daughter, he'd been able to trace the little girl. He'd found her alone on a snowy mountaintop in the middle of a blizzard. He'd almost missed her tiny body, buried in the snow. When he'd pulled the baby from the snow, he'd been terrified that he was too late. Her skin was turning blue and she was so cold, she could barely manage to cry out. Crying tears of relief as he wrapped his infant daughter in his cloak, he'd quickly produced a bottle of warm milk for her to keep her from dying of starvation. When he'd felt her tiny fingers clutching desperately at his tunic, his hatred for Alcyone was born. A mortal child would have died…she almost _did_. What sort of woman was capable of taking the baby she'd just given birth to - still half-blind, reaching desperately for the mother that was meant to love and care for it - tear it from her breast, and throw it out into the cold? He could never forgive Alcyone for such a crime. He had named the baby Himawari in defiance of the way her own mother had tried to kill her _\- Sun_ flower.

"Do you think…that maybe…since my own mother didn't love me…that I'm not…capable of being one myself?" she asked, breaking into his thoughts. He would have hugged her if she would let him.

"Don't think like that. Alcyone didn't love anyone. It wasn't you. You're loved, Himawari…and you're perfectly capable of giving that love back. Fai and Yuui _know_ that you love them. Things are just difficult right now."

"I let them down," she whispered as fresh tears slid down her face. "I couldn't protect Fai from Seishiro. I couldn't help Yuui when Fuuma…took her. I haven't been able to help support her through this pregnancy. A-and this baby…the child that she already loves so much…she doesn't even _know_ …I don't want her to be hurt! She'd hate me for it, but I'd choose her over her baby any day! As if that weren't enough, now they're forcing her to be queen. And…and Fai…dear God, Fai! My little Fai! Father, I-I'll lose _both_ of them!" she sobbed, sinking hopelessly to her knees, gripping the stone balcony railing in deathly white hands.

"Himawari," he started, coming as close as he could without actually touching her. "If it's any consolation, I can sympathize. I've never seen my daughter in more pain and I can't hold her close in her time of need because she won't let me. I'm not afraid for myself. I only want you to be happy. You're my _world_ , little sunflower."

"But you've still got things worth living for, Father. What about Geo?" She knew that the two had started seeing each other again shortly before she'd attended the naming ceremony that fateful day eighteen years ago.

"That's true. He and I do have…something."

"Something?" she whispered. "I remember the way your eyes would shine whenever he walked past. Your skin probably glows for him."

Eagle smiled sadly at his daughter's back. "That was what made it all the more painful when we parted ways the first time…that even though our skin glowed when we made love, he could still look me in the eye and tell me he didn't want to be with me. But, after the fact, there was some joy in that parting. If we hadn't, then I wouldn't have you."

"And look where I ended up. A failure of a guardian with delusions of being a mother. Perhaps your life would have been better if you hadn't found me on the mountain that day?"

"Don't say that!" he insisted vehemently. "Don't ever! You _gave_ me a life. You and Kimihiro." He tried to place a hand on her shoulder again, but this time she slapped him away.

"It's no use!" she sobbed heartbrokenly. "No use! No use at all."

Eagle desperately wanted to take her in his arms, cradle her and sing to her as he'd done when she was small, tell her that he would make the monsters go away…but she wouldn't let him. She remained there, broken, crumpled on the stone floor, sobbing. And all of that time that Eagle stood there, silently watching over his shattered child, Kurogane stood just inside the room, cradling Fai's rose protectively against his heart, watching the two of them with empty eyes and a tear-stained face.

XxX

"Lord Sol, for eighteen hundred years, I have fought at your side, followed your every order, and never once questioned your wisdom. So, please, permit me this one question."

"Yes, Touki?"

"What… _exactly_ …is this _thing_ doing on the field with us?" the water sprite demanded calmly, turning her eyes on an anxious Soel, who was settled atop Ryuuki's head.

"The Mokona are their only means of escape if things don't go according to plan. You may not know this, but the Mokona twins have served as the three guardians' safeguard against Yuuko's minions for the past eighteen years."

"How's that?" Ryuuki asked, turning his eyes up to where he knew the white Mokona was perched.

"The Mokona can create portals. If the rescue operation goes badly, those inside Shirasagi can use Larg to transport themselves here to where Soel is."

"Why didn't they take both Mokona then? They could have split up and covered more ground," Touki observed.

"They don't mean to split up. The princess claims she will be able to find Princess Tomoyo."

"And if she doesn't? Or worse…if she finds her-"

"Then they will abandon the mission and Fuuma will give the order to attack the city," Ransho said sadly, glancing out over the darkened plain. Their army lay waiting along the borders of Celes. The lights of Shirasagi were visible in the distance and the full moon shone down on a seemingly empty plain, but Ransho knew better. Their opponents were not fools. The Oni were waiting for them.

"What is their plan of attack?" the water general asked, stoic as ever.

"They know that Kyle's expecting them and he undoubtedly knows that they know. Princess Tomoyo is the bait. There's nothing for it but to meet the enemy head on. The city has not been warded…all the more proof that he means for them to come to him. First, the eight of them will teleport to different spots along the city's outer wall, then eight different points in the city, then different points in the castle itself, all at different times in order to confuse the enemy. Princess Yuui will teleport herself to Prince Kurogane's chambers and summon the others to her one by one. Once inside, they will go from there."

"And if Princess Yuui is taken?"

"Then Lady and Consort help us all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lullaby for this chapter is 'Wherever You Are' from Winnie-the-Pooh.


	22. Will My Song Go Winging?

Yuui took a moment to breathe in the crisp night air as her body materialized atop Shirasagi's outer wall. Larg was settled on her shoulder. First her, then Fuuma, Doumeki, Kamui, Rasetsu, Watanuki, Sai, and Karura, all at random, each one given five seconds. Once the forty seconds had passed and she felt each one of them enter, she began her second teleport. Just as she was vanishing, she heard an arrow whiz through the air. It passed right through the spot where her body had been.

Instead of moving in a straight line toward the castle, she chose a random direction and made the jump. The idea was to be as sporadic as possible. They knew their enemies would be able to sense their movements, but they couldn't counter effectively against all of them moving at once. Another forty seconds and she jumped again. This jump brought her into the castle stables. Another forty seconds and making certain that all were accounted for, and she made the jump to Kurogane's bedchamber. The others would make more random jumps until she called for them.

 _Fuuma-san_ , she called out in her thoughts once she'd made certain the coast was clear. _Come to me._

The next moment, the fey lord was by her side.

"No problems yet, my princess."

 _Doumeki_ … _come to me._

The assassin appeared from thin air, just as Fuuma had. His silence indicated that all was well.

_Kamui-san…come to my side._

Her second knight appeared among the others.

"All is well, Princess."

_Rasetsu-san…come to my side._

"Majesty," the dark-haired lord responded, nodding curtly as he appeared beside Kamui.

_Watanuki…come to me._

The nature sprite was also silent as he teleported into the room. She was fairly certain he had picked up on the fact that she was uncomfortable with him addressing her as anything but Yuui-chan.

_Sai-san…come to me._

The brunette earth spirit also appeared silently.

_Karura-san…come to my side._

The white-haired weather spirit did not appear.

"Why isn't she coming?" Yuui asked. "I can feel her, but she won't answer me."

"I was afraid this might happen when she volunteered for the mission," Fuuma started. "She cannot hear you. Not completely, anyway. Our mental link to you is still new and fragile, but it should at least be enough for simple thoughts like that. Lady Karura will not recognize you, therefore she blocks herself from hearing your thoughts."

"Is there any way to contact her? I think she's in danger."

"If you will permit me…" Fuuma trailed off. She nodded.

_Lady Karura…come here to us. Your princess has need of you._

As Karura appeared among them, she was pulling an arrow out of her shoulder.

"She is _not_ my princess!" she hissed defiantly.

"Are you all right?" Yuui asked, though she noted that the blood flow had already stopped.

Karura did not dignify her with an answer. She just glared.

"They already know we're here," she said to Fuuma. "We must move quickly."

"Where do we go from here, Yuui-hime?" Kamui asked.

"I assume everyone can sense the two wards that exist within the palace?"

"Yes. Is the throne room protected by one of them, perchance?" Rasetsu asked.

"No. I know the palace well. The wards protect Tomoyo's bedchamber and the central dungeon, where traitors to the crown are kept."

"Clearly Kyle meant for us to come here," Watanuki said angrily. "It's not too late for you to get out, Yuui-chan. We can continue without you."

"No," she said calmly. "I will see this through to the end. I know this place better than any of you." As she spoke, she glanced sadly around the room. Her two brothers had been here only two nights ago, enjoying their last night of peace for who knew how long, thinking they would soon be celebrating their marriage. How had everything gone so wrong?

"The guards will probably be here any moment. What's the plan?" Kamui asked.

"We will rescue Tomoyo first. If we can, we will free the prisoners in the dungeon as well."

"Everyone will travel in formation around the princess," Fuuma ordered as they moved out into the corridor. "No one breaks the line and not one assailant touches her."

Yuui hated this - having other people form a living shield around her. But she could not convince any of them to change this. So they continued forward.

"Can Yuui help Tomoyo?" Larg asked uncertainly.

"She's not letting me in," Yuui whispered sadly. Ever since becoming one in the dreamscape, they had shared a very deep telepathic link, much deeper than anything she would ever share with any of her 'subjects'. She knew something had happened to Tomoyo yesterday, but the younger princess was blocking her, preventing her from seeing her mind. She knew Tomoyo hadn't slept last night because she'd spent the better part of the night trying to connect with her and she wouldn't budge.

Yuui's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Karura's excited hiss of, "Here they come."

At first, all Yuui could see were a few shadows moving swiftly down the dim corridor, but the next moment, everything went to hell.

A giant black _thing_ that had no definite shape but a definite set of teeth shot out of the wall and latched onto Doumeki. Watanuki turned to help and Kamui snapped, "Don't break the circ-" His exclamation was cut off by another Oni going for his throat. Almost instantly, the corridor became a writhing, seething mass of demonic Oni. One almost took Yuui's head off, but Sai managed to stop it.

"YUUI-CHAN!" Fuuma shouted. "You've got to get out of here! Get to Tomoyo-hime and _get yourselves out!_ "

"What about you?" she screamed. She couldn't just _leave_ them all here.

"GO!" Doumeki ordered.

"LARG! GET HER OUT!" Watanuki shouted.

The next moment, there was a flash of light and Yuui felt a strange, floating sensation - almost as if she'd been detached from her body. Then she was slamming down to earth again.

"What a trip," she mumbled dazedly to herself as she struggled to her feet. She had never experienced Larg's transportation abilities before. They were different from teleporting herself. She wouldn't have been able to get herself inside Kyle's wards on her own, but the Mokona were a law unto themselves. Kyle couldn't ward against _their_ magic.

"Y-Yuui…chan?"

Yuui glanced around and found herself face to face with-

"Souma-chan!" Instantly, she jumped forward and seized her shocked friend in a desperate hug.

"H-how did you get in? The whole room's sealed."

"Mokona got Yuui inside," the little black thing said proudly.

"Are you all right?" Yuui asked, still clinging to Souma.

"I'm fine, but what's happening outside? Tomoyo-chan won't speak to us. She just keeps saying that Fai-kun's gone. He…he's not-"

"No!" Yuui insisted vehemently. "He'll be okay. I can't explain now. We have to get everyone out first."

"Can you heal Chitose-san?"

"Where's Tomoyo?"

"O-over there," Souma said sadly, pointing toward the balcony. Tomoyo was curled up into a ball beside the door, not looking at them. Yuui knew that Tomoyo had been aware of her presence the moment she entered the city and this rejection hurt. The only thing she wanted to do right now was rush to Tomoyo and hold her in her arms, but she knew that she had to see the plan through to the end if she meant for everyone to live.

"I'll take care of things here, but I need you to take Larg to the central dungeon and get the prisoners out. Larg can get you in and out of the wards and you can transport everyone safely out of Shirasagi."

"What about you?" Souma asked as Larg was passed into her arms.

"We'll be able to hold our own until you get back, but you must come back. Larg is our only hope of escape."

Souma nodded her agreement as Larg opened its mouth wide and a magic circle appeared beneath her feet.

"I'll come back for you," she said seriously. Yuui watched in awe as her body was sucked into Larg's mouth. Then the tiny creature passed through the magic circle and it vanished as if it had never been. Taking only a moment to get over her amazement, Yuui then rushed over to the ailing Chitose.

The woman had gone silent. She was pale and still. Fearful, Yuui listened for the sound of her breath as she unraveled the crude bandage from around the wound. Thankfully, she was still alive. Yuui hummed a soothing melody as she placed her glowing hands on the dying woman's body. Chitose's eyes flew open as the wound closed under the warm glow of Yuui's power.

"Who are you?" she whispered as she gazed up at Yuui.

"A friend. I'm here to help."

"Are you…fey?"

"A little," she replied before standing and walking toward Tomoyo.

"You won't hurt her…will you?" Chitose asked worriedly.

Yuui shook her head. "I won't hurt her. I love her more than my own life. If only she would see that…" she said softly as she knelt before Tomoyo and wrapped her arms around her.

"Why did you come here?" Tomoyo whispered, her voice thick with tears.

"I came here for _you_ ," she responded fiercely, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"You shouldn't have come. It's a trap! I'm the bait, Yuui! Don't you see? He knew you would come for me! He'll kill you, Yuui! He'll _kill_ you!"

"I know that, Tomoyo. I know _all_ of that," she soothed, running her fingers through the younger girl's hair. "I came for you anyway. I'll always come for you. Nothing could have stopped me."

Tomoyo finally looked up at her as she pressed a hand against her swollen stomach.

"Not even K-"

"Shh," Yuui shushed her, smiling slightly. "We're not alone right now." Then she leaned forward and pressed a loving kiss to her fiancé's lips. Tomoyo wrapped her arms around her and kissed her back, fearing that it would be the last time. Yuui held on, even when she felt the wards tremble around them.

"I knew you would come… _Princess_."

Yuui held tightly to Tomoyo as they stood up together, protecting each other and the child cocooned between them. Yuui did not even deign to turn and face Kyle.

"And you honestly thought you would catch me by surprise?"

"Well, not by _surprise_. You know, Yuui-chan, you look exactly like your brother from behind. It's almost frightening."

That caught her attention. Yuui turned, enraged, but enough in possession of her senses to keep Tomoyo right behind her. Upon turning, she discovered that Kyle was not alone. The man from the other night was there as well - Koryu.

"Where is he?" she demanded. "What have you done with Fai?"

"He is in a place where you can never reach him. Even if your pathetic exiled prince's kiss _could_ save him, he cannot reach him. The only way to see your brother again is to enter the sleep of death yourself…and only _nightmares_ await you there."

Kyle's taunting lit a fire in Yuui's heart, awakening power in her the likes of which she had never known. Her blood boiled with it. Her very being sang with it. But it was nothing like the magic she typically used. She was a healer…but this…this was death she held in her hands. This raw power that burned inside of her, seeking a release, _any_ release…was the power to destroy. Something in her knew that if she let this power fly, she would no longer be its master. She would only be the conduit. But at this very moment, she could not bring herself to care. She knew only that she wanted Kyle dead. She screamed in rage.

"DAMN YOU!" she shrieked as she flew forward, raising her hands to strike. Kyle didn't even look worried. In fact, he looked exhilarated.

"Yes, little princess," he whispered in anticipation. "Show me your power. Show me what you've got."

"YUUI!" Tomoyo screamed. Her lover's terrified voice broke through to the maddened princess. She stopped inches from Kyle, his wicked smile suddenly registering in her mind. She looked down at herself and saw her body glowing with dark fire.

_What…what am I doing?_

"Yuui, please don't!" Tomoyo sobbed. "I don't want to see you like this." Somehow she knew that if she let Yuui choose this path, she could never come back to her again.

The young woman stared at her hands as the dark fire slowly burned out. How…how could she have…?

"Tomoyo, I…I…"

"Couldn't do it, eh?" Kyle asked mockingly, seizing her wrists. "Pathetic."

"Let go of me!"

"You could easily make me release you if you summoned up even a fraction of the power you just displayed…but you won't do it. You're too scared."

"Let her go!" Tomoyo shouted. She rushed forward, the fact that she was terrified of Kyle cancelled out by the fact that his hands were on Yuui.

"NO! Tomoyo, no! Stay back!" Just as Yuui turned her horrified eyes to her beloved, her slender body went flying through the air and crashed against the wall.

"TOMOYO!"

The dark-haired princess raised her head and weakly tried to reach a hand out to Yuui, but they both fell.

"Y-Yuui…"

"Tomoyo-hime!" Chitose cried out, beginning to move from Amaterasu's side.

"Move and she dies," Kyle warned casually. Chitose froze.

Instantly, Yuui felt the black fire return to her heart. Kyle hurt Tomoyo. That was _unforgivable!_

"Yes," Kyle hissed as the demonic fire took hold of her again. "Do you hate me, little Yuui? Do you feel the rage flowing through your veins? I hurt her. I deserve it. You know what to do. Make me pay!"

Yuui snarled, struggling her hardest against Kyle. She knew she was being pushed, but she didn't care anymore. She'd lost too much. She wasn't going to lose anything more.

_Except yourself._

At the moment she would have unleashed the full fury of her power upon Kyle, she felt something clench deep within her body.

_The…baby…? My…baby…_

The child was moving again, kicking, really. Once again, the fire drained out of her and she fell to her knees as Kyle released her wrists. With tears in her eyes, she placed her hands on her stomach, feeling the tiny kicks through the skin. It was painful, but it was a reminder that she couldn't just lose control. There were people depending on her.

"No," she whispered, clutching her stomach. "No! I won't hurt them."

"Damn," Kyle muttered, his triumphant expression falling. "I was so close. Oh well, I suppose we'll just have to move to plan B. Koryu, if you would be so kind…"

Koryu glanced down at the princess with what could be classified as pity in his eyes before snapping his fingers. The next instant, the room was filled with swirling, shifting shadows. When the shadows finally solidified into the nightmarish forms of the Oni, they revealed seven bound prisoners among them.

"No," Yuui whispered in horror. Her faerie guard lay on the ground, all of them bound hand and foot. However, the thing that boggled was that not a one of them was injured. They all just lay on the floor, staring helplessly at her.

"We failed you, Princess," Sai said sadly.

"Please forgive us," Fuuma added.

"What are you all doing?" Yuui asked in despair. "You're not hurt. Rope can't hold you. Why won't you fight?"

Doumeki turned away from her and Watanuki looked like he might cry.

"Yuui-chan…we're so sorry."

"I think you'll find that _this_ rope will hold them. I created this spell using a strand of your hair that I pulled off of Tomoyo-chan…a rather ingenious use of magic, if I do say so myself."

"What have you done to them?" Yuui demanded.

"You see, this rope is very fragile. It wouldn't take much for them to break it…but therein lies their peril. This rope is magically linked to you. For every strand of rope that breaks…a piece of _you_ will break with it. And I _know_ that no one here wants to find out just how much abuse your body can take before your mortality kicks in."

"Karura-san, if you make _one_ move against the princess-" Fuuma started to warn.

"Don't worry. I'm not _that_ stupid," the weather sprite retorted. "The wretch is carrying your child, after all."

"You must choose, little princess. Your loyal servants, the people who have loved and protected you…or the woman you love, the one person who makes your skin glow and your life complete. Who will it be?"

_No. NO! Dear Goddess! How did this happen?_

She had survived a fall from a tower. Maybe she wasn't as mortal as they claimed? Perhaps she could-

"Don't even _think_ about it, Yuui," Doumeki snarled, causing Yuui to withdraw the hand she'd been stretching out toward them. "You're _not_ dying for us."

"Y-Yuui, please…don't…" Tomoyo struggled to speak as she rose slowly to her knees. "I don't…want…"

_What can I do?_

_**You can use what you have. I am your weapon, my daughter. Use me.** _

_Wait! What's happening to me?_

No one quite knew what was happening at first. Yuui fell to her knees and screamed, a sound that was at once terrifying and rapturous. Her body trembled violently for a few moments; then she climbed shakily to her feet.

"Yuui?" Doumeki whispered.

She was different. It wasn't the aura of the fey that surrounded her. This was something entirely different. Her eyes were empty and power fairly cracked in the air around her. She was Yuui no longer.

"Please…don't harm her," Watanuki begged fearfully. Most in the room were already aware that they were in the presence of the Goddess Herself. She was using Yuui to act…as Her tool. It was not uncommon for the Lady and her Consort to speak through the sovereign of Faerie, but would Yuui's mortal body be able to bear the weight of the Lady's true voice? The girl who was known as Yuui could easily be lost in all that power. Would the Goddess leave her intact once Her will had been worked?

She slowly raised Her hands, gazing toward Heaven. Her mouth opened slightly in a whisper and the ropes binding the seven faeries instantly fell away, unbroken. They moved to their knees in awe and fear, watching as Yuui-who-wasn't turned and began to walk slowly toward Tomoyo.

Nihon's princess knelt, trembling in fear, not of the Goddess, but for the lover she could no longer see in the eyes that she knew so well. She had seen this once before - in her dreams.

"Who…who are you?" she asked, tears streaming freely down her face.

"I am Yuui." When She spoke, Her words seemed to fill Tomoyo up, thrumming inside of her until it seemed that she would be swallowed up by the music of Her voice.

"But…not Yuui alone," she whispered, trying to contradict without openly contradicting.

A small smile flitted about the mouth, but the eyes remained empty as She knelt before her. "No. Not alone."

"Please…give Yuui back to me."

The stranger in her lover's body placed Her hands on her shoulders, leaned down, and kissed her lips. Tomoyo felt heat fill her body at the contact and all of her wounds instantly melted away.

"Will you still bear the burden of loving one who could be lost to you so easily? Will you still take her hand?"

"She will _always_ be Yuui!" Tomoyo sobbed, struggling in the Goddess' embrace. "Please bring her back! Please! I _must_ have my Yuui back! _I must!_ "

"Why do you turn away?" the deity asked sadly.

"Because I can't _bear_ to see Yuui's eyes so empty like that. It's like I've _lost_ her! I can't stand it!"

Again, a small smile alighted on the mouth, only this one was sad…and no matter how the face changed, the eyes remained empty.

"Do not fear. You will have her back…but we will meet again before you come to me, Tomoyo-hime. There is yet a decision for you to make."

Then She blinked…and Yuui lived within her eyes once again. She fell forward and Tomoyo quickly caught her in her arms.

"Yuui-chan!" Watanuki shouted.

"Princess!" Kamui cried out. The two guardians and the two knights made to move forward, but Kyle holding out his arm stopped them dead.

"Take one more step and I kill them both."

"Yuui! My Yuui! Are you all right? Tell me you're not hurt!" Tomoyo sobbed, holding her love close and crying into her hair.

"I…She was so…so bright, koibito…" Yuui whispered against Tomoyo's chest, holding tightly to her. Yuui had barely managed to hold onto herself in the maelstrom of power. She felt that if she let go of Tomoyo, she would lose herself and spiral away into the cold darkness of oblivion. "Please…just…hold onto me."

Had they been alone, their tender moment would have lasted much longer and Yuui would have had time to recover herself. However, they were not and the next thing they both heard was the sound of Kyle applauding.

"Charming performance, my darling princesses. But this is only magic to distract me. I don't know how you escaped my spell, but it matters not. I still hold one bit of leverage over you."

Kyle held out his hand and gave it a sharp twist. At that same moment, Yuui doubled over in pain. It felt as if someone had rammed a dagger through her stomach and was twisting her insides. Then she felt a horrible pain screaming out in her mind…a pain that was not her own…and she could almost swear that she could hear a baby crying.

"Oh! Oh, God, Yuui! Yuui, look! Look! It's- no! Oh, dear Goddess! No! The baby! She's-"

As horrified realization dawned on Yuui, she glanced down to where Tomoyo was pointing and saw that the skirt she was wearing and the floor beneath her were all stained with blood. A great black river of blood was flowing from between her legs.

"Oh, God," Fuuma whispered. His child… _their_ child…

"Please, no," Watanuki prayed.

The baby… _her_ baby…her sweet little daughter, who had not even tasted life yet…

_My baby!_

"NOOOO!!"

She screamed…and screamed and screamed and screamed. She couldn't _stop_ screaming.

_I lost her! I lost her! My baby! My sweet daughter! She's gone! I didn't…even get to see her face._

Power began to boil off of her body like a solar fire. She had barely enough presence of mind to shove Tomoyo away from her before her magic exploded.

The room filled with the brilliance of the sun. The Oni scattered in the face of the wild magic and Koryu fell to his knees in awe. Kyle's face lit with a kind of demonic joy.

"You fool!" Doumeki shouted at the dark faerie. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

" _AAAAGHH!!_ "

" _YUUI!_ " Tomoyo screamed, desperately trying to get through to her. But Yuui's pain would not be contained.

"Damn it, Kyle! You've got to release this barrier or we'll all be killed!" Kamui shouted.

"Never!" Kyle cried out in glee. "I will not die. What better way for the princess to perish than knowing that she killed all of you?"

"STOP THIS!" Watanuki screamed. He couldn't bear to see his daughter suffering so.

Fuuma hadn't yet reacted to Yuui's outburst. He could only stand and stare at the clotted blood that flowed onto the floor from Yuui's body. That was…their daughter…the little life that they had created together…bleeding onto the floor like so much waste…never to see the sunlight or draw her first breath.

Sai, Karura, Rasetsu, and Chitose all looked on in shock. This was the scene that Souma and Larg teleported into.

"What's happening?" the confused kunoichi shouted.

"YUUI!" Larg screamed.

Tomoyo slowly rose from the floor where Yuui had shoved her, gazing upon the conflagration that was her love in awe and terror. Slowly, she began to move toward Yuui.

"TOMOYO-HIME! STAY BACK!" Watanuki shouted at her, but the princess was deaf to all but Yuui's shrieks of heartbreak. Certainly she was stricken by the loss of the child, but Yuui was her primary concern right now.

_You're_ _**not** _ _leaving me, Yuui. I won't let you destroy yourself like this._

She could feel her skin getting hot as she approached the maddened blonde. When she actually reached forward and took hold of her wrists, she could feel her hands searing. As she gazed into her eyes, she felt like she was gazing into the heart of a star…if a star could feel pain, loss, and despair. But no matter how much harm it was causing her, no matter how much pain she herself was feeling, now that she had gotten a hold of Yuui, she would not relinquish that hold.

"Yuui…please…come back to me," she pleaded softly. "Come all the way about."

In all of her anguish, Yuui finally seemed to hear her lover. She looked Tomoyo in the eyes and she felt herself through all of her pain. The power her body was spinning off subsided and she collapsed into Tomoyo's arms once more.

"She's gone, Tomoyo. Gone! Why? I never…got to hold her. Our little girl," she sobbed openly against Tomoyo's breast.

"I'm sorry, Yuui. I'm so sorry," she whispered, sobbing quietly as she held the distraught blonde close. But the next thing she knew, arms were pulling Yuui away from her and another pair of arms was wrapping around her own waist.

"Wait! No! Yuui!" she shouted in panic.

"Now, Larg!" she heard someone shout. Then there was a brilliant flash of light and Tomoyo suddenly had the feeling of being utterly weightless. Then, just as suddenly, she was slamming back to earth. They were in Celes, surrounded by the armies of Faerie.

"Yuui! Yuui! Where's Yuui?" she cried out as the arms released her.

"She's here. She's…fine." The arms pointed her in the right direction and she found Doumeki kneeling with Yuui cradled protectively in his arms. She was crying weakly and clinging desperately to him.

"She's gone, Doumeki! She's gone! M-my baby! My little girl! _My little girl!_ "

Doumeki remained silent as he laid Yuui down on the ground, pressing first his hands, then his head to her womb. If there was even the slightest chance…they had to be one hundred percent sure.

_Please, let her be there. She's got to be there. Yuui needs her. If she's not there…there is no hope left._ _**Live! You've got to live!** _

_But…I don't feel anything._

"What good is my power?" Yuui sobbed as Tomoyo knelt beside her and pulled her head into her lap. "It can't even save one small life."

_Give me back my baby! Give her back!_

However, just when Doumeki was ready to give up hope, he felt something reach out to him - a thought - a tiny, faint whisper…something entirely foreign to him. It was…an emotion. Pain…and fear…fear of not existing…of no longer being held safe in Mama's embrace. At first, he did not understand. Why was he feeling these things? They were not _his_ emotions. But then it clicked. Of _course_ he was receiving these impressions in the form of emotion. A child not yet born could not think in words.

"Yuui! Yuui, she's still alive," he reported urgently. "She's still in there."

Yuui's eyes opened wide. Her tear-stained face shone brightly beneath the full moon's light.

"W-what?"

"She's calling out…crying for you. She's in pain. She's frightened. She needs you. Kyle didn't kill her. She's not dead yet. You have to _heal_ her."

"You're sure?" Fuuma asked.

"Not…dead?" Yuui whispered as she placed her hands on her stomach.

"You have to do it now, or she won't make it. _Now,_ Yuui!"

Yuui drew in a sharp breath as her hands began to glow. She felt her magic working in her body, repairing, healing, _saving_.

_Please…don't go. I love you. I_ _**need** _ _you. Let me hold you in my arms. Let me see your face._

She finally released the breath she'd been holding when she felt her womb settle. Her child was safe. The threat of death was over - for now. The tears flowing down her face as Tomoyo leaned down to kiss her were tears of relief. She clung very tightly to her princess as they kissed, never wanting to let go. In this moment, she was surrounded by the family they were building together and she feared that if she let go, something might happen - something like what had _almost_ happened - and she would lose them forever.

When the two princesses finally separated, Yuui let her head fall back into Tomoyo's lap and reached up a hand to stroke her cheek. Tomoyo's face was just as tear-streaked as her own.

"It's all right now, Yuui," Tomoyo whispered gently as she reached down to wipe the tears from her face, wincing lightly as her burned skin came into contact with the salt water on Yuui's face.

"Oh!" Yuui gasped, realizing the problem and seizing Tomoyo's wrists to examine the damage. "Oh, God! I've hurt you!"

"It's not your fault," Tomoyo soothed, smiling weakly. "You…thought she was gone. You couldn't have been expected to control it. Besides, healing is no problem for you."

Yuui shook her head as her hands began to glow again, healing the burns. The circumstances did not matter. Nothing could ever change the fact that she had brought harm to Tomoyo. It was inexcusable - _unforgivable._

"Yuui…chan?" Fuuma whispered hesitantly as he approached the couple. "Are you…all right?"

"Yes…Fuuma-san," she replied just as softly as Tomoyo helped her to sit up. "We're fine. We're okay."

"Thank the Consort," Kamui said softly as he moved to stand beside Fuuma, placing a hand on his shoulder. The action was involuntary, something to reassure both Fuuma and himself that everything was all right. When they both actually noticed the contact, they turned to look at each other. Fuuma stared curiously at the younger faerie and Kamui felt himself blushing faintly, but he did not take his hand back. Why did he suddenly feel so self-conscious? Admittedly, he had had certain _thoughts_ about the older noble, but nothing that had ever made him feel quite like this. Almost before he had realized it, Fuuma had reached up his own hand and placed it upon his. Neither knew why, but they both felt that they were taking a step forward tonight…that they were taking steps that could not be untaken…doing things that could not be undone.

"How?" Yuui asked softly in the relieved silence around them. "How did…she live? Why didn't she die…when Kyle attacked her?" She didn't understand how such a little thing could bleed so much and still be alive.

"My only guess is that he underestimated her," Watanuki responded. "That spell _would_ have killed a mortal child. Perhaps he thought she didn't have enough fey blood to save her? Even by fey standards, a child still in the womb is vulnerable to such an attack."

"You challenged the Dark Court, _Princess_ ," Karura said, a little less scornfully than usual. "You should have known that there might be consequences."

"Never again," Yuui vowed as she and Tomoyo stood. "I won't put her in such danger again. I won't face him again until she's born."

"A wise decision, Highness," Sai put in. "It would be unwise to risk your heir anymore than necessary."

Yuui briefly wondered if that was all any of them cared about, but her bitter thoughts were interrupted by Souma flinging her arms around both her and Tomoyo. As the three young women embraced, they all remembered the last time the three of them had been together not two days ago. Everything was so very different now.

"Y-Yuui-chan," Souma finally whispered against her. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I…I let Kyle take her."

"There wasn't anything you could have done," Yuui said softly. "Not against him."

"It's all right," Tomoyo whispered, snuggling between her lover and her friend. "It will be all right now."

_No. No, it's not. It might never be all right again._

"We'll talk more when we're all safe," Yuui said as she pulled back, though she still leaned against the two other girls, seeking support. "We can't stay here."

"Yuui-chan?" Fuuma broke in softly. "I'm sorry, but it would appear we're not all accounted for."

"What?" Yuui demanded. "What happened? Who are we missing?"

"Chang Ang-sama, Arashi-chan, and Sorata-kun," Kusanagi reported as he approached them. He had somehow become the unspoken leader of the dissenters of Shirasagi. "They weren't imprisoned with us. When we fought against the invaders, Arashi-chan and Sorata-kun fought against Seishiro. They were taken. We've no idea what's become of them or Chang Ang-sama. I'm sorry, my princess," the ninja master said as he knelt before Tomoyo. "But…what has become of our prince? Where is Kurogane-sama?" he asked. His eyes were filled with worry for the boy he'd guarded since infancy.

"He's safe," Yuui answered for the uncertain Tomoyo. "You'll…be able to see him when we return to Faerie."

"The prince is…on the other side?" Kusanagi asked, amazed.

"It's the safest place right now," Fuuma explained. "For the time being, we will all withdraw."

Kusanagi looked thoughtful for a moment before rising, taking Tomoyo's and Yuui's hands in his.

"Forgive me, Majesties, but I cannot. My place is in Nihon. I must gather followers for the true emperor. My princess," he said, raising Tomoyo's hand to his lips and kissing it. Then he raised Yuui's hand and kissed it as well before addressing her. "I know you and I have never met, Princess Yuui Fluorite, but Souma-chan has told me of you. So young, yet so willing to sacrifice for the ones you care about. You saved our lives, Princess, and we are forever in your debt. I'm certain you will make a worthy queen, so you must understand that my duty is to my own ruler. We will rouse the land, raise the people against this evil. You may tell Kurogane-sama that many remain who are loyal to him. We will serve no one but the true sovereign and we _will_ win him back his crown." Then the ninja master took their two hands and joined them, looking up and gazing piercingly into Yuui's eyes. "Please…take care of our Tomoyo-sama. She is dear to us all."

Yuui stared back just as unflinchingly, clasping Tomoyo's hand all the tighter. "I will. I swear it. She is dear to me, too. No harm will come to Tomoyo while there is still breath in my body."

Smiling gratefully, Kusanagi bowed low before them before going back to the group of liberated rebels to address them.

"My fellow ninja, we were all imprisoned for the same reason - we will have no one but Kurogane-sama as our lord. Now is the time to put that loyalty to the test. A choice lies before you. War has come to Nihon, and you must choose whom you will stand with. I will lead those who are willing and together we will build an army of soldiers who remain faithful. However, if anyone does not wish to join this dangerous quest, there will be a place of safe haven in Faerie. No one will be thought any less of for choosing safety. This _will_ be dangerous. But, for those who will join me, now is the time!"

"That's my man!" Yuzuriha shouted as she ran toward her lover and embraced him. Loud cheers rose up around the couple as the fledgling army surged around them. Not a one of them stepped back from Kusanagi.

"Rasetsu-san?" Yuui called hesitantly to the Yama lord, who came instantly to her side.

"Yes, my princess?"

"Would you…could you…stay with Kusanagi-san and the others? Could you protect them?" Keeping Kusanagi and the others safe was the least she could do for Kurogane and Tomoyo.

Rasetsu bowed low before her and took her hand in his, kissing it gently. "As you wish, my lady," he said softly before going to join the Nihon rebellion. As he moved to join them, someone else stepped away from the crowd. Lord Kakyo Kuzuki - Souma's father.

"You're…going to Faerie?" the man asked his daughter, an odd tone to his voice that Souma couldn't place because she had never heard it from him before.

"Yes. So if you're going to try to tell me not to, you may as well save your breath, _Otou-san_. My friends need me. Our _nation_ needs me. Nothing you can say will stop me," she replied, the bitterness that always entered her voice when she spoke to her father returning in force. She couldn't be civil to him even in this charged atmosphere.

"Indeed," he said, a touch of the usual spite entering his voice. "Heaven knows if I _could_ have stopped you doing anything, I would have had some measure of success before now, but…just…be careful." Kakyo stood awkwardly for a moment before moving forward to give his daughter an awkward hug. Souma just stood there, a little too surprised to even _think_ of returning it. When he finally backed off, she stared at him curiously. He had never shown her affection, not once…that she could remember, anyway.

"Be careful," he repeated before returning to the fledgling rebellion. Souma could only stand and stare in silence.

"Princess?" Ransho began as he approached the three girls. "If it pleases you, Touki and the Water Guard will remain here to protect the borders of the forest. Ryuuki will accompany you back to Faerie and I will lead the Earth and Fire Guards to honor our alliance with Valeria. That is undoubtedly where Yuuko will turn her gaze."

Yuui looked completely lost for a moment. She had no idea if this was a good plan or not. She had no gift for grand strategies and wars. She had not been trained to lead, but she suddenly found herself with no choice. She glanced first to Fuuma, then to her two fathers, all of whom nodded. She turned to Souma and Tomoyo last of all for their thoughts. After all, they were her friends and they had more experience in this arena than she did. Souma nodded and Tomoyo smiled encouragingly.

"A-all right. Do as you will. I leave it to you."

"Princess," he said, also giving her an encouraging look as he repeated Rasetsu's action. Were these people always going to be kissing her hand?

"My lady," A red-haired faerie started as he approached her and performed the whole ritual again. She had seen him during the council, but they'd not been introduced.

"Ryuuki-san?" she guessed.

"Yes. It is time we were getting back. The empress is in need of a healer and a bed, and I think that you and Princess Tomoyo could do with some rest."

"The empress?" Yuui asked, turning to look at Tomoyo, who smiled weakly.

"Yes. Fuuma-san brought her and Chitose-san with us when we made the jump. Perhaps there is someone in Faerie who can help her. Yuui…is…is Kurogane really all right?"

For a moment, Yuui was silent. Then she pulled Tomoyo back into her arms.

"You'll just have…to see for yourself. He's safe, but…Tomoyo…I really don't know what we can do for him."

XxX

When Arashi awoke, she found herself lying on a bed in a room she had never seen before. It was dark and cold, and she couldn't see much beyond the bed where she lay. Upon closer inspection, she found that she'd been stripped of her weapons and armor and she could feel that she was very much naked beneath the blanket that covered her body. Her head spun slightly as she sat up, pressing the blanket against her chest. She had to fight the urge to throw up from the dizziness. The last thing she remembered was fighting against Seishiro with Sorata at her side. Kusanagi had warned them not to take him on, but it had happened just the same. She remembered Sorata falling…a scream of rage…an intense pain in her head…then nothing.

"Ah, you're awake. Excellent," a voice called out from the darkness of the room.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "Show yourself!"

"You know me, Arashi-chan. I am your future."

"What are you talking about? Where am I? Why have you brought me here? Where's Sorata?"

"Oh, your Sorata-kun's safe…for now." As the voice spoke, its owner finally stepped into her view. The faerie prince with the single grey eye - Seishiro. The ninja mistress immediately felt her anger flare up.

"Where is he? What have you done with him?"

"He is unharmed…and he will remain so if you cooperate with me," he said as he sat down on the bed.

"What do you want with me?" she asked quietly, staring distrustfully at her enemy.

"Nihon has fallen. Kyle Rondart sits upon your throne now and he is my mother's vassal. That makes you subject to _my_ whim," he explained, reaching forward to stroke her cheek. She quickly slapped him away, briefly exposing herself.

"I will _never_ bow to you!" she hissed.

Seishiro just shook his head, smiling condescendingly. "Arashi-chan, you are a beautiful young woman naked on a bed with no way out and a prince who has need of your body. What do you think is going to happen here tonight? There's not a thing you can do against me." Again, he leaned forward to touch her, and again, she slapped him away.

"Whatever you've done with Sorata, set him free right now!"

"No fear. Truly amazing. I've just told you I'm going to rape you and you've shown not one sign of fear. You are an amazing specimen, Arashi-chan."

"I don't _care_ what you do to me. Nothing you do can defeat me. I don't mean to sit passively by, but whatever you want with me, he's not a part of it. I demand that you release him."

Seishiro laughed. "Not only an exemplary specimen, but also amusing. I really have chosen the perfect vessel. What is Sorata-kun to you, Arashi-chan? He is not your family, nor your lover. He has given you countless declarations of his love for you and you remain cold and indifferent. If he is worth so little to you, why do you demand his freedom?"

Arashi remained silent for a long moment, her thoughts hovering over ground she had avoided for many years. The question was there, in her mind and heart, waiting to be answered…but she was afraid to answer it. Love - if it was even that which lurked in her soul - was pain to her. It had only ever brought her sorrow…as it would this night if she chose to embrace it. For now, she just wanted him safe.

"Because he's not part of this. He's innocent. If he means as little to me as you claim, what need is there to keep him prisoner?"

"Because you and I both know that you're lying to yourself. You will know it before the night is out, but it will no longer matter. You belong to me now."

"I belong to no one."

"Indeed? We shall see."

There was no sudden flood of light. The horrible vision simply became clear before her eyes - like an apparition out of the morning mist. Sorata was lying on the bed beside them, bound hand and foot and gagged. He was struggling against his bonds and trying to scream, his eyes filled with horror and fear…not for himself, but for _her_.

"Still planning on fighting?"

"Let him go _now!_ "

"Now why would I do that? He is my hold over you. Do you see what I mean now? If you resist in any way…then Sorata-kun's life is forfeit."

As Seishiro spoke, the gag in the ninja's mouth loosened and disappeared and he struggled more violently against his bonds.

"Arashi, don't worry about me! I don't _care_ what he does to me! You _can't_ give in to him! _You can't!_ "

"I'd stop that if I were you, Sorata-kun," Seishiro warned, reaching a hand over to stroke Arashi's hair. She did not pull away. "If you move so much as one eye lash, I'll kill your precious Arashi-chan. She's a rare specimen, but I can always find myself another vessel."

Sorata immediately fell still, his eyes burning with pain and helpless rage.

Arashi turned her hard gaze down to her hands, clutching the blanket. She couldn't risk Sorata's safety…and he clearly wouldn't risk hers. They were trapped.

"Why me?" she asked, staring neither at Sorata nor their captor, only blankly ahead into the darkness. Sorata wasn't certain, but he thought the hands that held the blanket against her chest were shaking just slightly.

"Because you have fey blood in you. Fey blood mingled with human blood…and, as I said before, you are indeed a rare find. Such a strong woman. If I am to be king of Faerie, I must have an heir. Your body will be the cradle that nurtures and brings forth my royal seed. I will take you, Arashi-chan. I will place my child in your womb," he explained as he placed a hand against her stomach. She could feel the coldness of his skin even through the blanket. She felt like she might be sick but she did not pull away for fear of bringing harm to Sorata.

"Why would you want your heir to have human blood?" Arashi tried to reason. "I thought you dark fey wanted to _stamp out_ the stain of mortality."

"It _will_ be stamped out eventually, but for now, the Dark Court needs an ally in the half-fey. Nihon and Valeria are littered with the products of human/fey trysts. These mongrels have traditionally been able to find a home in Valeria, but before too long, that nation will no longer exist. Nihon's relations with its half-fey population have also traditionally been shaky. Amaterasu-chan changed that, but now that Kyle is in charge, things are going to change. The people don't know that he's fey. He will drive the half-fey out of Nihon and the Dark Court will offer them asylum in exchange for their loyalty. We need shields to throw against Faerie. Our enemies take issue with attacking _defenseless_ humans."

"That's so disgusting," Arashi said, carefully keeping her voice toneless. If she allowed her feelings to get away from her right now, it would not go well for Sorata.

"Disgusting? But my dear Arashi-chan, you will be the foundation of this brilliant plan. When they see that the mother of my child is part human, they will flock to us in droves. It all begins with you…right in here," he whispered in her ear, pressing a hand between her legs as he pulled her body up against his. When his fingers touched a certain spot, an intense bolt of pleasure shot through her body and she almost began to cry. No one had ever touched her there. _She_ had never touched herself there. She was still a virgin. Her family had been killed and she had grown up with almost no women in her life. She had thrown herself so vigorously into her ninja training that she barely understood the parts of her body that made her a woman. She had never undertaken those first delicate explorations that most young women do. She had almost panicked upon bleeding for the first time. She didn't understand why the things Seishiro was doing to her body felt so good. She didn't know that she couldn't help the way her body reacted to just the right stimulation, and, in its own way, unwanted pleasure is worse than any pain could ever be. For him to make her feel this way…did it mean that…she _wanted_ it?

_No. No! Goddess, no!_

"Does that feel good, Arashi-chan? You like it, don't you?" he whispered to her as he continued to pleasure her through the blanket. Another hand slipped beneath the blanket to fondle her breast.

It _did_ feel good. _Why_ did it feel good? It _shouldn't_ feel good! He was _raping_ her!

"Nngh! Please!" she cried out, on the verge of tears. "No! _Stop!_ " She grabbed at the hands on her body, desperately pushing them away from her. She was no longer certain that she could handle it - for him to violate her like this. She clutched the blanket tighter against her body than ever.

"You monster!" Sorata growled, struggling to remain still. "How can you use her like this?"

"I thought we talked about this, Sorata-kun. How do you prefer her? Defiled…or dead? Either way works for me."

Sorata closed his eyes for a moment. He felt that he might cry for how helpless and enraged he felt.

"Arashi, please," he begged, finally opening his eyes and looking up at his comrade, the woman he loved. "I'm not important. I don't want you to have to go through this for my sake. Don't protect me just because I'm your fellow ninja. I don't want something this horrible to be in your memory because of me. Just get yourself out. Let me go. _Please!_ "

Arashi gazed down at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. Then she reached out to place a trembling hand on his cheek. "You are," she said softly.

"What?"

"You _are_ important…Sorata…so important…the most…important…" She broke off when she felt a tear trickle down her cheek. She couldn't cry in front of him…not now. She had to be strong for him.

"What…are you saying…Arashi?" He felt something stir deep in his chest - something he knew he shouldn't be feeling right now. Could she really…?

"I'm trying to say…that I love you," she said, smiling, though her eyes were full of pain. "I think…I always did. I just couldn't admit it to myself. I love you. I love you so much."

Sorata said nothing. He simply turned his head to the side and kissed the palm of her hand. For a very brief moment, it was just the two of them.

"My Arashi," he whispered.

"This is all very touching, but are you quite finished yet? I have a womb to seed here," Seishiro chided, slipping an arm around Arashi's waist. Again, the kunoichi had the feeling that she might be sick, but she held fast this time, allowing the Dark Prince to touch her body. Sorata was about to explode at Seishiro, but Arashi leaned down and sealed his lips with her own. They shared their first tender, heartbreaking kiss even as she was wrapped in the arms of another man.

"Arashi, listen to me," he whispered against her lips as she began to pull away. " _Don't do this._ "

"But I must," she said, smiling sadly as she laid herself back down on the bed. "I can't let you die…not now. It's all right. I love you…but you must let me go."

He was about to ask her what she meant, but she turned away before he had the chance. She looked away from both of them as Seishiro slowly pulled the blanket off of her, laying her bare.

"That's a good girl, Arashi-chan. Don't be afraid. I'll make you feel good," he whispered to her, kissing her breasts as he started to pleasure her again. This time there were no barriers between them. The tears started when he brought her to her first ever climax. She felt like she could have ripped her heart out and smashed it into the ground as the wave of pleasure swept through her body. She was such a disgusting woman. She knew this was kinder, but she still couldn't stand how _dirty_ she felt as he worked his fingers inside of her, making her ready for him. She made not a sound as she sobbed in heartbreak. She refused to look up at him when he finally entered her. It hurt. Goddess, it hurt, but her tears knew nothing of pain. She cried because she hated herself. She had just told Sorata that she loved him, and…with him right beside her in the bed…she was giving her virginity to someone else. Could she really even call it rape if she was letting him do it? How would she be able to rise from her futon in the mornings? How would she be able to face herself ever again? Why… _why_ did he have to see her ravished? Why did he have to see her like this?

_I'm so awful. I can't_ _**stand** _ _it!_

Then, with a last animalistic groan, Seishiro finished in her and, for all she knew, she was pregnant with his child.

"Thank you, Arashi-chan," he said as he cleaned up and dressed himself. "Our business is complete. The two of you will be kept here for the time being." Then, just like that, he was gone.

The second their tormentor was gone, Sorata found himself unbound and he quickly wrapped his arms around Arashi's trembling form.

"Oh, Arashi! I'm so sorry! I couldn't stop it! I'm sorry I didn't protect you!"

"It's not– your fault," she whispered brokenly. "There wasn't any other way. Sorata…that was…my first time."

"Oh, God…God, I'm sorry," he said over and over again, though he knew that nothing he could say could ever make up for what she'd had to suffer through tonight.

They lay like that for the longest time, Sorata just holding Arashi, stroking her hair and allowing her to cry silently into his chest. When at last her tears seemed to still, he lifted her face up so that he could look her in the eyes.

"What did you mean before…when you said that I had to let you go?"

Again, Arashi turned away from him, more tears threatening to fall.

"Why in the world would you want me now…now that I've been…dishonored like this? I _let_ him take me. I may have saved you, but I've given the enemy a weapon. There's no worse traitor in any land."

Pulling her closer, Sorata made Arashi look back at him. He had a very serious expression on his face.

"Here this now, Arashi Kishu. I don't care how others might perceive what was done here tonight. _He_ was the one who hurt _you_. It's  _not your fault._ You're still _you_. You're still Arashi…the woman I love…have always loved. Nothing else matters…except that you have me here to hold you. I'll always be here…so long as you're still Arashi," he said softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Oh, Sorata!" she hissed as she clung desperately to him, her voice having the sound of some wild beast in pain. She held fast to him, like he was the last real thing in the world, like the darkness that was eating away at the edges of her life would come and take him from her, too.


	23. One Day You'll Awaken

Tomoyo was silent as she followed Yuui through the corridors of the faerie sithen. The journey through the lake had been jarring, to say the least, and she hadn't even been able to _see_ the sithen until she'd entered it. After the things that Yuui had said, she was anxious and afraid to see her brother.

Fuuma and Kamui were in the lead of their small entourage, followed by Yuui and herself. Souma and Ryuuki came after them. Soel and Larg were perched on Souma's shoulders. They were followed by Doumeki and Watanuki. Watanuki was leading Chitose and Doumeki was carrying Amaterasu. Fuuma had sent Sai ahead to bring Subaru, Himawari, and Kurogane to the former king's chambers. There were, apparently, things they needed to discuss away from prying ears.

When they arrived, Kotori was already waiting for them in the main room. She quickly came forward and hugged Fuuma and Kamui.

"I've brought them, Brother, just as you asked. I'm so glad no one was hurt."

"Thank you," Fuuma said softly before moving past her and leading Kamui toward the bedroom where the others waited. Watanuki, Chitose, and Doumeki with Amaterasu followed after them.

"If it pleases you, Princess Yuui, I will stand guard outside the door," Ryuuki said, bowing low and taking her hand.

"Yes, sure…whatever you think best," she said absently. Ryuuki then kissed her hand, giving her a friendly smile before leaving. Once he had gone, Kotori gathered the three girls into her arms. When they separated, she gave Tomoyo a good, long look.

"You're…Kotori-san?" the young woman asked, her eyes wide. She had seen Kotori before.

"Yes," Kotori said with a smile. "We are the same, the three of us."

"Did I…do what you said?" she asked hesitantly, remembering the request she'd made in the dream two years ago.

Kotori shook her head. "No. That moment hasn't yet come. But I have faith that you will make the right decision…and…Tomoyo-chan…I'm sorry," she said sadly, reaching a hand forward to cup Tomoyo's cheek in her palm. Then she turned and followed the others to the bedchamber. The princess stood in shocked silence for a moment, staring after her.

"What?" she whispered.

"No, Tomoyo. Don't be afraid," Yuui insisted vehemently as she seized one of Tomoyo's hands in hers. "It's not too late. We can make him better. We can still make this right." Then, with a look of determination set firmly on her face, Yuui turned and led Tomoyo and Souma into Clow's bedchamber.

Tomoyo had no idea what to expect upon entering the room, but it certainly wasn't what she saw. Her eyes zeroed in on her brother and, for a moment, she froze. He was crouched on a windowsill, his knees drawn up against his chest. In his hands, he cradled a single rose, gazing upon the fragile bloom as if it were some sort of angel. She stood, shaking her head in disbelief. She had never seen him so broken - never. His posture was weak and desperate. His eyes were tired and lost, and an air of defeat hung about him. As far as she knew, her brother had never wished for death, not once in his life, but now it seemed that wish was what defined him. He was a dead man walking, a ghost among the living - a lost soul barely clinging to life.

"Nii-sama!" she cried out, rushing toward him and flinging her arms around him, being careful not to crush the rose he held. "Oh, Kurogane! What's happened to you?"

It took the fallen prince a moment to register his sister's presence. He remained focused on the rose. But, after a time, he began to feel her arms around him and he started to hear her voice.

"I…mouto?" he whispered, slightly confused.

"Yes! Yes, Nii-sama, it's me! Tomoyo! You know me, don't you?"

"Tomoyo," he said, his voice getting a little louder as he wrapped his arms around her. "Tomoyo. You're…all right."

_My baby sister is safe. She's here, but…Fai…Fai's not…he's still…_

"Fai," he whispered, the tiny spark of happiness and relief in his eyes dying as he began to repeat his lover's name, seeking refuge in the repetition - his charm against insanity.

"He's hanging on by a thread," Yuui explained sadly. "I think he does that to keep himself from losing control and slipping away…"

… _into the darkness…into the madness of his guilt and grief…his nightmares._

Yuui didn't need to say it aloud. Tomoyo heard it.

"Oh, God," Souma whispered in shock as she gazed upon her friend, helpless as a small child.

"I've been trying not to let him look directly at me. Whenever he sees me…he thinks that I'm Fai. If it goes on…I'm afraid of what it might do to him."

"Has he eaten anything?" Tomoyo asked, gently stroking his face. He paid her no mind. He kept staring at the rose, chanting Fai's name endlessly as everyone else looked on sadly.

"Nothing. I've tried, but he won't eat or rest. He slept for about an hour last night, but his nightmares kept waking him up. He hasn't slept any since last night."

"What a nightmare," the younger princess whispered, staring sadly into the face of the brother who could not see her. She had known _something_ was going to happen, but she could _never_ have foreseen this. She had been so caught up in Fai and Yuui's futures that she'd failed to see her own brother's fate.

"Don't worry, koibito," Yuui's voice suddenly sounded in her ear. "We'll get him back. We _have_ to. We'll get through to him."

"Fuuma," Sai said as she entered the room. "I've brought him."

A few moments later, Subaru trudged into the room, looking just as bad as Kurogane. His steps were heavy as he moved and his shoulders were hunched in defeat. He wouldn't meet anyone's gaze, but they could all see that his eyes were utterly empty.

"Are you all right, Subaru?" Kamui asked, beginning to move from his place beside Fuuma. Subaru did not answer. Neither did he acknowledge him in any way. He just stood there, staring blankly at nothing. Kamui didn't want to admit it, but he knew Subaru would still be sitting in his chambers had Sai not told him that someone needed his help. Like Yuui, he possessed a Hand of Healing and, being a healer, he could not resist the cry of someone in pain.

Kamui briefly stared at the floor, attempting to keep his emotions from spiraling out of control. He couldn't let the others see his pain. Besides - what was his pain compared with Subaru's, or Yuui's, or Kurogane's?

Finally managing to gain control of himself, Kamui pointed toward the bed, where Doumeki had deposited Amaterasu.

"Her mind is in thrall to the darkness. It is beyond Yuui-sama's skill to heal. She needs help."

Again, Subaru made no acknowledgment. He simply drifted toward the bed, his hands beginning to glow. When he reached her side, he placed his hands on either side of Amaterasu's head, seeking the demon that inhabited the empress' mind.

"Even with all of Subaru-kun's skill, this may take several months to heal," Fuuma explained to Tomoyo. "She's been under Rondart's influence for years. It will take all of his art…and time…time exposed to the healing power of Faerie itself…and…there is also the fact that she's with child to consider."

" _His_ child," Souma hissed in disgust.

"There is something you should know about that. You, in specific, Yuui," Doumeki said, staring levelly at his daughter.

"What does Amaterasu-sama being pregnant have to do with me?" Yuui asked, taking a look around the room for the first time. It was actually quite crowded. There was, of course, herself, Tomoyo, Kurogane, Souma, Doumeki, Watanuki, Himawari, Soel, Larg, Fuuma, Kamui, Kotori, Sai, Subaru, Sakura, Amaterasu, and Chitose there, but Kero, Yue, Kakei, and a man that Yuui had never seen before were all present as well.

"How much do you know about human-fey…relations?" Fuuma asked.

"Not much. Why?"

"A human body is not strong enough to bear a fey child. Whether it wants to or not, the child of a human woman and a fey man cannot help but kill its mother."

"Then…why is Queen Sakura still alive?"

"She is part fey herself. She was able to handle the strain of giving birth to you and Fai-kun. There is also the fact that you are more human than she herself is. Under normal circumstances, only a first generation half blood will kill its mother. As the generations pass, the blood is diluted and becomes less powerful. That is the reason that we fear for your safety."

"What are you saying?"

"Yuui-chan," Watanuki began softly. "Your baby is about three-quarters fey. You yourself are only one-quarter fey. While that one-quarter does manifest very strongly in you and you…certainly have the Goddess' favor…we're worried that your body won't be able to handle the strain. You will be the first woman with mortal blood to bear an almost fully fey child. Your only chance for survival is the fey blood you possess. We just…don't know…"

The silence left by Watanuki's unfinished fear was quickly filled by Sakura's sharp cry of despair. Yuui was in danger? First Fai…then Yuui? She wanted nothing more than to sweep her daughter into her arms - to comfort the both of them - but Yuui wasn't showing any signs of _needing_ comfort. At Watanuki's admission, her eyes had gone directly to Fuuma.

"If you knew this…if it bothered you _so_ much…why did you get me with child in the first place?" she demanded quietly.

"Because I liked your odds of surviving much better in the mortal world," he answered sadly.

"What does _that_ mean?"

"We've never had situations like these before. No mortal woman has ever given birth to a fey child inside Faerie before. No one knows how it will affect you or the baby. It could be a miracle in disguise…or it could be your destruction. The fact of the matter is that we have no way of knowing," the Monou lord explained, his fury at being so powerless beginning to bleed through in his words.

"Why does she have to stay in Faerie?" Souma asked. "If the chances of her survival are greater on the other side, then isn't _that_ where she should be?"

"We don't _know_ if her chances of survival are any less here. That's why we're afraid. But we _do_ know that the mortal world is dangerous because Yuuko can get to her there. Princess," Fuuma said, returning to formalities to prove to her how serious he was. "You will be my queen one day and I will be yours alone to command, that much is true. But as the situation stands right now, I am forced to give you one direct order as your knight and elder. You will not leave Faerie until the child is born."

Yuui was a little angry at Fuuma assuming so much control over her, but it wasn't like she was going to argue with him. The near loss of the small life cradled in her womb had scared all of them. Right now, she could only do what was best for the baby.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Himawari whispered hesitantly, reaching a hand out toward her little girl. "You don't have to have the baby…or take this crown. You don't."

Yuui looked shocked for a moment - that Himawari would even _suggest_ not having the baby - but the fire drained out of her when she saw the defeated way her adopted mother stood. It wasn't Himawari's fault. She simply felt for Yuui what Yuui herself felt for her unborn child. She was just afraid for her safety. Yuui slowly looked around at the others: her family, her friends. Tomoyo, whose eyes looked sick with worry. Himawari, who looked like she might cry. Watanuki, who looked lost. Doumeki, who actually looked…defeated. Sakura, who was crying softly. Kamui and Fuuma, who looked both stern and worried at the same time. Kotori, the only one among them who looked reassuring. Subaru and Amaterasu, who looked very nearly dead. Souma, who was cuddling Soel and Larg. All three looked extremely worried. Kurogane, who was breaking. Everyone. The only one missing - was Fai…her brother…her twin…her other half…the one who had been with her from the beginning. He was the one who should be here now. She should be the one who - not him. She wanted her life back. She wanted to wake in the morning and know that he was near, that he would always be there to share her life with. She wanted to see him and Kurogane together again, happy. She wanted to raise her daughter in peace with Tomoyo by her side, surrounded by the people they loved. She wanted more of those sweet days in Celes with Tomoyo, her two brothers, Souma, and the Mokona. This was the only way she could have them.

_It should have been_ _**me** _ _, Fai…not you. It was_ _**supposed** _ _to be me. But I'll get you back. I'll make things right again._

"No. I'm afraid I do. This is the only way…the only way to get Fai back, and to make a safe world for the people I love," she said softly as Tomoyo came to stand beside her, taking her hand in hers.

"But…Yuui-chan…what is that world going to be worth if you die making it?" Sakura asked tearfully.

"I won't die," Yuui replied, gripping Tomoyo's hand tightly. "I can't…not while my family needs me."

"F-Fuuma-sama?" Tomoyo began hesitantly. "What about…my mother?"

Everyone fell silent at this. They all knew that there could only be one answer to the question. Even Tomoyo knew it…but she had to ask just the same.

"Tomoyo-hime," Fuuma began, the tone in his voice soft and pitying. "Your mother is a human woman…and her mind has been overthrown. Even if she makes a full recovery before the child is born…I'm afraid there's no way that we know of in which she can feasibly be saved. But we will keep trying, Princess. We will do our best," he promised.

Tomoyo swallowed hard, holding onto Yuui's hand for dear life as she nodded. Everything- everything was falling to pieces around her. Her family was breaking, fading into the darkness that had crept in around them over the years - and she could do nothing. Would…would she lose Yuui, too? Yuui and the baby?

_No! I cannot let that happen! I_ _**will not** _ **_!_ **

"Why not simply _kill_ the child?" the mystery man suggested, making himself known for the first time. "Does anyone here really want the spawn of Kyle Rondart to be born? It is nothing but a hurt to us." All of this was said with a casual smile.

Yuui shuddered inwardly as she surveyed the stranger. He was tall and slender with dark hair. His eyes were an amazingly rich violet color and, while talking of killing children, he wore a friendly, unassuming smile. All in all, he reminded the older princess too much of Seishiro. Already, she didn't trust him. After nearly losing her own child, something in her revolted at the mere thought of killing children - even her enemy's child.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am called Kujaku, my princess."

"Just Kujaku?"

"Yes, just that. Any family name I might have had is of no consequence to the current situation. I was summoned here because Fuuma believes that I might be of use to you in the coming months."

"Really? How so?"

"Because, dear princess, when the time comes…I can help you reach the Dark Court, where your precious brother is being held."

Yuui was about to respond to this bit of news, but it wasn't her who spoke next.

"You…can take us…to Fai?"

Everyone in the room turned to look at Kurogane. For a moment, none of them quite believed he'd actually spoken. He was sitting up and making eye contact with Kujaku. He was still shaking slightly and he still looked haunted - hunted - but those who knew him could see that this was a huge step forward for him. He was reaching…trying to climb out of his pit of black despair and madness. He was trying to come back…trying so hard…to come back to them…back to Fai…

"I can at that, little prince," Kujaku replied, grinning amiably. "I have the darkness in me."

Kurogane shook his head as he got to his feet. "No…don't…not a…prince…" He stood for a moment, clutching the rose desperately in both hands.

"Kurogane?" Tomoyo whispered.

The sound of his name triggered something in Kurogane - and he snapped. He collapsed to his knees, pressing the rose against his heart. The howl of anguish that tore from his throat was so primal and so horrible that it raised the hair on even Kakei's neck.

" _FAI!_ " he screamed, no longer certain if he was trying to banish the memory or hold onto it. It was the only thing keeping him afloat in his dark ocean of insanity. The waters beneath him were infinitely deep. If he let go of his raft now, then he would be lost forever, unable to ever break the surface again - slowly drowning in madness.

But…it would be so easy to let go…to relinquish his hold on sanity and life. There were others swimming in that vast ocean beneath his feet. Now that his crucial moment had come, they swam to the surface, laying hands on him and whispering in his ears.

_Yes…come be with us, Kurogane. Come down and lie with us in the darkness for eternity. If you let go…then you will lose your pain. You are not Kurogane anymore. How can you be? You failed Fai. The real Kurogane wouldn't have failed him. He loved him. He would have found a way. If you let go of Fai…then you can forget how you failed him. Come._

He was forgetting. It was slipping away from him. A name and a face that should mean the world to him…but he just couldn't remember. He reached with desperate fingers…trying his hardest to grasp the sliver of sanity, but it was drifting away. He would never be able to reclaim it.

" _NOO!_ " he screamed, thrashing about in an attempt to keep himself from sinking. " _Come back!_ " He couldn't fight it anymore. The water closed over his head.

 _Breathe it in,_ they whispered to him, caressing him with cold hands. _Let go. You are one of us now._

He wanted to scream for help, but he knew that if he did, his last grip on sanity would be gone. Besides…what could possibly save him now?

"Kurogane!"

"Kurogane-kun!"

"Kurogane-san!"

"Nii-sama!"

The cries came from all around. Yuui, Tomoyo, and Souma had all gathered around the young man's writhing form, kneeling. Tomoyo gathered him in her arms as best she could and the others placed their hands on him. They knew that this was it for him. If he didn't come back now, then he never would.

"Kurogane-kun, please don't leave us," Yuui begged. "We need you."

No one knew what to do. They knew nothing of his internal struggle against the demons in his head. Only Kotori stepped forward, a look of empathy on her face as she knelt among the distraught young women. She reached a hand forward and placed it on the struggling prince's forehead.

"I know what it's like," Kurogane suddenly heard the bright, strong voice in his head, driving away the cold and darkness. "To lose your grip and sink slowly into the ocean."

 _Please_ , he cried out in his mind. _Someone help me!_

"I was so young when it happened to me. There was no one who could help me. I had no choice but to accept the drowning ocean in my head. It was the only way to stay alive…and I found that I could see further in the water than out of it…and I saw this. It is the price you pay for being able to see the farthest…but this sight isn't for you. You don't have to drown. _I_ can help you."

At that moment, the boy felt a hand clasp his. He gazed up through the water and saw the face that was dearer to him than even life.

"Kuro-koi," he called softly. "Come back to me."

Tears of relief filled his eyes as he grasped his sanity once again. He had it. He was holding it now. They weren't going to take it from him.

"Fai," he whispered, the water beginning to flood in. But, just as his last breath was exhaled on that precious name, he was pulled free of the ocean and he awoke, breathing hard and blinking as he stared up into Kotori's face.

"I knew you could do it," she said with a playful smile.

"Nii-sama!" Tomoyo cried out, crushing him against her chest. "You're all right!"

Kurogane remained silent as Tomoyo fussed over him. When he finally managed to sit up, he felt a different hand on his shoulder. He looked to his left and saw Yuui - not Fai - Yuui.

"Kurogane-kun…are you here?"

Kurogane stared a few moments longer - then nodded. All the time he had wasted…he could just stab himself.

"We need to get him back."

"Yes," she replied, smiling in relief. "Yes, we do."

"Now that you've decided to join the meeting, Kurogane-kun, you should also know that we won't be able to undertake this journey for awhile yet. I imagine we won't be going anywhere at least until the princess' baby is born. I've no doubt she'll want to join in on this little quest," Kujaku continued as if the whole episode had never happened.

"That's fine," Kurogane said calmly, glancing down at his hands, curling and uncurling them into fists. "I need to train. I need to get stronger if I'm going to have any prayer of rescuing him. They took me down like I was nothing. I can't let that happen again. I'll also need a new sword. Sohi was a good weapon, but I'll need something better." When he'd finished speaking, Kurogane reached up and tucked Fai's rose behind his ear, twining it into his hair. Then he stood and helped the other three to their feet.

"We can help you there, Kurogane-sama," Kamui promised. "We can make for you a blade that will stand against any dark faerie, and I believe that Ryuuki-san could teach you some attacks that may be useful."

"Then I'll do that, too."

"Yuui," Doumeki started up again. "There is…one other thing you should all know."

"What?" Yuui asked. She really didn't like the tone of her guardian's voice.

"Spells aren't permanent. They all break down eventually without care. The longevity of the spell depends on the caster. A curse of death is one of the few things that _is_ permanent. Yuuko is much more powerful than I will ever be. Fai is out of my reach now and I cannot repair my gift as I've been doing all the time the two of you were with us. You've nothing to fear if you remain near me, but…if we don't get to him soon, my protection will wear off…and Yuuko's original curse will set in. Fai will die."

Kurogane, Yuui, Tomoyo, Souma, and Sakura all stared at the assassin in horror for a long moment. Yuui's first thought was to demand why none of them had told her sooner, for surely everyone else had known. How could they not? But she also realized that Doumeki had been right to wait. Would she really have listened? Deal with things one crisis at a time - that was how it was.

"How much time?" Kurogane asked solemnly, voicing the question that was in everyone's head.

"Three months…maybe a little longer. The child should be born before the time runs out. The rose will keep us informed. It's our only link to him, Kurogane. You must guard it with your life."

Kurogane nodded. "Nothing less."

"Yuui-chan," Fuuma broke in once again. "I need to ask…once the child is born…and you set off on this journey-"

"My daughter stays with me," Yuui answered succinctly, not even waiting for Fuuma to finish the question.

"But it will be dangerous."

" _I_ can protect her."

"Like you did tonight?"

"I didn't see _you_ rushing to help. _I'm_ the one who saved her."

"No. That was Doumeki-san. You would have left her to die."

"I thought she _was_ dead, Fuuma-san!" Yuui cried out. "What would _you_ have done?"

"You can't make mistakes like that with a _baby_. You're little more than a child yourself, Yuui-chan. Don't _I_ get a say in this? She's _my_ daughter, too."

"I think you gave up your claim to this child when you _raped me!_ "

 _That_ hit home. Fuuma took a step back, as if she'd delivered a physical blow. In an instant, he was back in the labyrinth, standing over Yuui's body, on the verge of tears.

"I…I…no…"

"Oh, God," Yuui whispered, immediately seeing the hurt and shock in his eyes. "I…I'm so sorry, Fuuma-san. I didn't think…I was just…so angry. I don't want _anyone_ to take her from me and I don't want to be apart from her. I went too far. I'm sorry."

"I…never meant to hurt you," he whispered back, gazing sadly back at her. "Look what I've done to you…brought on you. I'm not worthy to be the father of your child."

"No. I couldn't have asked for a better one from all the men this world could show me. It wasn't your fault. You did what you had to…to protect me…to protect everyone."

_Just like I have to do now._

"I know it's going to be dangerous, but my baby stays with me. I can protect her. And if I can't…my own daughter…what right have I to be anyone's queen? I know she's yours, too…but you _did_ give me the final say."

"I did, didn't I," he said, a small, sad smile taking up residence on his face. "Yuui-chan…do you…have you…picked out a name for her yet?" With the word of both Yuui and Kotori, no one really doubted that the unborn child would be a little girl.

Yuui smiled, taking Fuuma's hand in one of hers and taking Tomoyo's in the other. Then she joined all three of them together. They were a very strange family. The world had never seen their like before, but they were a family nonetheless. Through thick and thin, they were bound together by love…love and the child growing inside of Yuui.

"I have, but I don't want anyone else to know until she's born. I want to keep it safe."

"I understand."

"Oh, Goddess," Kurogane suddenly whispered sharply. He had forgotten. Everything falling to pieces around him had _made_ him forget. But all of this talk of his niece-to-be was forcing him to remember. " _Bleeding Goddess!_ "

"Kurogane-kun!" Yuui shouted as she, Tomoyo, and Souma all moved back to his side. "What's wrong? Are you all right?"

The fallen prince's hands shot out and seized Yuui's shoulders, clutching them desperately. "Yuui…I can't…I can't marry him. I can't…ever…marry Fai. Not now. I'll _lose_ him!"

Yuui shook her head. "What are you talking about? Of course you can marry him. You _have_ to marry him! Fai _needs_ you, Kurogane-kun! You need him, too. You made a promise to him! You _can't_ abandon him now!"

Kurogane gazed into her eyes for a long moment, trying to convey to her just how trapped he was. "I'm not abandoning him. I'll stay with him. I just can't _marry_ him."

"Why not? I don't understand."

"That bastard Kyle put a curse on me. If I marry him…then he dies. I _can't_ lose him, Yuui. I can't."

Yuui found herself shaking, gripping Kurogane just as tightly as he was gripping her. One step ahead…their enemies were always one step ahead of them. At every turn, they had them beat.

"It's not fair," she whispered over and over again. "It's just not _fair!_ "

"Is there any way out?" Watanuki asked Kurogane.

"Yeah…but it's impossible. He said…that if Fai could give birth to a child of his body that I'm father to…we could get married…but there's nothing we can do…nothing."

"Aside from that, the only way to break a curse is to kill the faerie who cast it. You two would be free to marry if we could kill Kyle," Doumeki said. He didn't say it, but the implication hung heavy in the air that this was also the way to free Himawari from her curse.

"Wait," Kurogane suddenly started. "If that's the way to break a curse, why can't we kill Yuuko and save Fai?"

"Because there is a geis on our people…a spell that binds us," Fuuma explained, stepping in to field the next set of questions. He had explained the true reason for Yuuko's decent into madness to the others before tonight's mission. "We are bound by Faerie itself not to kill Yuuko."

"What? Why?"

"As you know, Yuuko was once Clow Reed's wife. Long before your country was even called Nihon, she was cursed to kill the one she loved the most, my uncle. In desperation, she sought to destroy herself, but my uncle could not bear to lose her. He made her swear not to kill herself…and to the fey, there is nothing worse than to be seen as a breaker of one's oath. Knowing that even that would not stop her, Clow placed the geis on all who possessed even the tiniest drop of fey blood. No faerie may take Yuuko's life. Only one who is purely human can do this…and what human is strong enough to?"

"There has to be a way," Kurogane insisted.

"Well, perhaps if you managed to get Assassin's Hand away from Seishiro. Again, a feat that is impossible a thousand times over," Kujaku put in.

"Assassin's Hand?"

"Yes. You've done battle with it, Kurogane," Doumeki said, fixing the banished prince with a very pointed stare. "Assassin's Hand is the dark blade wielded by Seishiro, forged with his blood. It is nigh infinitely powerful. This sword has the ability to _kill_ the immortal fey. If you could get _that_ , then you could conceivably kill Yuuko, but even that may not work."

"Why not?"

"Certainly it would be a good thing to have Yuuko vanquished, but it may not help Fai…because Yuuko is a queen."

"What's that to do with anything?" Kurogane asked impatiently.

"It is the reason why my uncle's geis holds even after his death, and why the former king's curse on Yuuko transcended his death all those years ago. A sovereign's will is one with Faerie. A spell cast by a sovereign will outlast their death if they so will it," Fuuma said. "Yuuko is queen of the Dark Court and the Dark Court is a Faerie of itself. Yuuko's rage became a core all its own. We have no way of knowing whether or not the same rules apply to the Dark Court. Yuuko's curse might be ended with her death and it might not be."

"Right now it would probably be best to focus on getting to Fai," Watanuki said.

"Yeah," Kurogane agreed. He had no chance against Seishiro and he knew it. Painful as it was, he knew that it would be best to wait and get proper training so that he would be ready to face his enemies when the time came.

"I have done all that I can for now," Subaru's soft voice suddenly broke into the conversation. "It will take several weeks."

All eyes in the room turned toward the bed where the poisoned empress was lying. Subaru was just standing up from the bed and Chitose was tending to her. As Tomoyo and Kurogane both moved toward their mother, they saw that, for the first time in what felt like years, she was actually resting, her eyes closed in sleep and not staring blankly at nothing.

"I think there's been enough talking for one night," Yuui said firmly. "It's late. We all need rest."

"Yes, of course," Fuuma agreed, catching on. "Rooms will be made ready for all of you."

No one could have possibly foreseen it, least of all Yuui herself, but she found herself thinking about keeping Kurogane and Souma close by. No sooner had the thought entered her head than a loud grinding sound echoed through the chamber and everyone was instantly on the defensive. Kurogane and Souma took up stances around Yuui and Tomoyo and everyone else fell into place around them.

"What's happening?" Soel shouted.

Almost as soon as they had begun, the noises stopped.

"Yuui-hime," Yue said softly. "Look."

Everyone looked where the Moon Guardian indicated, and found four doors along the western wall that had definitely not been there before. Yuui took a step forward, but Doumeki quickly threw an arm out to stop her, moving toward the doors himself.

"It might be a trap," Watanuki said softly, stepping up behind her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

Doumeki opened the first door and cautiously moved inside. When he emerged a few moments later, his face gave away nothing. He repeated the process with the next three doors and when he had checked all of them, he came back to the group.

"Rooms. Four fully furnished bedchambers. That's what they are."

All of the faeries, except Doumeki, Kujaku, and Subaru, turned to stare at Yuui in amazement.

"Could it…be…?" Fuuma whispered.

"Yuui-sama…what were you thinking about before those appeared?" Kero asked her.

The blonde tilted her head curiously to the side, slightly confused. "I…I was thinking that I wanted to keep them close...Kurogane-kun and Souma-chan…and Fuuma-san was talking about rooms, so…"

"By the Goddess," Kamui swore softly.

"It knows the princess. It must," Sai said, amazed.

"But…how can it be?" Watanuki wondered aloud. "She's not queen yet."

"Wait. Slow down. What are you talking about?" Yuui asked them, thoroughly confused.

"Yuui-hime," Kakei addressed her, moving forward to be heard. "The sithen recognizes its master. The sithen is in tune with a sovereign's very thoughts. When the sithen recognizes a new master, it acts accordingly. You must be careful of your thoughts. If it is within the sithen's power, it will grant to you what you desire."

For a moment, all Yuui could do was stare at him in shock.

"A – are you saying that this…this _place_ is inside my head? It knows what I'm thinking?"

"Yes. The sithen is alive. It recognizes you as a potential new master. Your mental bonds to Faerie are just beginning to form. Someday, the thoughts of all of your subjects…nay, even the thoughts of all things that live…will be yours if you wish it. But we will not be able to see your mind unless you will it. The sithen is different. It can always hear the words you do not say. It can see your mind."

"I…I think I need to sit down." No sooner were the words out of her mouth, than a chair appeared beside her. Yuui immediately jumped away from it, moving closer to Tomoyo, clinging to her. Tomoyo wrapped her arms around her, comfortingly patting her back.

"No. No," she mumbled into Tomoyo's chest. "I don't want this. I don't want some strange magic _castle_ living in my head!" Her shoulders started to shake.

"Yuui-chan," Watanuki whispered sadly. "Is there anything we can do?"

Yuui just continued to shake, on the verge of breaking down, clinging all the tighter to her love. "Just go away," she rasped.

All of them thought of a hundred things they could have said, but they could all clearly see that Yuui would hear none of them, so they began to disperse. Doumeki began to distribute the rooms. He led Kurogane to the first one, and as he entered, Soel hopped up on his shoulder.

"Mokona will sleep with Kurogane tonight."

"Yeah, sure. Fine," Kurogane muttered, not really feeling up to arguing. Company, however cutesy and annoying, would be welcome tonight, even if he didn't really plan on sleeping.

Souma was shown to the second room. Larg joined her. Doumeki picked Amaterasu up again and carried her into the third room. Sakura was given the last room.

"Will you be needing anything from me, Princess?" Chitose asked Tomoyo.

"No. You can get some rest, Chitose-san," Tomoyo replied as she led her trembling fiancé over to the bed. "Yuui needs me tonight."

Chitose nodded once before disappearing into the third room. Kujaku, Kakei, and Sai had long since slipped out.

"You should all get some rest," Doumeki said to Kamui and Fuuma. "Watanuki, Kunogi, and I will take the watch tonight."

"We'll join you later. There's just…something I need to do tonight," Fuuma said before turning to Kamui. "If you don't mind…I need to speak with you."

"It's all right," Kamui said after an expectant pause. "I need to speak with you, too. I just need to take Subaru back to his room first."

"Don't worry about Subaru," Kotori said, smiling gently as she came and gave him a hug. "I'll take care of him. It's the least I can do. You've both been such good friends."

Then Kotori pulled Kamui even closer against her and whispered in his ear, "Please…take care of my brother. He needs you now." Then she gave him a kiss on the cheek before backing away. He stared at her in slight confusion as she moved over to her brother.

She also pulled Fuuma into a tight hug, pressing her mouth against his ear to whisper to him.

"You've always put me above your own needs. No one could have had a better big brother. I love you…but it's time to drown."

Fuuma pulled back, staring down at his little sister in confusion. Usually he could tell, but right now he just wasn't sure if she was lucid or not, and if she was…where was all of this coming from?

Without another word, Kotori danced away from him and took Subaru's hand in hers, cheerfully leading him out of the room. Fuuma and Kamui exchanged looks of confusion before following, heading in the direction of Fuuma's chambers. Yue and Kero followed soon after, heading for the sitting room. Himawari, Watanuki, and Doumeki lingered a moment, all watching Tomoyo attempt to comfort their daughter with their own expressions of worry. But then they were gone, and the two princesses were alone.

XxX

Kurogane did nothing to prepare for sleep. He didn't even lie down on the bed. He just plucked Soel off his shoulder and set the small white creature down on the pillows before moving over to the windowsill, sitting down, and staring out into the night. After a long while of just watching him, Soel hopped off of the bed and over to him, hopping up and into his lap. Kurogane did not respond.

"Isn't Kurogane going to sleep?" Soel asked, glancing worriedly up at the banished prince.

"No," he said softly.

"But…Kurogane must be tired. Shouldn't Kurogane get some rest?"

"Heh, he should," he mumbled, imitating the Mokona's odd speech pattern in order to avoid feeling like he was actually talking about himself. "But he doesn't really want to."

"Why not? Fai would _want_ Kurogane to take care of himself. He would feel bad if he didn't."

"Kurogane knows that," he said, roughly patting the manjuu's head as he stared out at the fey landscape.

"Then why?"

Kurogane remained silent for a long time while Soel waited patiently for him to respond. When he finally did, it was with reluctance.

"Because…he's afraid."

Soel questioned him further, but he didn't respond. He couldn't even _hear_ the tiny voice. He was lost in the memory of his nightmare. If he slept, then he would see Fai - hurt or killed. He _knew_ he would. He was being punished for his failure. Part of him _wanted_ to be made to suffer, but the other part couldn't bear it. He knew that he would have to sleep sometime. He could only push himself so far before he dropped, but he would push himself for as long as he possibly could. He wanted to see Fai, but he didn't want to see the light leave his eyes night after night. He just couldn't take it. He knew that he would lose Fai a hundred times over before this was ended and he wanted to escape it for as long as possible.

When Kurogane finally came back to himself, the little fluff ball was snoozing fitfully in his lap. He sighed as he turned his eyes outward once more to watch the moon's passage across the night sky.

XxX

Souma was quite different from Kurogane. She immediately collapsed on the bed that had been provided for her, cuddling Larg in her arms. She felt like the only thing she could do was sleep. She hadn't for the past two nights. The night of the masque, she hadn't slept for being unable to get the thought of Tomoyo and Yuui alone in the princess' chamber out of her head - and out of her body. Last night she'd stayed awake making sure that nothing came within an inch of Tomoyo…and trying to get her to sleep herself. Now…now she would give almost anything to go back to the night of the masque - the night before everything fell apart and Fai was still with them. Fai and Yuui…royalty? The lost prince and princess of legend? Fai…the victim of the Dark Queen's curse? And Yuui…next in line to rule over the realm of Faerie? When had things become so hopelessly tangled? Fai and Yuui were meant to be their sanctuary…and now they, too, were caught up in the intrigue. The madness had touched even them.

And then there was her father…the man who, for her, was at the center of the madness. A man who had been indifferent to who she really was her entire life. The only times he had ever paid attention to her were to beat her back into line whenever she tried to break free of him. When she had fallen under Arashi's tutelage, he had essentially disowned her. Even before that, she could not recall a time when he had ever hugged her or held her. Her earliest memories were of Sonomi…and her father's face, not his embrace, as it should have been, but his face…either sad or angry. She could faintly recall the first time he'd hit her. It was over a small thing - a broken cup, perhaps. It was all so very distant. He'd looked…almost shocked. He'd stared at his hand…like he couldn't quite believe it was his. After that, there had only been anger. It was that small moment of regret that she clung to in her heart, that made her keep going back for more…that made her believe he could still be a father to her. But nothing ever changed. Why now…as the world was crumbling around them…did he choose to hold her close and express a wish for her safety?

All of it…it was just too much.

"I don't understand!" she cried weakly as a few teardrops escaped her eyes. Larg said nothing, just snuggled closer as the young kunoichi cried herself to sleep.

XxX

"Well, here we are, Subaru. Your room," Kotori said with a grin, stopping in front of the doors that led into the Shiro lord's quarters. As expected, he made no real reaction. Kotori turned to face him, her smile dimming slightly, but her eyes remaining warm and gentle. She pulled him into a hug as she'd done with her brother and his.

"You're so kind, you and your brother, both. You've been like brothers to me, and you've stood by Fuuma all these years. My cousin's only trying to do what he thinks is best. He can't help the way he sees things. It was always going to happen this way. It will destroy Kamui…what's to happen. Please, Subaru, you mustn't let him face Seishiro. He would be killed. Seishiro would have no choice. That's for you and you alone." Kotori was perfectly aware that he wasn't hearing any of what she was telling him, but she also knew that he would still remember the warning. He would recall when the time came. She giggled when she found that she had to stand on tiptoe in order to kiss his forehead.

"Goodbye, Subaru. Please, don't give up on him. Don't ever let go of him. You're meant to go on…all of you."

XxX

"Why wouldn't you let me see into your mind?"

Tomoyo remained silent for a long moment, staring down into her lover's eyes. Once she had gotten Yuui to calm down, the light had darkened for them and they had both changed into simple nightgowns. Tomoyo was sitting against the headboard of the bed, nearly lost among all the pillows, and Yuui was laying with her head in her lap. They were both playing idly with the other's hair, though Tomoyo had a significantly less amount than usual to toy with. She was leaning slightly forward so that her own hair cascaded around her shoulders and fell around Yuui's face like a curtain. They had even pulled the curtains closed around the bed to give themselves more privacy. Upon hearing the question, though, Tomoyo's eyes went dark.

"Because I…didn't want you to see."

"You've never kept anything from me before," Yuui said sadly, glancing away. "All this time we've lived in each other's dreams…these two years we've been able to know each other's thoughts…you've never wanted to keep anything from me before now. And it wasn't to keep me from coming after you. You knew I would do that no matter what anyone did or said."

"There was one thing. I didn't tell you that I knew who you were. Almost…from the very beginning…I knew who you and Fai really were…where you really came from…"

"I don't blame you for that," Yuui said. "That wasn't your secret to tell. But…now…it's the same as when…I hid myself from you…after Fuuma-san…took me…"

Tomoyo smiled sadly. "How did you know?"

"I saw your mind…when I healed you. That's what happens when I use that power. I see the things that have caused you pain…mentally as well as physically. I saw…what he did to you." He hadn't taken her, but for all that he had done to her, he may as well have. The memory of his hands on her body would live in her heart like a scar. As tears formed in her eyes, Yuui drew her down for a deep, cleansing kiss.

"It wasn't your fault," Yuui whispered against her when they finally separated, reaching up to wipe the tears away. "I understand. It's no one's fault but his." He had tormented Fai's fragile psyche. He had violated Tomoyo _\- her_ Tomoyo. If Kurogane didn't kill Kyle Rondart first, then she certainly would. Even if he did, she would most likely try and kill him a second time.

"Please…don't tell Kurogane," Tomoyo pleaded softly. "He's got so much to worry about right now. He doesn't need this, too. Someday…but not right now."

Yuui shook her head. "I won't tell him. You should be the one to. But he's probably already guessed at it. There's just…so much happening all at once…"

"Yuui?" Tomoyo began in a stoic voice, pointedly looking away from her lover. "Why did you put on a nightgown if you're not going to sleep?"

 _And here we are,_ Yuui thought with a sad smile. She had known that this conversation was coming. She just hadn't known when Tomoyo would ask her.

"I suppose I just wanted to make you feel a little better about our situation. Kero-san told me that I don't actually _need_ to sleep…no faerie _needs_ to sleep, but many of them indulge in it just the same because they find it enjoyable…like eating chocolate or making love. I'm just used to doing it because I've lived my life as a human. My body still thinks that I need to. I'm starting to get used to it…so you won't have to worry about me just dropping from exhaustion. Though…I'm almost amazed that…what happened tonight…didn't bring the curse upon me. Those few moments…when I thought I'd lost her…that…I…I was so ready to let go…to just give up on everything and sleep. If Doumeki hadn't thought to check…I probably wouldn't be here right now."

"Don't say that!" Tomoyo cried out, pulling Yuui up, pressing her desperately close against her body. " _Please_ don't say that."

"But…Tomoyo…I've been thinking about…just going to sleep…and getting it over with."

Upon hearing this, every muscle in Tomoyo's body went limp and Yuui fell lightly back into her lap, smiling weakly up at her shocked face.

"Why would you say something like that?"

"Think about it, koibito. We could do it tonight…right _now_. If we did it…then no one could come and take me away like they did Fai. We could go to sleep…and when you wake up in the morning, you could kiss me awake…and it would be over and done with."

Tomoyo shook her head in disbelief. "You don't know that. You don't know that it's safe to just…let it happen. Something could happen…and I'd lose you forever. And…what if Nii-sama's right…and it doesn't work?"

"Then you find another way."

"But they said that even killing Yuuko might not work. What if…what if it doesn't work because…because…"

"Because what, Tomoyo?" Yuui asked calmly.

"Because I'm not the one? What if it's not me…who's your true love?"

Yuui smiled softly, shaking her head and reaching a hand up to stroke Tomoyo's cheek. "That's just ridiculous. When we make love, my skin shines like the moon…and I love you with all my heart…and you love me…and I want to be with you forever. I _have_ to be with you forever. What proof do you still need?"

"I…I know _all_ of this, Yuui…but I'm still…so afraid. Please…promise me you won't fall asleep."

"I can't promise you that, Tomoyo. I can't know if something might happen to make me sleep."

"But…what about our daughter? What happens to her if you fall asleep?"

Yuui looked away from Tomoyo at this, her eyes becoming sad and distant. "I…I don't know. Maybe…it _would_ be best to wait…at least until she's born."

"Yes," Tomoyo encouraged, desperately grasping at this last slender thread. "At least until then. Please…just hold on, Yuui. We'll find a way. I _know_ we will." With that, Tomoyo fell to kissing Yuui's face with a desperation so wild it left them both gasping. Neither had planned for it to happen, but almost before they were aware of it, they were both naked and Tomoyo was straddling Yuui, kissing the pregnant swell of her belly. In the moments before Tomoyo knew it would be too late to stop herself, she glanced up at Yuui's straining face, silently asking for permission. She nodded, breathing heavily.

"Yes…but…please…be gentle. The baby…"

"I know," she whispered back, lovingly kissing her way down the rest of Yuui's body, nestling her face against the hottest part of her. Yuui inhaled sharply at the feeling the simple contact inspired. Moaning softly and sighing Tomoyo's name, she tangled her fingers in her dark hair, urging her on. The younger princess kissed every inch of her sex that she could get at, working even deeper with her tongue. When she felt Yuui begin to tremble beneath her, she moved her mouth to the hidden bundle of nerves that would help her bring Yuui pleasure and wrapped her lips around the fleshy nub.

Yuui cried out, resisting the urge to press Tomoyo more firmly against her. She spread her legs even wider, allowing her dark lover more room to work. After a time, she wrapped her legs around Tomoyo's torso, tangling them together as one. Tomoyo sucked on her like an infant suckles at the breast. It was a more apt comparison than anyone would ever know. Yuui's pleasure was the very breath of life to the Nihon princess. She could feel fire growing in her own loins as Yuui's legs slowly tightened around her. The older princess' gasps and moans grew steadily in volume as the warmth in her nether regions grew hotter and tighter, threatening to erupt with every passing second. She had to fight very hard to keep herself from bucking up against Tomoyo, both for her sake and for the baby's. She knew that with the accelerated development of her child, she was probably entering the stages of her pregnancy where it wasn't smart to be doing this, but she couldn't help it. It wasn't like she was using any of her usual tricks. Perhaps…just one more time. They both needed this night.

Tomoyo could feel herself growing tenser and wetter as Yuui's skin began to glow. This was the part that she loved best. Watching her lover glow like a star and smelling her delicious scent as it filled the air…the sweetness of golden honey and the tartness of freshly picked apples. Any moment now, her cries of bliss would peak and she would become the light of the moon as she reached the absolute height of her ecstasy…and the best part of this was that, deep down, Tomoyo knew that she was the only one who could do this for Yuui. The faerie princess glowed only for her. She knew in her heart what this meant, but she couldn't help being afraid - after seeing Fai so cold. She didn't want to see Yuui like that, and the thought of it even _maybe_ happening to her made her want to feel more alive. She dug her fingers into the blonde's hips, working all the harder to bring her to completion. All of a sudden, she felt the taller girl's legs tighten around her almost to the point of crushing.

"Ah!" Yuui cried out, her head falling back as her climax came upon her in sweet waves, her fingers clutching desperately at Tomoyo. The smaller girl smiled inwardly when she felt the flesh in her mouth tighten, undulating in a sensual dance beneath her tongue.

As Yuui came down from her high, breathing heavily, the tremors from the orgasm coming further and further apart, Tomoyo crawled up beside her once again, leaning in close to kiss her. For a while after, they just lay side by side, gazing into each other's eyes. However, it wasn't long before Yuui recovered her energy and began to move herself.

Tomoyo slept very little that night.


	24. The Gleam In Your Eyes

When they reached Fuuma's quarters, Kamui and Fuuma both remained silent for a long while. Fuuma stood facing away from Kamui in the darkness of his sitting room. The only light came from the moon. They both knew why they were there and that there was much to be said…but they were both terrified to be the first one to speak and end the centuries of silence, stolen glances, and half-formed thoughts.

"What did you want to speak with me about?" Kamui finally whispered.

Fuuma let out a soft but harsh laugh at this, still looking away from Kamui. "What did _you_ want to speak with _me_ about, Kamui?" he whispered back. Human ears would have barely been able to detect their conversation, but they could hear each other perfectly. To one, there was _only_ the sound of the other's voice…as if a roll of thunder were sounding in the heavens.

"You spoke first," Kamui reminded him.

"I suppose I did," Fuuma continued to whisper, finally turning to face Kamui. "You know…don't you?"

"I do…and of course you know. You can see what's in my heart, after all."

"I can," he whispered, beginning to move closer to the younger faerie.

"How long have you known…what I didn't even know myself?" he asked, glancing down at the floor.

Fuuma reached forward, hesitantly placing a hand on Kamui's cheek. "I have always known it. I cannot help but see a person's truest desire. Even when you were a baby…the moment you could recognize my face, we were bonded. _I_ was what you wanted…even if it wasn't in a romantic sense all those years ago. For the longest time, you were content. You had my absolute devotion as a friend and mentor as you grew…but I knew that you would one day need more from me…and that was just as well, for I had fallen in love with you. I just didn't know how long I would have to wait before you realized it yourself. Your heart had what it wanted for such a long time…that I don't think you realized that there might come a day when you would be without it. I don't think you realized that possibility until I entered your room that day covered in blood. That was when you began to realize what you really wanted me to be to you…and what you wanted to be to me."

Kamui leaned into Fuuma's gentle caress, his mind slowly beginning to drift. "Then…why now?" he whispered.

"Because tonight…you finally know your own heart. The desire rings clear to me. It's not a latent wish or confused wandering. You know what you want. So…I can finally say it. Kamui Shiro…I love you."

Kamui smiled, his eyes glistening slightly as he leaned even further into the touch. Slowly, he drew his own hand up and placed it over Fuuma's. "Say it again," he whispered.

"I love you. _I love you_. Please…let me hear you say it."

"Heh, you already have, haven't you?"

"I have. I've heard the whisper of your heart, but I want to hear the words from your mouth. I want to hear you claim them as your own."

"Fuuma Monou…I love you."

"Finally," the older faerie whispered in relief before drawing the younger into his arms and kissing him. It wasn't a violent, passionate affair, as their first one had been. This one was gentle…soothing…loving. It was the kiss that they had both been holding back for many lifetimes of men.

When they finally separated, they just stood together, holding each other close. Kamui leaned his head against Fuuma's chest as Fuuma ran his fingers through his dark hair.

"I'm sorry…Kamui," he whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of his head.

"Sorry?" Kamui queried, backing away a little. "What are you sorry for?"

"I can't start this with a lie. What happened to Subaru was my fault."

Kamui shook his head. "What…what are you talking about?"

"I knew…that Seishiro was the Sakurazukamori. I've known for almost four years now. I could have stopped it. But…even I had hope when he said that Subaru made him glow…and that he glowed for him. My foolish hope led to Subaru's downfall. I should have stepped in. I-"

Kamui smiled sadly, pressing a finger to Fuuma's lips to silence him. "I don't blame you for that. You couldn't have known that he was after Subaru. If anyone is to blame in this, it's me…for letting him out of my sight all those years ago…and letting that monster sink his teeth into him in the first place."

"No," Fuuma whispered, pulling Kamui back into his arms. "Don't blame yourself. We'll get through to him somehow."

"I just feel like…like we're running out of time," Kamui whispered against him, clinging to him slightly. "That…if we don't do this now…there might not be another chance."

"I know," Fuuma replied softly. In truth, he had been feeling the same way. They were on the brink of war. It felt like they were somehow standing on the edge…like…nothing was going to be the same after tonight.

"Come to my bed," he whispered, pressing a kiss to the younger faerie's ear.

Kamui chuckled softly, almost bitterly. Even now, in a moment that was supposed to be all joy and wonder, he could not quite let go of his weary cynicism. "Why? Because we don't know whether or not we'll be alive tomorrow night?"

"No," Fuuma replied, briefly kissing his lips. "Because I love you and you love me and I want to be with you. Who cares if we came to it on the eve of war?"

All it took was a nod. Just one nod from the violet-eyed faerie and Fuuma had led him into his bedchamber. Neither of them really remembered stripping each other naked, but before they knew it, they were in just such a state on Fuuma's bed, lying in each other's arms and kissing fervently.

"Take me," Kamui whispered breathlessly against Fuuma's lips. " _Take me!_ "

"Wait," Fuuma returned, pressing a restraining hand against his chest. Disentangling himself from Kamui, he rummaged through a drawer in a table by the bed, drawing out a small bottle of amber liquid. When it was opened, the scent of musk filled the room.

"Oil?" Kamui questioned with a wry grin. "You were…planning this?"

Fuuma shook his head as he coated his index finger with the oil. "Not planning…just waiting. I know it can be painful."

Kamui knew it, too. It wasn't as if either of them was a virgin…he just couldn't bring himself to care whether or not it would hurt. He could handle pain. What he wasn't certain of was whether or not Fuuma could handle hurting _him_. Fuuma had been extremely fragile ever since getting Yuui with child. He was a kind person by nature and Kamui hadn't realized what he was doing to him until it was too late. Now he couldn't even bear the mere _thought_ of hurting someone he cared about. So, if he had any care at all for Fuuma's heart, he would have to tread carefully tonight. Even in this heated moment…even though there was a fierce and desperate need in both of them…he would have to make sure that they were both careful. Even the smallest cry of pain from him would cost Fuuma dearly. The elder noble would spend the next fifty years hating himself.

However, even knowing that, he couldn't wait through much more than a cursory preparation, a few probing thrusts of Fuuma's slicked finger. The feeling that they were running out of time was getting stronger with each passing second.

"Please," he moaned in between kisses. "Now! I want you inside me now!" To accentuate his plea, he grabbed hold of Fuuma's already prevalent erection and began to stroke it generously, urging him on. He gave a strangled cry, nearly collapsing on top of Kamui. Then he laughed softly, attempting to master himself.

"Someone's eager," he teased, shaking his head again as he sat back up and quickly coated himself with the oil.

"Heh," Kamui snickered as he began to lift up his legs for Fuuma. "I should think _you'd_ be a little more eager…with how long you've waited for me."

Fuuma smiled adoringly down at the younger faerie as he positioned himself. "One must learn patience, Kamui…or it could not be endured. Besides…I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't. I can take it. Now… _take me!_ " he hissed, thrusting his body upward and impaling himself on Fuuma. His face scrunched up briefly as they collapsed back on the bed, tangled up in each other.

"Are you all right?" Fuuma demanded, trying to see Kamui's face. The Shiro gave him a smile.

"Fine. Just…just _move_ ," he whispered against him.

Fuuma nodded, burying his face in Kamui's hair. The scent of thistles filled his nose as he slowly began to move. Kamui moaned softly as the familiar sensations of pleasure began to fill his body. Before long, his skin began to glow with an ethereal lavender light, bathing the chamber in a rhapsody of color as his glow blended with the honey golden glow of Fuuma's skin. The intertwined beauty and danger of their magic and their love crashed together like bolts of lightning as they made love. To them, it seemed that the heavens were crashing down around them as they moved together, joining with the earth as they melted into each other. It was a miracle for both of them. Though they had both slept with countless others, no one else had ever been able to bring forth the sacred light.

A revelation…an experience out of time and space…Eternity in a single moment…the Beginning and the End. This was the truth of the light of the soul.

Then, in a moment that lasted forever and yet took no time at all, their dance of light peaked and passionate cries brought ecstasy. Hot seed spilled upon and within.

When he was completely spent, Fuuma released Kamui and collapsed beside him, breathing hard. Breathing just as hard, Kamui reached his arms forward and pulled Fuuma to him, holding him close as their conjoined glow slowly faded. The room was very strongly inundated with the scents of thistles, cinnamon, and sex.

"Fuuma," Kamui whispered joyfully, his eyes bright with happy tears. "I...I had no _idea-_ "

"Neither did I," he whispered back, his eyes glistening just as heavily with tears of joy as he closed the short distance between them and sealed Kamui's lips with a tender kiss

"I love you," Kamui whispered against him, already nodding off. He wanted to sleep so that he could have the pleasure of waking up in Fuuma's arms.

"And I love you," Fuuma returned just as softly, beginning to doze himself. He was exhausted. He had tried to be gentle, but he had still called out so much of his power just by _being_ with Kamui. They were joined…now and forever.

There would be no going back.

_Whatever happens…it's no one's fault._

XxX

_Fai sits, alone, curled up in a miserable little ball, crying his poor heart out. He can only weep. He knows exactly where he is…and what's about to happen. He is on the giant bed…in the dark room. Seishiro will come for him soon._

_**I'm…so cold. Why am…I cold? Cold…so…cold…** _

" _Fai-kun~," Seishiro's hypnotic voice sings as his body melts into being out of the darkness. Fai doesn't look up. He only cries harder. He flinches when he feels Seishiro's hands on him. The dark prince cradles his face in his hands and presses a gentle kiss to his lips. Before Fai can slap him away, he pulls him up against his chest, very nearly crushing him. "Why are you crying, my pretty little Fai-kun?" he asks, kissing the boy's fair hair and rubbing his back soothingly while keeping him imprisoned in his steel embrace. Fai sobs all the harder. He doesn't_ _ **want**_ _to speak to his tormentor, but he can't help it. No matter how hard he struggles, it seems that a part of him will forever remain enslaved to the dark prince._

" _B-because you're…going to…r-r...hurt me…again."_

" _No, I am not. I could never hurt you, my sweet little cherry blossom," he whispers in Fai's ear, tilting his head back to kiss his smooth, white throat._

" _Please stop. Please stop," Fai sobs weakly, shaking his head back and forth in an attempt to discourage the attention. "You hurt me before. You'll do it again."_

" _Listen to me, dear one. I only did what I had to," he says with a condescending smile…as if Fai were an ignorant child who didn't know what was best for himself. "Besides, there was no rape that night. You could have fought…but you didn't._ _You gave me the most precious gift you have to offer - your virginity."_

" _No! I didn't!" Fai shouts, struggling, even though he knows it's useless. "I gave that to Kurogane!"_

" _Did you? What happened between us two years ago…was it an illusion or reality? You can never truly know. Face it, Fai-kun. Face the truth._ _ **I**_ _knew you first…and no matter how hard you try, you can never…_ _ **ever**_ _…forget your first time. You will never be able to truly let go of the memory of the one who kissed you first…held you first…touched your body first_ _…_ _ **loved**_ _you first!" As he speaks, Seishiro slips a hand down between their bodies and begins to stroke Fai._

" _STOP IT!" Fai screams, struggling helplessly against the vise-like arm that holds him against Seishiro's chest. "You don't love me!_ _ **Kurogane**_ _loves me!"_

_Seishiro only laughs, taking things a step further and sliding his hand directly into Fai's pants, rubbing against the bare flesh. "What are you talking about? Of course I love you. We're family, you and I."_

" _You're_ _ **lying**_ _ **!** " Without his permission, a moan escapes Fai's throat. That isn't him…is it? No! It can't be! He'd never! Seishiro must be controlling him again. More tears slide down his face as another moan slips from his mouth._

" _Oh, you like that, do you?" Seishiro whispers against him, sucking roughly on his ear as he pinches the tip between his thumb and pinky while drumming the other fingers harshly against the underside of Fai's length. Fai cries out at the sensation, mentally slitting his own throat for the action. "And why would I lie to you about something like that? Don't you know where your fey blood comes from? Clow Reed himself. Your mother was his daughter…my half-sister. I am your uncle, Fai-kun. We are bound by blood."_

" _I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" Fai shrieks, still trying to escape, even though his body is also reacting to Seishiro. He_ _ **can't**_ _believe it. If it's true…then it means he's been raped…by his own uncle! And what's worse, he doesn't think he'll be able to survive knowing for certain he has the same blood as this…creature!_

" _But it's true," Seishiro says softly, licking Fai's neck as he continues to stroke him. Nothing Fai does seems to deter him. "No one knows you better than your dear uncle does. I have seen everything that's in your heart…the good and the bad. I know every disgusting, sinful, beautiful, divine thing about you. You're not the person your Kurogane-kun thinks you are. I know the things even_ _ **he**_ _doesn't know. Even seeing what you truly are, I still love you, Fai-kun. No one can love you like I can. No one can_ _ **satisfy**_ _you like I can. That prince is only a human, Fai-kun. You're royalty yourself…fey royalty at that. Kurogane-kun is not_ _ **worthy**_ _of you. You can't know how powerful you are. You deserve a consort who is your equal."_

_Fai cries out, moaning loudly as Seishiro moves against him. But just as he's about to lean forward and kiss the Dark Prince back, he re-masters himself. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" he screams, renewing his struggle._

" _How do you_ _ **know**_ _I'm in your head? You can still move of your own accord, can't you?" he asks, kissing Fai very harshly on the lips. He continues his ministrations, but he keeps Fai from coming, causing the sensations in his body to intensify beyond what any mortal could handle of pleasure. They both know it will soon drive him insane. "You_ _ **do**_ _want me, Fai-kun. You just won't admit it.'_

" _IT'S NOT TRUE!" he screams, but in the very next breath he's moaning, gasping Seishiro's name, begging for more. "Oh…Mm…Nngh…_ _Seishiro…_ _ **touch me!**_ _" Even as he cries out in passion, tears of self-hatred and disgust flow down his face. He pounds his fists against Seishiro's chest, still trying to escape, even as his traitorous body begs for the Dark Prince's touch._

" _Do you want to come, Fai-kun?" Seishiro asks._

" _Not with you!" the confused boy sobs, though his arms are reaching to wrap around Seishiro. His uncle smirks sadistically as he gives him another kiss. This time Fai presses eagerly up against him, kissing him back as he pounds into his hand, desperately trying to come. Suddenly his only desire in the world is to come by Seishiro's hand. He_ _ **has**_ _to belong to Seishiro._ _And even as the thoughts are born, his pain flows down his face. His love for Kurogane exists hand in hand with his newfound love for Seishiro - his_ _ **uncle**_ _ **!** Every atom of his body tingles with lust, love, and hatred. It's tearing him apart. In the next instant, he's reaching up, as if meaning to try and put out Seishiro's remaining eye. He begins the struggle again. "LET ME GO!"_

" _Do you want to come?' he asks again, continuing to stimulate his helpless nephew, driving him closer and closer to the breaking point._

" _Never!" But even as he screams in protest, it turns into a scream of desire and he swings his legs up, wrapping them around Seishiro's waist and pounding furiously into his hand. He_ _ **needs**_ _to come! He will_ _ **die**_ _if Seishiro doesn't bring him to climax now! "Oh, God…oh, God!_ _"_

_**Traitor! Vile betrayer! You don't deserve Kurogane! You're not faithful to him! You're** _ _**betraying** _ _**him with your Goddess damn** _ _**uncle** _ _**! Your God damn** _ _**rapist** _ _**! You're** _ _**sick** _ _**, Fai! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!** _

" _Do you want to come?" Seishiro asks again._

" _NO! I hate you!" Fai screams, even as he pounds into Seishiro's hand and his fingers reach up to tangle in his silky black hair. This time, he is the aggressor in their heated kissing, plunging his tongue into Seishiro's mouth. The next moment, he bites down on the dark faerie's tongue, drawing blood. He wants to_ _ **hurt**_ _him! He wants to be hurt_ _ **by**_ _him! He_ _ **needs**_ _him! He_ _ **hates**_ _him! He_ _ **loves**_ _him!_ _He wants to_ _ **kill**_ _him! He wants him to kill_ _ **him**_ _! He can't_ _ **stand**_ _it! He doesn't know_ _ **what**_ _he wants. He feels so_ _ **good**_ ** _!_** _He feels so_ _ **awful**_ _ **!** He feels so __**sick**_ _ **!** He **i**_ _ **s**_ _sick! He's_ _insane._

" _AAAGH!!" he screams in both bliss and agony._

" _Your_ _ **body**_ _doesn't say no, my sweet. Which one is the liar? Tell me how much you love me, nephew of mine. Tell me what you want me to do to you."_

" _I…I love you, Seishiro._ _I_ _ **love**_ _you!" He can feel his heart shattering as the false declarations spew from his mouth. He almost swears he's tasting vomit in his mouth as he smashes his lips against Seishiro's. He digs his fingernails into his scalp…anything to cause pain, to draw blood…but the injuries heal almost instantly._

" _You see? This is what you really are," the Dark Prince says, smiling in triumph as he kisses every inch of Fai's sweating face. He's no longer imprisoning Fai against his body. They're holding each other. "You're kissing me of your own free will. You_ _ **want**_ _me to touch your body. I'm not using even one ounce of my Hand of Illusion on you. The only magic here is the magic of you finally realizing who it is you truly want. You only protest because you want to believe you're still in love with Kurogane-kun, but it's not true. You love_ _ **me**_ _, Fai-kun. You always have."_

" _NOO!!" Fai screams in anguish. "IT'S A LIE!" He wants to deny this, but deep down, he knows he cannot. He's kissing Seishiro because he_ _ **wants**_ _to._ _He's consciously accepting Seishiro. Everything…absolutely_ _ **everything**_ _he's done tonight has been done of his own free will. Every kiss…every touch…every moan and cry of desire…He_ _ **wants**_ _Seishiro. He wants to be with him. He loves both Kurogane_ _ **and**_ _Seishiro._

_Maybe…maybe…he even loves…_ _**only** _ _Seishiro?_

" _Fai-kun, my beloved, my only nephew…if you open your eyes, you will see that the love between us is real."_

_Fai does as his uncle asks…and is almost blinded by the combined glow of their skin…his own white light and Seishiro's pale red light. Pain and joy grip his heart in equal measure. Tears flow, thick and fast, down his face._

" _There is nothing to equal the magic of two soul mates finding each other…no light more beautiful._ _"_

" _But…but…Kuro…koi…"_

" _I know you glow for him, Fai-kun. I understand. I realize you probably still have feelings for him and that's fine with me. I won't hold it against you. But he's only a human. What you feel will pass in time. It must…for someday, your Kurogane-kun will die and leave you alone…but you and I will live on. Though, for now…if you want…we could_ _ **all**_ _be together," he suggests, giving Fai a gentle kiss, one hand tenderly stroking his hair while the other mercilessly continues its assault on the disoriented boy's sex, holding him on the edge. Fai clings to him weakly with both his arms and legs, never ceasing the thrusting motions as he sobs into Seishiro's tunic. Neither his body nor his sanity will take much more of this._

" _I…I don't…think he would like that. Oh, dear Goddess! I don't_ _ **care**_ _about Kurogane! Please, Seishiro! I'm going to_ _ **die**_ _ **!** " he shrieks, seizing the older faerie in a violent kiss. He really is going to die once this is over…if not from this destructive orgasm when Seishiro finally releases him, then from the outright __**lie**_ _he's just dared to give voice to. He's almost gone now. At the exact same moment he can believe it's both a lie and a truth._

" _I'll only ask you one more time. Do you want me to let you come?" he asks once more, giving the poor boy's abused cock a particularly violent squeeze. Fai screams at the sensation, cleaving to his tormentor and savior like flesh to bone._

" _Yes! Yes! Please!" he begs. "I'll do anything! I don't_ _ **care**_ _!_ _ **Make me come!**_ _"_

_Seishiro sneers. "You really shouldn't have said that."_

_With that, he throws Fai down on the bed, kissing him harshly as he exposes him to the cold air. A normal human would have been killed by the force with which Seishiro threw him down and is now holding him. Still he does not release him._

_Fai screams into the kiss. He can no longer tell if it's pleasure or pain. They are the same…at this gateway between life and death. Seishiro bites savagely into his lip, drawing blood. Fai writhes against him, needing,_ _**begging** _ _for more. He_ _**needs** _ _for Seishiro to give it to him. At the same time, he desperately wants more pain. He_ _**needs** _ _to be punished for his sins against Kurogane._

" _JUST LET ME_ _ **DIE**_ _ **!** " he shrieks. With a last cruel smile, his uncle lets go._

_It's the most violent experience he's ever suffered through. He feels as if his body is trying to eject his very soul along with the release. It is death and rebirth in the same moment. It's the most painful and the most wonderful thing he's ever felt. It's far worse than all of the pain Seishiro has caused him before this moment. In the very same instant, it is Heaven and Hell. The abused prince weeps for the utter beauty and the sheer horror of it. How can it possibly feel so wretchedly wonderful to be so utterly destroyed?_

_When his body is all used up, Fai just lies on the bed, still trembling violently and clinging to Seishiro as he cries._

_**I'll never be free of that feeling, will I? It's always going to be there.** _

_Even after…all of that…he is still cold. So…very…cold…_

XxX

_Subaru honestly doesn't notice much of a difference. Waking and sleeping have become very much the same to him. He'd been surrounded by darkness a moment ago…and he is surrounded by darkness now. He doesn't notice anything different until he hears his name._

" _Subaru-kun~," Seishiro whispers in his ear as his arms snake around his body. Subaru inhales sharply at the sensation and leans back into the embrace, but he does not speak._

" _Won't you speak to me?" Seishiro finally asks after what feels like hours of petting to Subaru. "I've really missed you."_

_Subaru still says nothing. He only groans softly._

" _Guess where I've just come from. Well, I suppose I shouldn't ask you to guess, since you aren't speaking to me, but it might interest you to know the condition of your precious prince."_

" _Fai?" the Shiro lord whispers numbly._

" _Yes. I've just seen him very thoroughly mind-raped. The Darkness holds him in its thrall and it will make him its own. It took my form…and then it took him, because it knows that, deep down,_ _ **I**_ _am what that boy fears the most. I must say, the performance was masterful. It used my Hand of Illusion to its maximum depth, penetrating even into the sacred territory of his soul, implanting false desires and convictions. Even_ _ **I**_ _might not have risked such a penetration. Such a profound alteration of his reality could easily destroy him."_

" _Why?" Subaru finally whispers, his voice on the verge of breaking._

" _Ah, the boy finally speaks," Seishiro says with a smile, kissing his former lover on the cheek._

" _Why…did you hurt…Fai?" he asks again, tears beginning to slide down his face. "You…told me that…you wanted to help him."_

" _I also told you I loved you, Subaru. I'm quite capable of lying. Your dear Fai was in the way, plain and simple. He had to be removed. That child is broken beyond repair."_

" _But…why only him? What about…Yuui…and the baby?" He's crying openly now, albeit silently._

" _Oh, don't worry. They will be dealt with before too long. In fact, I've chosen a woman. By the time Yuui and her child are out of the way, my seed will be ready to take their place."_

" _Oh, God," Subaru cries, burying his face in his hands as Seishiro holds him. "Oh, God!"_

_Seishiro snickers as he presses a kiss to Subaru's ear. "The God? The Goddess? Do you really think They'll save you all now? I was deemed a worthy candidate to inherit my father's crown. If I'm so horrible…so evil…what makes me worthy? Where is Their so called justice?"_

_Subaru shakes his head. He no longer knows up from down, future from past, friend from enemy, darkness from light. He doesn't know if he's dreaming…or awake…or trapped in an illusion. He wraps his arms around himself, twining his fingers together with Seishiro's as the Dark Prince continues to kiss him "No…no…Sei…shiro. Why?"_

" _Because you're a fool, dear Subaru. You sold yourself to me," he whispers to him as he runs his hands up and down his arms. The sakura scars turn red and begin to burn._

" _Ah…ah! Seishiro! Please…don't!" he hisses in pain. It's an agony such as he's never known…a wound that will not heal…and it extends deep into his chest._

" _You are the prey of the Sakurazukamori, my love…and you will never be free."_

XxX

Tsubasa Island really was a beautiful sight in the early morning. The sun was just beginning to trickle through the trees and the surface of Spirit Lake sparkled as the warm rays struck the water. A warm spring breeze whispered through the forest. Celes knew nothing of the ominous events taking shape outside of its borders. Here, the morning was peaceful. It made Kotori happy to know that this was the place where her uncle had drawn his last breath. He had loved the forest so much. She would be content to end her days here as well.

Kotori was strolling along the edge of the forest within sight of the shore. She had come when it was only just beginning to lighten to pick flowers. Now she was walking along, counting out the blossoms in her bouquet to herself.

_Roses…forget-me-nots…rosemary…pansies…fennel…columbines…rue…daisies…and violets. They will not wither. Death is only a rebirth in disguise._

"Love lives forever," she said to herself, inhaling the sweet scent of her message. As she counted out the flowers over and over again, she began to sing to a melody that only she could hear.

_Lightning crashes, a new mother cries._

_Her placenta falls to the floor._

_The angel opens her eyes._

_The confusion sets in_

_Before the doctor can even close the door._

_Lightning crashes, an old mother dies._

_Her intentions fall to the floor._

_The angel closes her eyes._

_The confusion that was hers_

_Belongs now, to the baby down the hall._

_**I'm sorry, Yuui-chan, Fuuma, Kamui, Subaru…I know you all still need me…but the beautiful morning I saw so long ago has finally arrived. I'm ready now. Yuui-chan…I wish I could be there to help you deliver my sweet little niece…but I can at least guarantee you she will be born healthy and whole.** _

_Oh now feel it comin' back again,_

_Like a roll of thunder chasing the wind._

_Forces pullin' from the center of the earth again._

_I can feel it._

_Lightning crashes, a new mother cries._

_This moment she's been waiting for._

_The angel opens her eyes,_

_Pale blue-colored eyes._

_Presents the circle,_

_Puts the glory out to hide, hide._

_Oh now feel it comin' back again,_

_Like a roll of thunder chasing the wind._

_Forces pullin' from the center of the earth again._

_I can feel it. I can feel it._

_Oh, why? Oh, why? Oh, why?_

_I can feel it comin' back again,_

_Like a roll of thunder chasing the wind._

_Forces pullin' from the center of the earth again._

_I can feel it._

_I can feel it comin' back again,_

_Like a roll of thunder chasing the wind._

_Forces pullin' from the center of the earth again._

_I can feel it._

_I can feel it comin' back again,_

_Like a roll of thunder chasing the wind._

_Forces pullin' from the center of the earth again._

_I can feel it. I can feel it._

_I can feel it._

As the last notes drifted away from her on the wind, Kotori Monou heaved a sigh. Yes, she would miss this…but if it was a choice between her and her family…her brother, the Shiro brothers…Yuui, Fai, and the baby…then she would prefer that _she_ be the one to break, not any of them.

There was no sound, no burst of light or color, no shift in the air nor scent upon the wind, but Kotori knew that the new arrival was there, just the same. Slowly, she turned to face the intruder, a warm, welcoming smile on her face.

"You're late," she said softly. "I was beginning to wonder what was keeping you."

XxX

_It's not your fault._

Fuuma's eyes shot open as he bolted up in bed, glancing around frantically. He could have sworn he'd heard Kotori's voice just now. Something was somehow…off. When he couldn't quite figure out what, he decided that the reason must be that Kamui wasn't with him. His arms were empty and the violet-eyed faerie's side of the bed was cold. He must have risen before him and gone to take up his turn on watch.

The Monou lord sat on the bed for a long while, enjoying the warm sunlight shining into his room with a dazed smile on his face. He felt a vivid sense of completion - a most wonderful freedom. He could finally hold Kamui close and call him his own. It was almost the most perfect morning he could have asked for…though he would definitely have to scold Kamui for leaving him to wake on his own.

_Good morning, dear cousin. My, but you've got quite the post-coital expression. You finally got darling Kamui into bed. Brilliant, Cousin, absolutely brilliant._

Fuuma froze at the sound of the voice in his head. "What do you want, Seishiro?" he asked aloud.

_Do I have to want something for me to speak with my little cousin? We speak so rarely, you and I. I only want to speak with you._

"What if I don't want to?" he retorted sharply. He hadn't moved an inch.

_I suppose you'll just have to ask Kamui what happens then. No point in denying it was he that you slept with. He's rife with your scent._

Fuuma felt himself stabbed through the chest. His heart stopped and he very nearly choked on his own breath. "What have you done?"

_Come to Tsubasa Island right now, alone. If you don't, then your precious Kamui's life is forfeit and he will never see another night._

Taking several deep breaths in order to re-master himself, Fuuma tried to continue the exchange without doing something foolish. "How do I know you even _have_ Kamui? Do you have any proof? Why should I believe you? Every word out of your mouth is a lie."

 _You cannot know. Any evidence I could possibly give you could have easily been fabricated by me. Think of it in this light. What choice have you got? Can you really afford to run the risk that I_ _ **might**_ _be lying? Would you wager Kamui's_ _ **life**_ _on it? I'll kill him. You_ _ **know**_ _I will. If you aren't here in five minutes, then…_ He let the threat hang, unfinished.

With a dreadful cry that combined both rage and terror, Fuuma was up on his feet. He was dashing out of the sithen in all of five seconds. It was a trap. He _knew_ it was a trap, but that didn't matter. It was as Seishiro said. He _couldn't_ risk Kamui's precious life - not for anything.

XxX

_Take care of Kamui…and remember what I told you._

Subaru blinked several times, trying to make sense of the intrusion on his conscience. It wasn't only Kotori's voice he'd heard in his head. There was someone else there. Slowly, he struggled up from his bed, fighting to collect his shattered self enough to move forward.

"Sei…shiro…?" he whispered in confusion, his voice having the tone of one deep in a trance.

The scars on his arms gave a resounding throb of pain. Seishiro was calling him. He _had_ to answer - no matter what he might lose because of it. He could not help himself. Seishiro…was master of his very existence.

He _had_ to go to Seishiro.

XxX

_It's not your fault. Please…take care of yourself…and my brother. Remember…the future has yet to be decided._

Kamui stopped, glancing around the empty corridor. He could almost swear he'd heard Kotori's voice in his head. He shook his head briefly and continued back toward Fuuma's quarters. He had arisen with the sun, snuggled up contentedly in Fuuma's embrace, just as he'd wished for. As he'd gazed upon Fuuma's face, finally peaceful in his contented sleep, he'd suddenly felt a very strong desire to _do_ things for him, just to do them, really…in order to make him happy. So he'd extricated himself from Fuuma's arms, gotten dressed, and headed down to the kitchens to make them breakfast. It wasn't as if he couldn't just summon up food from somewhere or call some servants for it. It was just that he really wanted to cook for Fuuma himself. So here he was, walking back up to Fuuma's chambers with a tray of fruit, toast, and sausage, and still blushing faintly. The cooks had teased him mercilessly, telling him he'd been going around with a damn fool smile on his face all morning and wanting to know who his lucky bedfellow was. Even now, he couldn't help it. He knew he was smiling. He couldn't wait to see Fuuma again…to be by his side. They were going to be together from now on.

_My, my, but someone's happy this morning. Tell me, Kamui, was my little cousin good?_

Kamui stopped dead in his tracks. "What do you want, Seishiro?"

_Just a chat. I'm afraid things have gone terribly wrong between us of late and I was hoping we might sort it all out._

"What's to sort out?" he asked angrily, the tray shaking in his hands. "You betrayed my brother and broke his heart! You took his _soul_ away from him, you monster!"

_Kamui, behavior like that will get you nowhere. If you won't talk with me, you just might lose something even_ _**more** _ _precious._

"What are you talking about?" Kamui asked quietly, suddenly fearful.

_Remember that sex you were planning to have? Ever again? It might be a little difficult if my dear cousin is dead._

"What have you done with him?" the violet-eyed Shiro demanded furiously. There was no doubt in his mind that the former prince was capable of orchestrating something like this.

_Oh, he's safe…for the moment, but if you don't come to Tsubasa Island alone in the next five minutes, I can't make any promises._

"Seishiro, if you harm him, I swear I'll-"

_There will be no need for threats if you get yourself here in time. I only want to talk._

There was no time to summon help. He couldn't take the chance that Seishiro might actually carry out his threat. Fuuma was far too important for that. He couldn't for the life of him fathom why Seishiro would need to go to such lengths to draw him out, but there was no time to figure things out.

Before the breakfast tray had even hit the ground, Kamui was bursting out of the gates, fire burning in his eyes. Nothing and no one would take Fuuma away from him…not now!

XxX

_Remember, dear imouto, I will always be with you._

Yuui blinked. "Kotori?"

She'd been lying in bed, holding Tomoyo, who was sleeping peacefully. Tomoyo had been asleep for a few hours and Yuui had lain awake, holding her and stoking her hair. But…just now…she could have sworn she'd heard Kotori's voice. For a moment, her hold on Tomoyo tightened and the change caused the younger princess to awaken.

"Yuui?" she mumbled in confusion. "What is it?"

Yuui shook her head and gave Tomoyo a very tender good morning kiss, about to reassure her that nothing was wrong. But then she felt it.

Something was happening.

"Something's wrong," she said, snapping into motion. "Hurry and get dressed. Wake Souma-chan. I'll get Kurogane-kun. We have to get to the other side right _now!_ "

_I only hope we're not too late._

XxX

When Fuuma burst through the trees, at first, all he could see was Seishiro.

"I am here, alone, as you asked. Now free Kamui."

"I would, you see, but the trouble is that Kamui's not here yet."

Yet? Had he somehow tricked them _both_ into coming here? Why? What could he possibly want with them?

"Fuuma!" Kamui shouted as he raced into the clearing.

"No! Kamui! Go back! It's a trap!" he tried to warn him.

"Too late," Seishiro said softly, smiling benignly at them. "It's an interesting thing. Kyle came screaming into our presence last night. He seemed to think that he'd killed Yuui's child and, by extension, undone Yuui. But my mother and I took this news with a grain of salt. It turns out we were right to. It wasn't that hard to discover that the infant was unharmed. As such, I can no longer afford to let the lot of you do as you please. I've lain with a woman and she's undoubtedly carrying my child. But how, oh how, can I get to the princess when she's still surrounded by her faithful knights? You see my dilemma. Therefore, if you would be so kind as to not resist while I thin you out-"

"You honestly think we'd let you kill us?" Kamui demanded furiously. Seishiro only laughed at this.

"Oh, heavens, Kamui. I don't want to kill you. Why would I do that? The two of you are far too amusing. No, I have something much more delicious in mind. Look above you."

The two nobles hesitated a moment, then did as they were told. What they saw horrified them.

Kotori was suspended above them, seemingly by nothing, but they both knew better. She appeared to be unconscious.

"What is this?" Fuuma demanded. "What have you done?"

Seishiro said nothing. He simply raised his arms and sakura branches burst forth from them, seizing Kamui and Fuuma, just as they had done with Subaru. They both cried out as the branches dug into the flesh of their arms.

"The two of you belong to the Sakurazukamori now, but that's not quite enough. This will be different from Subaru." Slowly, Seishiro retracted the sakura branches and Fuuma and Kamui both fell to their knees, bleeding profusely from the injuries. Still smiling, Seishiro drew Assassin's Hand and sent it drifting toward them.

"Rise," he commanded, raising a hand. Fuuma and Kamui's bodies jerked upward in unison. Against their wills, their hands reached out to grasp the hilt of Assassin's Hand.

"What…are you…doing?" Kamui grunted in pain.

"I need to possess at least one of you fully. We will perform a blood sacrifice here today. Kotori will be my sacrifice."

"What are you talking about?" Fuuma demanded, his voice thick with pain.

Seishiro tilted his head upward and their bodies slowly began to rise into the air, until they were facing Kotori. The point of Assassin's Hand came to rest against her heart. One good thrust was all it would take.

"Oh, Goddess," Fuuma breathed in horror.

"You see, Cousin, the Sakurazukamori is a thing of death. Now that you and Kamui have been marked by it, all you need to do is make one kill. The blood will splash on you and your mind will be taken over by the Sakurazukamori, just as mine was fifteen hundred years ago. The question is…which one of you will it be?"

At that very moment, Kotori opened her eyes, smiling softly at the two of them. Horror filled both of their hearts at the expression.

"Hello, Brother, Kamui."

"No. No, no, no, no, no," Kamui repeated over and over again. This couldn't be happening! It just couldn't!

Just then, Subaru came running onto the scene, followed by Yuui, Tomoyo, Kurogane, Souma, the Mokona, Doumeki, Watanuki, and Himawari.

"Kotori?" Subaru whispered. "Seishiro?"

"Dear God," Watanuki whispered in horror.

"What's happening?" Yuui shouted.

"No!" Fuuma cried out, noticing her. "Yuui-chan…stay back!"

"Kill her," Seishiro commanded calmly. Kamui and Fuuma suddenly felt themselves moving. Barely managing to stop themselves, they fought desperately to keep their bodies from carrying out Seishiro's order.

"Oh, my God," Yuui whispered, finally realizing what was happening.

"Hold on, Fuuma!" Himawari cried out. They would find a way to save them. They just _had_ to!

"Brother," Kotori said softly as she reached past the sword to place her hands on theirs. "It's all right. You can let go now."

"Never!" Fuuma shouted, shaking his head furiously. "Don't you understand? If we let go, you'll be killed!"

But Kotori did understand. She was perfectly lucid - in this moment before her last. "But I _want_ you to kill me, Fuuma. It is my time. I want _you_ to be the one to set me free."

"No! No!" he cried out, tears beginning to escape his eyes against his will. "Please! Don't make me do this!"

Kotori shook her head, smiling. "You must. This is your fate. Ever since I was small, I have known…that you would be the one to take my life from me."

Horror blossomed anew on Fuuma's face as he listened to the secrets that had been locked inside of his baby sister all this time. She had lived every day…knowing when she would breathe her last?

"You knew? You knew…all this time…and you never said anything? Why did you come? Why didn't you fight?" he sobbed.

"It is not given to me to try and change the future…only to see it. Events have poured into my head ever since I lost my mind all those years ago. I have seen it all…and I only wish to be free of it. All this time…so many memories…all these years, it's been killing me."

"No! No! Kotori, no!"

"Don't cry," she said softly, trying to console him. "This is my destiny. The destiny that I chose."

"Why me?" he sobbed brokenly. "Why did you choose me?"

"I didn't, Brother. This was always going to happen. Someday you will look back…and you will know that you did the best thing you could have done for me. I love you very much…and I'll miss you."

"No! Please…don't!"

"Goodbye," she whispered, calling a spell to her hand. She sent the blast outward, pushing Kamui away from them. That moment of distraction was all it took. Fuuma lost his hold on himself and he plunged the blade into his sister's beating heart.

As Kamui fell to earth, he looked back up and saw the blood splash onto Fuuma's horrified face.

"FUUMA! KOTORI!"

Still smiling, albeit in pain, Kotori pulled herself up along the blade toward her distraught brother. As tears of anguish poured down his face, she pulled him into her arms, gently kissing his cheek.

"Thank you. I'm sorry."

"AAAGHH!!" Fuuma screamed in agony as his sister's body fell away from him. The transformation was already beginning.

Kamui was there to catch Kotori as she fell. His vision was stained red with her blood. There was no hope. Her chest was still and her warm eyes were glazed over in death. Almost immediately, her body began to break down, fading away into nothing. All that remained in Kamui's arms was Assassin's Hand.

" _KOTORI!_ " he shrieked in anguish.

"Fuuma-san!" Yuui's cry drew Kamui away from the fresh loss. He looked up and saw his lover drifting slowly back to earth, hanging limply as if held in the grip of some invisible giant. He was deposited mere inches from Kamui and the distraught Shiro was immediately on the move, kneeling beside Fuuma and cradling his lifeless form in his arms.

"Fuuma! Fuuma, please! Don't do this to me! Wake up! You've got to wake up! Fuuma!"

And he did. His brown eyes shot open and he seized Kamui by the throat. The fresh scars on his arms were glowing an angry red color. He seized Assassin's Hand from where Kamui had dropped it and plunged the blade into the younger faerie's right leg, then his left leg. Kamui could only manage a weak scream, unable to draw air for more than that.

"Fuuma-san, stop! What are you doing?" Yuui screamed. She tried to move forward to help, but Doumeki held her back. Fuuma continued with his grizzly task, stabbing Kamui's arms and finally plunging the blade into his right shoulder, pinning him to the ground.

"Fuuma," Seishiro said warningly, as if chastising a child for stealing cookies before dinner. It took the Monou lord visible effort to rein himself in. When he was in control, he straddled Kamui's body and knelt down over him and kissed him, beginning to lick some of the blood from his face.

"You and I were just like this, weren't we?" he asked sadistically.

"F-Fuuma…why?" he whispered weakly.

The incensed faerie offered no explanation. He only leaned down closer and whispered in his former lover's ear, "Kamui…hear me well. I will be the one to kill you."

The next moment, he was in motion again. Before anyone could react, he had a hold of Yuui.

"Fuuma-san?" she whispered, terrified at the utterly nonchalant look in his eyes. He held her close, pressing a kiss to her ear as he whispered to her, just as he had done with Kamui.

"I have become the nightmare you once thought me to be." As he spoke, he ran a hand down her body, coming to rest against her womb and pressing his fingers roughly against the swollen skin, as if he meant to plunge directly in and rip the child out. Yuui couldn't even summon up the voice to scream for her terror.

"No…no…please…"

Fuuma just sneered and flung her back at Doumeki. Tomoyo and the others began to move toward them, but they were stopped in their tracks when Seishiro moved toward them, smiling, as always.

"Darkness, I'll let you keep her for now. But Yuui-chan, know that the day will come when I cut that child out of you and smash its broken body against the earth."

"What…did you do…to Fuuma?" Himawari asked shakily.

"Fuuma is mine now, just like Subaru…and Kamui can be mine if he wishes. All he need do is kill. We all belong to the sakura." As he gave his explanation, Seishiro turned his attention from everyone else and focused it on Subaru. "And don't worry, Subaru. I will come for you before too long." Then he pulled Subaru to him and pressed a kiss to his lips before disappearing into the morning air, followed by Fuuma and Assassin's Hand. Once they were gone, Subaru rushed to Kamui. The sight of his brother broken seemed to have finally snapped the young lord out of his trance. Tomoyo, Souma, Kurogane, and the Mokona all gathered around Yuui and Doumeki. Doumeki passed Yuui to Tomoyo before he and Watanuki began to move toward the Shiro brothers. Himawari remained a safe distance from them all.

"How…c-could he?" Yuui cried weakly as she clung to Tomoyo. They were all still in shock.

"What can we do?" Watanuki asked quietly as he and Doumeki watched over the shattered brothers.

"We have no choice…but to treat him as a servant of the Dark Court," Doumeki said dispassionately. "The moment he raised a hand against the princess, he became the enemy. We are sworn to protect Yuui and Fai…forsaking all else for that charge."

"I…I know, but… _Fuuma?_ Could you really kill Fuuma?"

"If I have to…then yes. I am the Darkness for a reason. The twins come first."

"And…Kamui and Subaru…could that…really happen to them, too?"

Doumeki shook his head. "I don't know."

Subaru seemed to realize that he was being spoken about and glanced up at the assassin and the former vizier. His normally gentle green eyes were alight with rage as he cradled his brother's broken body to him.

"Fuuma! Fuuma!" Kamui cried over and over again, tears streaming openly down his face.

"I'll kill him," Subaru swore. If it was the last thing he did, he would get revenge for his brother, Fuuma, Kotori…himself! He would kill Seishiro. "I'LL KILL HIM!"

Before anyone could react to this bold vow, Sai suddenly came running into the clearing where everyone was gathered, ignorant of the tragedy they had all experienced.

"Yuui-hime! You must come at once! It's begun! Valeria is under attack!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song here is 'Lightning Crashes' by Live.


	25. Yet I Know It's True

Yuui couldn't remember when she'd felt so numb.

When Tomoyo had almost died and hers and Fai's magic had manifested for the first time, she'd been afraid and overwhelmed. When Fai had been raped, she'd felt powerless, angry, guilt-ridden, horrified - all manner of awful emotions. When her two brothers had finally come together, along with Tomoyo and herself, she'd felt joy beyond measure.

When she'd awoken from a trance to find herself raped and pregnant, she'd been frightened and sickened. When Tomoyo had said yes, she thought that she had found a moment to top that of their first love, but that had immediately been countered by the shock of learning her true identity, and that she was to be married to one of her best friends - the man her brother loved.

When Fai had walked away from her in a trance…and she had lost him…it was like the night of their sixteenth birthday, only a hundred times worse. Suddenly becoming the heir apparent to a throne - utter shock, terror. She still hadn't quite wrapped her mind around it. When Tomoyo was taken from her, she'd felt indescribable rage, and it had torn at something in her to watch Kurogane break.

Nearly losing her child - that would have been the end of everything were it not for Doumeki's miracle. She would have died herself last night. But now, after the horror of witnessing Kotori's murder, Fuuma's transformation, and his brutalizing of Kamui - she couldn't feel _anything_ anymore. If she allowed herself to feel it all now, she would surely lose her mind.

After Sai's arrival, Subaru had used his Hand to heal Kamui's injuries and the young faerie had led the dazed group back to Faerie. Not a word was spoken. No one even _knew_ what to say.

"Ryuuki received word about fifteen minutes ago," Sai explained as she led them through the sithen. "The Oni appeared out of the morning mist. The Fire and Earth Guards are trying to hold them off. Valeria's army remains within the walls of Cephiro at Ransho's request. Syaoran doesn't want to lose men in a fight he knows he cannot win."

Sai led them first through the throne room, the place where the council had met two nights before, then to a door at the back of the chamber. The door led into a decent-sized circular chamber, at the center of which was a large pool. It may have been water, but it was difficult to tell with all of the images flashing across its surface. Ryuuki, Sakura, Yue, Kero, Kakei, and Kujaku were all present.

"Princess Yuui!" Ryuuki gasped in shock when he saw the bedraggled group. "What…what happened to all of you? Where is Fuuma?"

Yuui hung her head, shaking it sadly. Tomoyo wrapped her arms around her and Kurogane and Souma exchanged helpless looks. Soel and Larg, perched on Yuui's shoulders, looked absolutely miserable. Himawari began to cry softly and Watanuki turned away from the fire general. A small cry escaped Kamui and he slumped against his brother, who had been helping him to walk.

"Fuuma…Fuuma…Kotori…" he sobbed quietly.

Sai stared at the group she had led into Faerie. She had also been wondering what had happened, but no one would tell her.

"Yuui…chan? Are you all right?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"What happened out there?" Kujaku asked.

Doumeki was the one to finally step forward, speaking in his usually stoic tone. "Kotori Monou is dead. She was killed by her brother…and Lord Fuuma Monou has joined the ranks of our enemies."

"No!" Kero exclaimed.

"How can this be?!" Ryuuki demanded.

Doumeki moved toward Kero and pressed his hand to the lion's forehead, sharing with him his memories of the event.

"Dear God," the guardian whispered in horror when the events were all in his head. Curious, those who could opened their minds to Kero and allowed him to tell them the story.

"We must warn Ransho at once. If he should come up against Fuuma in battle-" Ryuuki began, moving toward the large pool.

"Princess," Kakei addressed Yuui as he moved toward the group. "For this, we need your help."

"W-what can I do?" Yuui asked hesitantly, separating from Tomoyo. Kakei took her hand and began to lead her toward the pool. Tomoyo and the others followed.

"The Reflecting Pool will show you anything…anything you wish to see," the elder faerie began to explain, waving a hand over the surface of the pool. "But only _you_ can control it. The waters will only respond to a sovereign or one who _would_ be a sovereign. You must focus on what you want to see and guide the pool's magic. Like the sithen, the pool will give you _exactly_ what you wish for if it is within its power. You must focus absolutely on what you wish to be reflected or it will not work. Right now, we must see what is happening in Cephiro."

Yuui stood before the pool for a moment, uncertain of herself. "H-how?"

"You speak to the water as you would anyone else. You call to its heart…its mind…with your own and tell it what you want to see. Pretend you're speaking to Princess Tomoyo or Himawari. Just focus…and ask."

The blonde turned her attention back to the pool, closing her eyes and taking several deep breaths.

_Water?_ she asked hesitantly with her thoughts. Immediately, she felt a cool, reassuring voice responding to her.

_I am here, Princess._

_I want to see-_

Before Yuui could even form the thought, a bolt of lightning flashed behind her eyes and a horrific vision appeared in her head. At first, it was only a dark vortex…but as she plunged deeper, she began to see Fai, imprisoned in a glass coffin. Even this, she might have been able to bear, but her mind plunged deeper still - and she began to hear her twin screaming. She could see dark hands on him, tearing into him - destroying his mind.

_Find me! Find me! Where are you?! Kurogane…Yuui…_ _**anyone** _ _! I'm frightened, Kurogane, I'm frightened! I'm so cold! Come find me! Save me! It's killing me! Please…I beg you! Yuui…_ _**Kurogane** _ _!_

A dark voice whispered in Fai's ear and he began to scream again. He screamed as if he were being slowly torn apart. Yuui collapsed to her knees, screaming herself in an attempt to block out the vision.

"It can't be! _NO!_ " she screamed, burying her face in her hands.

"Yuui!" Tomoyo's voice suddenly sounded in her ear and she felt the younger girl's arms wrap around her. In the other ear, she heard Kakei's voice.

"You asked it to show you your brother…didn't you."

"I…I didn't _mean_ to," she cried, shaking her head back and forth to free herself of the horrible nightmare. "It was…so awful…"

"It is all right, Princess. It is what you wish for most right now…to be able to see him. Whether you meant to make that request or not, the water heard what you wanted. You must gain control of your desires and focus. If you cannot concentrate long enough, then the image will not be reflected in the water. You need to be strong now."

Taking a moment to collect herself, Yuui finally nodded, allowing Kakei and Tomoyo to help her to her feet. She took a moment to gather her thoughts this time, summoning up a very distinct image of Ransho Sol in her mind before attempting to contact the pool again.

_I'd like to see Ransho Sol. Please…it's important._

_As you command, my princess._

As the pool worked her will, Yuui felt the soothing coolness of the water magic flowing through her body. It was like a gentle balm on her frazzled nerves and she wished that it could have lasted longer, but all too soon, the sounds of battle filled the air and Yuui slowly opened her eyes. The image on the surface of the water was solid this time. The walls of the city of Cephiro - a place she had been to barely two days ago - had become a blood bath. Members of the Fire and Earth Guards were battling against swarms of Oni. However, as quickly as blood was spilt, wounds healed. These beings could fight for years and never tire. It was magic that would win the day for either side.

"Oh, no," Yue whispered suddenly. The pool had found Ransho. The earth sprite was already locked in heated combat with the fallen lord, a look of shocked horror on his face. Above the glaring sounds of the surrounding battle, they could hear his anguished voice demanding an answer.

"Fuuma! Why are you doing this?! Why have you betrayed the princess?!"

"Oh, God. Oh, God," Kamui cried in despair, turning away from the scene. Subaru held him as he sobbed in silence, attempting to console him, though he knew there was little he could do.

"Princess, you must warn him."

"Me?"

"Right now, his mind is only open to Touki, Ryuuki, and yourself. You must learn to communicate with your generals. Tell him what you've seen."

Again, Yuui concentrated her will, focusing it on Ransho, willing him to hear her. Tomoyo being the exception, she had never spoken to someone over such a great distance. It helped that she could see him.

_Ransho-san! Ransho-san, hear me! Please hear me!_

_Yuui-hime?!_ She quickly felt his distressed response. _What's happening?! Why has Fuuma become our enemy?!_

_It was Seishiro. He used the power of the Sakurazukamori to bind Fuuma-san to his will. The…the man we knew is gone…taken by the darkness._ As Yuui spoke to the earth master, she gave him her memories of that morning, reliving the sad fate of the Monou and Shiro siblings. _I…I don't know if we can ever get him back._

Through their connection, Yuui could feel the general's desire to comfort her, though he was still locked in fevered battle. _We'll find a way, Princess. There_ _ **must**_ _be a way. Fuuma is dear to all of us._

_Ransho-san…please…don't get yourself hurt out there._

_I will try my best, Princess…and we will not harm Fuuma. But please, I sense that you are very near the edge, young one. I do not wish for you to see anymore of this. You are not ready. Cephiro is defended for the moment and Ryuuki will keep you informed should anything change. And…could you also have someone waiting at Spirit Lake to grant safe passage?_

_Who for?_

_King Syaoran has requested asylum in Faerie for some of the royal family. Rikuo, my lieutenant, will be bringing them from Cephiro to Spirit Lake._

_All right._

During all of this, Ransho had not once let up his pace in his battle against Fuuma. Yuui shook her head and turned away. "No more," she said softly. The image on the water faded away to be replaced by bits and pieces of a million different images. "We…we need to have someone waiting on the other side. They're sending refugees over from Valeria."

"Who?" Sakura queried anxiously.

"I don't know. Ransho-san just said that King Syaoran wanted asylum for some members of the royal family."

"I see," the queen replied solemnly. It hurt to hear her baby call her own father by his title. How would she react…if Yuui called her Queen Sakura to her face?

"Who is bringing them?" Kakei asked.

"Rikuo…I think he said."

"All right. I will send my nephew, Kazahaya, to meet them."

"Now that Ransho is informed, shouldn't we be taking care of Fuuma?" Subaru asked coldly, still rubbing his brother's back in an effort to comfort him.

"What do you mean?" Yuui asked, suddenly fearful.

"Fuuma is no longer fit to lead the Monou Clan. As he is now, he would lead his kinsmen into darkness, as did the others who followed Yuuko. We must summon the clan masters once more and bestow his title upon the next in line."

XxX

For forty-seven years, Yukito Aoki had stood by Touya Fluorite's side. They had been born mere weeks apart from each other and they had grown up together, playing their little childhood games in the castle under the watchful eyes of their loving parents. They had remained fast friends even when they went their separate ways to undergo training for their paths in life; Touya learning how best to rule a country and Yukito learning the secrets of the priesthood.

Yukito had been there for the young prince as he grieved for his father's death, and then again when his mother died giving him a baby sister. They had only grown closer as they banded together to help raise and protect Sakura. Yukito had been there to keep him in check when young Syaoran had entered the picture. They had been like a little family all their own - and Touya had been there for him when his own mother died, leaving him to become the high priest at seventeen - so young for the job, just as his own mother had been. Touya had been with him even as he suffered through the pangs of his first and only love, all while trying to be the best priest he could be, and still grieving for the loss of his beloved mother.

He had been the one to place the crown on Touya's head on his eighteenth birthday, declaring him at last, king of all Valeria. He had seen his first glimpse of Heaven that night when his childhood friend had finally confessed to him his true feelings and they had gone breathlessly into each other's arms, making love with the passion of the Lord and Lady themselves. He had remained by his side, to the public eye, his greatest councilor and friend, as he became a great leader - and all the while, their love flourished in secret. Every night, he lay in Touya's arms, wondering when his king would be made to marry and produce heirs - wondering which night would finally be their last.

He had watched Touya seethe as Sakura and Syaoran fell in love, and had finally convinced him to grant them his blessing when the young lord had asked for the princess' hand in marriage, asking him to let Sakura and Syaoran have what they themselves never could. He had married them himself, with Touya grumbling all the while.

He had faced the council of lords with Touya when the king finally admitted to them that he was no longer fit to rule them because he was very much his father's son and he could not betray that which truly came first in his heart - his love for Yukito. He loved Valeria very much, but what sort of king was he if he could not be true to himself? They had stood side by side and placed the crowns on Sakura and Syaoran's heads, placing the rule of their beloved country in their capable hands, and soon after, they had married, secure in their love and the knowledge that they would always be together.

They suffered with Sakura as she failed, year after year, to conceive, and they had rejoiced with their family when the twins were finally born to her. They had grieved with the parents when Fai and Yuui were taken silently out of their lives, and found some measure of joy again when Eriol had come to them. They had only grown stronger in their love as they raised Eriol together, trying to ignore the small whisper of guilt that they could have what Sakura and Syaoran could not. It was nothing short of a miracle that had brought them together. Yukito had thought to always be by Touya's side and never to leave him until he drew his last breath. He had never expected to be faced with the prospect of leaving him, not knowing if he would ever see him again.

"Why are you doing this to me?" he whispered desperately against the former king's chest as Touya held him close - and for all they knew, it would be the last time.

"Because you've got to get them out of here," he whispered back, kissing the top of his head. "Eriol needs you."

"What about _me_ , Touya?" the high priest asked, being greedy for once in his life. "I need _you_. Without you…there's no _reason_ left."

"I have to stay here. It's my duty to protect Valeria, even if that bozu is the king."

"But…what if you…what if you…" He couldn't say it. It was just too awful.

"We've had a good run, you and I. We've had more than we should have had any right to hope for," he said gently as he ran his fingers through Yukito's graying hair. Yukito leaned into his touch, drinking in even the smallest impression like water. He _needed_ it like water. He would need this in order to go on living after this moment. "I've loved every moment with you."

"Then why does it have to end now?" he asked, clutching at his husband for dear life. "Rikuo-san could take them to Faerie. Please, I beg you…don't send me from your side, Touya! Now, more than ever, is the moment when I _must_ be with you! We have lived together, koibito…why should we die alone?!"

Touya gave him a stern glare before pulling him into a very deep kiss. All of the fire of his passion for Yukito that still burned within him was in this tender display of devotion. They held onto each other, trying to say all that they could not say with words in the few moments that remained to them.

"Yuki, I swear to you I won't die before I see you again, but if you really want me to come back to you…then you have to believe in me. Promise me you won't die either."

"Touya-"

" _Please_ , Yuki," he begged fiercely, clutching his husband even tighter against his body. "You _must live_. I need to hear that from you."

Yukito leaned up to kiss Touya one last time. "I will not die, Touya…unless it be by your side. I will _never_ allow you to die…not alone."

With that, Syaoran entered their chamber, looking very sad.

"Are the two of you ready? It's time now."

Yukito nodded sadly as he pulled himself away from Touya and began to follow the king out of the room. Touya followed slowly behind. Outside, Ransho's lieutenant, Rikuo, Chi, her daughter Freya, Eriol, and Kaho Mizuki waited for them. Freya was only four months old. She had been born about eight months after Chi and Hideki's wedding. The couple didn't yet live together, though. They still served their respective sovereigns. After the news of Nihon's fall, Chi was hoping to come with Eriol and Yukito to Faerie and try to find her husband…and also to bring her daughter to safety. Eriol and Priest Mizuki had also begged that Kaho be allowed to come with them on the escape from Cephiro. Eriol and Kaho were best friends…and already showed clear signs of being smitten with each other.

"I'm sorry to break this up, but we need to leave now. Some of the soldiers are setting up wards around the city to prevent the enemy from entering. Nothing will be able to get in…but no one will be able to leave either," Rikuo explained.

"I understand," Yukito said solemnly. "What must we do?"

"Stand in a circle," the dark-haired faerie told them. The small group complied. Then Rikuo took Yukito and Chi's hands. "We must all be holding hands. I cannot stress this enough. If any one of you lets go, then you might be lost."

Yukito shuddered as he took his son's hand. He didn't dare ask what they would be lost to. Chi took Kaho's hand and Kaho and Eriol joined hands last of all.

"What about Freya?" Chi asked nervously. "Will she be all right?" The infant was held securely against her body by a sling and she held tightly to her mother, whimpering softly.

"She should be fine so long as she holds onto you…and I don't see why she would let go when the teleportation begins. If anything, she'd hold on tighter. Is everyone ready?"

"Yes," Chi and Yukito responded. Eriol and Kaho nodded their heads.

"All right. Hold on tight." With that, Rikuo closed his eyes and tilted his head back, channeling the spell through their joined hands. A slight wind swept through the corridor and a magic circle appeared around their human one. While all of this was happening, Yukito did not once break eye contact with Touya.

"I love you!" he called out to him as the circle grew brighter and the wind pitched louder.

Yukito could see his lips forming the words, but he couldn't hear anything…and the next moment, they were gone. For a split second, he could hear the roar of a hurricane and he was surrounded by darkness. Then they were standing on the shore of a lake.

"Everyone all right?" Rikuo asked. The only one who made an answer in the negative was Freya, who made her complaints known by wailing very loudly. Chi immediately began to comfort the little one. The next thing Yukito heard was a voice calling out to them.

"Rikuo!" the voice cried out. Yukito glanced a ways down the shoreline and saw two figures running toward them. One was Sakura. The other was a deceptively young-looking man. The distance between them was closed in mere moments and the man was flinging his arms around their guide. Rikuo smirked as he kissed the top of the other man's head.

"Heh, you're not usually so affectionate, Kazahaya. I could get used to this."

The faerie called Kazahaya backed up, looking more than a little flustered and angry.

"Well…we're not usually at war, are we? How…how am I supposed to know…whether or not I'm going to see you again?" he asked, his voice breaking slightly.

Rikuo's smirk shifted into something softer as he ran his fingers through Kazahaya's dark blond hair. "It's only been one day. Is that really all the faith you have in me?" This time, he kissed Kazahaya on the lips. Yukito was very distinctly reminded of himself and Touya.

"Yukito?" Sakura whispered. Yukito turned to look at his queen. For a moment, he thought to be formal, but then he got a good look at her eyes. She had died a thousand deaths since he had last seen her in the tower two days ago.

"Oh, Sakura," he said softly as he pulled her into his arms. "I'm so sorry. Syaoran told us what happened."

"H-how are…Syaoran and Nii-san? Are they all right?"

"Yes. Yes, they're fine. The city's been sealed off. They'll be all right."

_They_ _**have** _ _to be all right._

XxX

"Barely two days since last we met and already we are three members short," Kakei noted sadly as he gazed upon the assembled council. The seven remaining clan masters were present, as was Ryuuki, but Ransho had been replaced by Rikuo, who had Kazahaya at his side, standing in for Hisui. Rasetsu hadn't had anyone to represent in centuries and there was currently no one who could speak for the Monou clan. Yuui sat at the head of the council this time, with her own entourage spread out behind her. Tomoyo stood directly behind her right shoulder with the Mokona perched on her own shoulders. Kurogane and Souma stood behind them. Kurogane shifted uneasily. He was unused to acting as a guard at meetings such as this, but he was aware that this was not his world, so he willingly took up the role of the one cast down. His shame and anguish were so great that Kyle's banishment was almost a blessing for him. Souma, on the other hand, was used to such a position and took it quite easily. The four friends were flanked by the three guardians and Kujaku. Kamui stood behind Subaru, barely conscious of the proceedings.

"Of course Ransho is in the field at this very moment, but where are Fuuma and Rasetsu? Have we already lost them to the princess' foolishness?" Karura asked snidely. Yuui shuddered at the insinuation. After all…the reason that Seishiro had given for doing what he did…was to divide her protectors. Maybe…what happened to Fuuma and Kotori really _was_ her fault? She was responsible for these people now - meant to lead them.

"Karura," Subaru began warningly. "You do Yuui great injustice. Thus far, she has only ever acted as befits a queen. She could not have been expected to stop the events that have transpired since this council last met. Yuui and her companions have planted the seeds of rebellion in Nihon by freeing Kyle's prisoners. We need every shred of help that we can garner in this fight. It was her wish that Rasetsu remain with the Nihon rebels as a guardian and advisor."

"And what of Fuuma?" Tenou asked. No one present failed to notice the way Kamui stiffened at the sound of the Monou lord's name.

"Fuuma…has betrayed us," Subaru said sadly after a long moment of silence. "He was taken by the darkness."

"That cannot be!" Tarta insisted vehemently. "Fuuma would never betray us! He was King Reed's most loyal servant!"

"Nevertheless, it happened," Kakei said, collected as always.

"How?!" Karura demanded fiercely, her accusing gaze already on Yuui.

Subaru sighed. It was time to reveal the truth…the truth that would both condemn and redeem Prince Seishiro Reed in the eyes of the court. "Do not look to the princess when you seek to blame for what has happened to Fuuma. This was…Prince Seishiro's doing. Seishiro is…the Sakurazukamori."

The reactions were mixed. Kurogane, Souma, and Tomoyo had only a vague idea of what this meant. Subaru, Kamui, Yuui, Watanuki, Doumeki, Himawari, Kujaku, Ryuuki, Sai, and Karura had already known, most of them having been informed last night before the raid on Shirasagi. Rikuo had heard it from Ransho and he had told Kazahaya about it. The remaining four, however, had not known. Kakei remained calm and Eagle and Tenou just looked shocked. Tarta was the first to really react.

"That…that's impossible," she denied, shaking her head. "It was sealed away three thousand years ago. We would…we would know if such a force had been set free."

"You _did_ know," Subaru continued calmly. "You just knew it as a different event. When Yuuko was exiled…for the murder of Princess Fuu Reed Monou and Lord Ferio Monou…what she had really been doing was breaking the seal that bound the ancient evil. The Sakurazukamori was released…and it took Seishiro as its host. It devoured him. Prince Seishiro died fifteen hundred years ago." It was pain to him to say it, but it needed saying. It helped him fuel his rage, helped him to distance himself. It helped to think that…maybe he really hadn't been betrayed. He had never really known Seishiro Reed. He had wasted three hundred years of his life with a lie. The man who would have loved him had been dead a long time before he was even born. The thing he had lived for was nothing more than an illusion, and now there was only revenge for the pain that illusion had brought upon his family. He would bring an end to it - even though he _knew_ what that would mean for him.

"But…if she really had such power, then why did she use it only once?" Tenou asked disbelievingly.

"Because that power couldn't be controlled," Watanuki stepped in to explain. "You were there…weren't you, Tenou Asura? On the day your brother was killed? You saw it. That creature made absolutely no distinction between ally and enemy. He was as likely to destroy the Oni as our own soldiers."

"No more," Tenou muttered, shuddering. He had no desire to remember that day - the day he had seen Ashura torn apart. He had been so young then.

"If you do not believe me…" Subaru began ominously "…then perhaps _these_ will convince you."

With that, Subaru roughly pulled up the sleeves of his tunic, revealing the ugly scars that tattooed his arms, still glowing with a dull red light. The sakura branches - the symbol of the beast - the horror that had not been seen in the world for a thousand generations of men.

"The mark of the Sakurazukamori," Tarta whispered in horror.

"Yes," he replied, laying his arms out on the table. "I am his prey. I…belong to him. I only just learned of this myself. My mother hid the marks from the world with glamour…and my brother continued after her death. I lived my life…never seeing my true body. I was marked when I was five."

"Then why did Lady Tohru never report the attack?" Karura asked. She had not been informed about all of this.

Subaru laughed bitterly, the sadness of his making instantly crawling back into his heart like a deadly snake. "Because _I_ was the one who was marked. Who would have believed poor, mad Lady Tohru Shiro? Even if she had been believed…who would have _cared_ that her little _rape_ baggage had been marked for death? If anything, such news would have been rejoiced. It was for _this_ reason that leadership of the Shiro clan passed to _me_ instead of to my brother, the legitimate vessel of the Shiro bloodline - the son of Tohru Shiro's _true_ husband, Kazuhiko. Our mother believed that Kamui could protect me…and he agreed. Why, I'll never know, but he gave up everything that was his birthright for my sake.

_And now he's paying for it. I threw my family's love in their faces just to dally with my killer. Why did I ever let him seduce me?! Kamui warned me it was dangerous. Would things have been different if I had never let him in? Would we still have Kotori and Fuuma? Would Fai…still be whole?_ _I'll never know. All I can do is make things right again._

"However, these marks have nothing to do with the current situation. I only told you because you asked me. Fuuma did not betray us of his own volition. He was taken by the Sakurazukamori. He was marked…and after that, all that was needed was a sacrifice. Seishiro forced him to slay Kotori."

"What?!" Eagle suddenly broke in.

"K-Kotori is…dead?" Tarta whispered through dry lips.

"How can it be?" Tenou asked.

"Her spilled blood was the catalyst," Subaru continued, not allowing himself to feel their reactions. "The Sakurazukamori overwhelmed him…swallowed his mind…and now he serves only Seishiro."

"Could the same thing happen to _you?_ " Karura asked suspiciously.

"I do not know. I have never killed anyone. But if it should happen, then the princess is well-protected."

"Then the question is…can Fuuma ever be brought back…and if not…do any of us have the strength to slay him?" Eagle asked solemnly.

"Oh, God," Kamui whispered in horror as his body trembled. His eyes were wide and staring, gazing off into the distance at something far beyond his current moment. "No. No! Fuuma! _No!_ "

"Kamui-san?" Yuui whispered worriedly. The sound of her fear seemed to ground the violet-eyed faerie…even if only for a brief moment.

"There will be no need of violence," Subaru insisted, if only for the sake of his brother's sanity. "As I said, Princess Yuui is well-guarded. We have called this council today because the Monou clan is in need of a temporary master. In light of Kotori's death, no suitable direct descendant of the line yet exists and we are forced to look elsewhere in the Monou house."

"As you all know, Lord Ferio had only the two children, Fuuma and Kotori," Kakei began to explain, taking the reins from Subaru. "And his only sibling, the Lady Emeraude, married into the Sol clan by her union with Lord Zagato. Before their deaths, they had only one son. Lord Ransho is a direct descendant of the Monou line, but unsuitable to be its master as he is already master of the Sol clan."

"This we know, Kakei. So who is next in line to inherit?" Karura asked, sounding more than a little exasperated.

"Next in line would have been Emeraude and Ferio's younger cousin, the Lady Presea, but again, as you all well know, Presea was killed during the Last War. So, one would assume that the line of succession would carry on to _her_ child, Hisui. However, Hisui is in no fit state to be leading anyone. Rather than risk spreading out further in the clan, we are left with but one choice. Presea's husband…Hisui's father."

Karura shook her head fiercely. "Don't say it. Don't say what you're going to say, Lord Dorragu."

"Clef Guru," Kakei said softly, heedless of Karura's warning. At the sound of his voice, the doors to the chamber opened. Yue and Kero were standing guard outside, and between them stood a very short faerie. His head only reached to about most of their waists. His hair was white and his eyes shone blue. Yuui found herself thinking that, compared with most other faeries she had met, he was dressed rather simply in a pair of white pants and a blue tunic.

"You summoned him here without consulting any of us?" Karura hissed vehemently.

"Approach the council, Clef," Kakei continued, still ignoring Karura. Once Clef had entered the chamber, the doors closed behind him.

"He is no lord," Karura continued to argue.

"It _is_ true," Tenou put in softly. "Guru has no noble blood. Does his status as Presea's widower still give him a legitimate claim?"

"Clef is noble by marriage. Presea's death does not change this. He is eligible to lead the Monou clan until such time as Fuuma can be saved. What say you, Clef? Will you take up the position of master of the Monou clan in Fuuma's absence?"

"I will," he replied, looking only to Kakei and not acknowledging his attackers.

"And will you swear loyalty to Princess Yuui…the woman who would be queen?"

At this, Clef turned to look at Yuui herself. Yuui met his gaze full on, having no pretensions of trying to be strong. She was not strong right now. She was lost. When he looked into her eyes, she did not see the discerning, calculating look she had grown used to over the past few days. She saw…her very own eyes looking back at her - the eyes of someone who was tired and heartsick, eyes that could pierce with their intensity, but that _did_ not. Then, very briefly, those eyes smiled for her.

"I will. Yuui, my princess, I am at your disposal."

"All right, then. That's settled," Kakei said with a smile. "Rikuo, do you have anything to report from the battlefield?"

"Koryu has brought the Oni against us in force. We have had no casualties thus far and to minimize human casualties, we have sealed off the city. There has been no sign of a human attack from Nihon, and for this, Ransho is grateful, but he fears that the time will come. As you all know, this battle could go on for hundreds of years if we do not gain some sort of advantage over the dark throng. It is for this reason that Ransho has asked me to request that this council grant Hisui Guru's lieutenant, Kazahaya Dorragu, the rank of acting wind master. Hisui is beyond reach and we can no longer afford to spare the Wind Guard…not if we mean to keep even a fraction of the Water Guard as a barrier around Celes. We need numbers now."

"Well, nephew of mine, you heard your lover. With your general incapacitated, will you accept this position?"

Kazahaya instantly went bright red. He looked as though he might give his uncle a thorough tongue-lashing for talking about his relationship with Rikuo so publicly, but that very thought seemed to remind him of where he was and whom he was with, so he reined his anger and embarrassment in quickly.

"I accept. Until such a time as Hisui can resume her duties, I will serve as master of wind."

"Excellent. If there's nothing further, then-"

"Wait just one minute!" Karura started angrily.

"If this is about Lord Clef, then there is nothing further to discuss, Karura. He is the next in line for the position. This is not a group decision. There is nothing for you to say. If nothing further occurs between now and then, we will reconvene when Princess Yuui goes into labor."

Yuui swallowed hard as the faerie lords slowly began to disperse. Prior to this moment, thoughts of actually giving birth had been distant and out of focus. Now that Kakei had talked about her going into labor, and her belly was getting bigger all the time, it suddenly jumped to the very front of her mind. She had heard stories. What was it like…to actually give life to another person? Would it hurt? Would she scream? Faint? _D_ _ie?_ During all of the dangers she had lived through, the thought of her own death had never seemed real to her, but after what Fuuma and the others had told her…

_If…I die…what will happen to my precious child? What would happen to her if…I never wake up…never get to hold her in my arms and give her her name?_

"Yuui? Are you all right?" She suddenly heard Tomoyo's voice whispering in her ear. Slowly awakening from her morbid thoughts, she turned to find Tomoyo kneeling beside her, gazing worriedly into her eyes. Without thinking, she leaned forward and gave her fiancé a brief kiss on the lips.

"I'm fine," she replied, smiling weakly.

"Pathetic," another voice suddenly butted into the moment. There could be no mistaking the ice in it. Yuui glanced up and found Karura still in her seat, glaring at her.

"Karura-san…why do you hate me?" she asked with the honest confusion of one who had lived a life free of court politics.

For a very brief moment, the glare on the fey woman's face flickered to a look of surprise at being accused of such an emotion, but just as quickly, the genuine surprise turned back into ice.

"Because you cannot help," she replied bitterly before standing and quickly fleeing the council chamber. Yuui sighed as she stood, placing a hand on her stomach and taking Tomoyo's hand in the other.

"You mustn't think badly of her, Your Highness," Clef said softly as he approached Yuui. "Lady Karura has been fueled by rage for so long, it has become a part of her. She is incapable of seeing the world around her through anything but a very strict black and white filter…whether things can help her or not."

"Help her what?" Kurogane asked suspiciously, fist aching to curl around a familiar hilt that was no longer there to be drawn.

"Lady Karura will do anything she feels is necessary to destroy the Dark Court. If she feels that something cannot help her do this, then it is not worth her time. In this respect, Princess, she does not believe you would serve her best interests as queen."

"So? What makes her anger anymore justified than the rest of ours? We've all lost something to the Dark Court," Kurogane insisted angrily. So much had been lost _\- too_ much.

"A long time ago…Lady Karura lost her little sister to them. The young mistress had a very…unique Hand of Power. She could heal with her song. However, her magic could only reach the ears of people who would truly _hear_ her words. She sang of love and hope, of friendship and loyalty…things the Oni know nothing about. She was valuable to us, but by that same token, just as dangerous to our enemies. Yuuko slew her…cut her down in cold blood…that bright, shining child. Her death destroyed Lady Karura…made of her an empty husk to be filled with nothing but hatred. Karyoubinga was…Lady Karura's whole world. So tell me, young prince, would you expect Lady Karura to think less of you for becoming sad and angry if you lost _your_ whole world…if you lost your Fai?"

Kurogane wanted to lash out at this, but found that he could not. The mention of Fai struck a chord too deep within him to react with anger. He shook his head, screwing his eyes shut as he turned away from Clef. "Don't call me prince."

Clef raised an eyebrow. "All right, Kurogane. If that is your wish, then I shall abide by it."

"Clef-san…I hope I'm not being rude, but…so many of the others seemed to disapprove of you. Why?" Yuui asked.

"Not at all, Princess. I will tell you anything you wish to know, insofar as I am able. Besides, it is no great secret among our people. I imagine that most of the faeries you have met up to this point are of the ruling class - the nobility."

"I think so," Yuui said, glancing back at her three guardians. She didn't know a lot about their histories, so she couldn't say for certain, but all of the others…most definitely.

"Well, I am…lowborn. I am what you would call one of the lesser fey. I stand before you now because I fell in love with a beautiful young woman named Presea Monou and we married against her father's wishes. She even took my name," he recounted, his eyes growing slightly misty. "A name that had absolutely no meaning in the court. And she gave me a child…my lovely Hisui."

Yuui remembered the name. Hisui was the one Kurogane had stumbled upon the other night - Hisui and her comatose lover - Kurogane's own future if they failed to save Fai.

"And you're still…part of the court?" Tomoyo asked.

"Oh, yes. Lord Ferio was never opposed to Presea and I being together. I was given a place in his household after her death. Hisui and I lived on the Monou estate together until she was given the honor of rising to the position of master of wind. Actually, Princess Yuui, my daughter is the only reason I consented to Kakei's request to serve as your vassal. There are others better suited to the task than I am. I am no leader. Why Kakei chose me, I'll never know. But, Princess…I know what has happened to your twin. By now, I would say that everyone knows. Hisui's lover suffers the same affliction."

"I know," Yuui said sadly. "I…I've seen them."

"Well, there is no cure that we can find for Kokuyo. There is no way out for him. Certainly you and your friends will rescue Prince Fai. I was hoping, my princess…that you might find some way of helping them as well."

"I'll do my best, Clef-san," she promised, not out of any obligation she felt as a ruler, but because she couldn't bear to see anyone else suffer the way Kurogane was suffering without Fai - the way Kamui was suffering. It was all too much. She would do anything in her power to make it stop.

"You have my deepest thanks, my princess," Clef said, smiling in relief as he bowed low before her. "Now, with your permission, I will retire."

Yuui's first thought was to ask why he needed her permission, but before she could say anything and reveal her ignorance, she thought better of it. After all, she didn't know a thing about the ways of royalty. "O-of course. Go ahead."

Once Clef had gone and Yuui took a look around the chamber, she found that most of the other lords had already gone. Subaru had gone to take Kamui to his bedchamber and even Kujaku had managed to slip out without her noticing. Other than her own group, the only ones remaining were Kakei, Ryuuki, Kazahaya, and Rikuo, talking quietly amongst themselves. However, almost the instant she noticed them, Kakei glanced in her direction, smiled, and left. Then Ryuuki led the two younger faeries over to them. Ryuuki bowed quickly before turning his attention to Kurogane.

"Kurogane, Kakei tells me that you need help forging a new sword…and that you wish training in fire magic."

"Yes," Kurogane replied uncertainly. He had never said anything about magic. He didn't even know if he _could_ learn it, but if Kakei thought that it would help, he would take whatever he could get.

"Do you still have the pieces of the one that was broken in battle with Yuuko?"

"Yes," Yuui answered for him. "I saved them. I still have them."

"Good. They'll be of use. Just come to me when you're ready, Kurogane. With your permission, Princess…" Ryuuki bowed at the neck, waiting.

"Yes. Fine."

With that, the fire spirit quickly left the chamber. Before Yuui could even blink, Rikuo was speaking to her.

"Forgive me, Princess. May I speak?"

Yuui nodded. Did they really need her permission for everything?

"I understand that you're new to all of this, and that you probably have a lot on your mind right now…but it was Ransho's express wish that I meet you. I don't know why. I am Rikuo Himura, son of Ran and Gingetsu Himura of the Shiro clan, lieutenant to Lord Ransho Sol, master of earth. My abilities are at your disposal, Princess Yuui."

Yuui sighed, giving the earth spirit a weak smile. "Those are all fine titles. I suppose I have to introduce myself as well. I am Yuui…just plain Yuui, until recently, only a simple forest brat, sister of Fai, ward of Kimihiro Watanuki, Shizuka Doumeki, and Himawari Kunogi. But it would seem that I am also Princess Yuui Fluorite Reed, daughter of King Syaoran and Queen Sakura Fluorite, granddaughter of King Clow Reed, and heir to the throne of Faerie. Quite a mouthful, isn't it? What more identity could an orphan girl want?" she said, laughing, bordering on hysterical. As her friends and guardians stared worriedly at her, she turned her attention to Kazahaya. "And you? Who are you?"

"I-if it pleases Your Majesty…I am Kazahaya Dorragu, son of Chiharu and Takashi Dorragu of the Dorragu clan, now acting master of wind. I am at your service, Princess."

"Is there anything that you require of us, Majesty?" Rikuo asked.

"There is one thing that the two of you can do for me."

"Name it and it is done."

"Before you muster the Wind Guard, before you return to the field…take a night for yourselves. Be together…enjoy one another for those who cannot."

Kazahaya and Rikuo both looked surprised for a moment, glancing between Yuui and each other. Then Rikuo's lips quirked into a tiny smile and he took Kazahaya's hand in his. The wind sprite gave him an uncertain smile of his own.

"I think we can do that, my princess," Rikuo said softly, still keeping eye contact with Kazahaya. Yuui gave the couple a warm smile.

"Go then. You've the whole day and night ahead of you."

Grinning faintly, the pair quickly bobbed their heads and disappeared from the council chamber.

"That was really nice," Tomoyo whispered to Yuui, leaning lightly into her. "How are you feeling?"

Yuui was about to answer in the positive when she suddenly felt a very sharp jab from inside her womb. Her free hand darted to her stomach and she hunched forward, groaning lightly in discomfort.

"Yuui!" The cries came from everywhere all at once.

"What's wrong?" Himawari asked, restraining herself from reaching forward to steady her child.

"Are you hurt?" Watanuki queried, moving around to stand in front of Yuui and Tomoyo.

"Is it the baby?" Souma asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"What do you need?" Tomoyo asked softly as Larg hopped from her shoulder and onto Yuui's, snuggling up against her cheek. Yuui reached over and patted Larg.

"I was going to say that I'm fine, but I think she's telling me it's time for a break. It's all right. It's a good sign. It just means she's growing and getting stronger," she told them all reassuringly.

Tomoyo smiled warmly, if not with a little worry, as she placed her hand on Yuui's stomach. The little girl was very energetic today. With all that Yuui had been through today, she really didn't need the baby draining away all of her energy. She needed rest. "Maybe so," she began as she started to lead Yuui out of the room, followed by everyone else. "But her mother needs to get stronger, too, or she won't. We'll go to your chamber."

"All right, all right," Yuui submitted easily as Kurogane moved in front of them to open the doors. Yue and Kero were waiting outside.

"Are you all right, Princess Yuui?" the moon guardian asked.

"I'm fine, just tired. My little one's acting up," she said with an exhausted smile.

"If I may, Princess, I think I know something that might help," Kero said, taking a small step forward. Yuui nodded her consent and the winged lion closed the distance between them, laying his great head against her stomach. Then he began to purr. Yuui felt the gentle vibrations throughout her body, greatly soothed by the gentle humming. Apparently her daughter also found the vibrations soothing, because the kicking and shifting soon slowed, nearly coming to a stop. Without thinking, Yuui began to stroke the fur on top of the sun guardian's head.

"That _is_ nice. Thank you, Kero-san."

"You're welcome, my princess," he said, slowly lifting his head. "It was something I used to do a long time ago…when Yuuko was pregnant with Seishiro."

Everyone fell silent at this. Even for those who had witnessed it, it was difficult to imagine Yuuko pregnant…or Seishiro as a baby. Though, speaking of babies…

"It's probably none of my business, but…what was Subaru-san talking about earlier?" Yuui asked tentatively. "When he spoke of…rape baggage? I meant to ask him, but he disappeared with Kamui-san."

Her fey companions all exchanged looks at this. The issue was no great secret among the court, but at the same time…it was not something that was openly discussed. When no one said anything, Yuui hung her head in shame.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. If he wants me to know, then he'll tell me."

"No, Princess. You should know," Subaru said softly, appearing from almost nowhere. "In fact, I'll tell you myself. If you ask information of your subjects, then they must give it to you, regardless of the consequences. It's true…what you heard in the council chamber. My conception and birth were the direct results of a rape."

"Oh...Subaru-san..." Yuui started, but Subaru continued before she could say more.

"About a thousand years ago, my mother, Lady Tohru Shiro, was raped by Lord Akuma Satani…then master of the Oni…Kokuyo's father. He killed Kamui's father, Kazuhiko…walked right over his dead body to take my mother…made Kamui watch the whole thing…and left _me_ inside of her when he'd had his way. No one's ever really known the details of what happened that night. Mother carried the secret to her grave and Kamui has never given anything more than the barest of facts. It was he who killed Akuma to avenge his father's death and our mother's honor. Even _I_ do not know what happened on the night of my conception, though I am inarguably Akuma's son. Rumors flew during the pregnancy. People wondered why my mother kept me alive…treated me as a legitimate son and a beloved child…and eventually…why the birthright of the Shiro family was passed to me and not to my brother. Well…they have the answer to that now, but back then, and even now, I'm certain…there are whispers. Where do my loyalties lie? Can I be trusted…when I have such a dark heritage…when I could call on the dark power that sings in my veins at any given moment?" he speculated bitterly.

Briefly, Subaru found himself grateful to Seishiro for erasing his memories of being marked by the Sakurazukamori. People had always been suspicious of his Satani blood To combine this with the mark of the Sakurazukamori - he didn't know how he would have survived with such a curse of hatred laid upon his young soul. But then again, maybe it would have been better if he _hadn't_ survived? Maybe Seishiro never would have been able to use his trusting nature to get close enough to the twins to hurt them. He now realized that all of the horrors that Yuui and Fuuma had suffered through were because of him. Seishiro had used him to get to Fuuma, and by extension, to Yuui. It was for his naivety that Fuuma had become a rapist and Yuui had been scarred for life. Seishiro certainly couldn't be blamed. The Sakurazukamori was what it was. Killing was its only talent, pleasure, and purpose. It had no other intentions or interests but to destroy. Yuuko had been smart enough to keep that power on a leash once she'd realized just what she was dealing with. It was his foolishness that had set that destructive force loose on the world. So much pain - Yuui, Fai, Fuuma, Kamui, Kurogane…so many…all because of him.

_Is this the reason you begat me, Father…to continue the Satani legacy of destruction and chaos? What else am I for…if not to destroy…even without meaning to? Before I was even conscious of myself, I was an act of violence. Everyone…everyone I love gets hurt._

"It wasn't your fault," Yuui whispered gently. Subaru blanched for a moment, afraid that she'd actually heard his thoughts. Maybe she had. He couldn't know unless he asked her, and part of him didn't really _want_ to know whether or not she was becoming that attuned to him. Clow Reed had been. He had been that attuned to all of them. She would be someday, but at the current moment, he had no desire to test their mental link, and if he asked her aloud, then everyone else would know what he had been thinking.

"I wouldn't believe that of you, Subaru-san," she continued, leading him to believe she'd only been referring to the things he'd _said_. "I trust you. I trust you to the end of the world. I don't know why. I trusted you before I even really knew you."

"Yes, I remember," he said sadly as the group finally began to move in the direction of Yuui's quarters. He would never forget that it was Yuui's uncanny faith in him that had bought him passage into her family's tight-knit circle. "But I would attribute that to the fact that we are both healers. Power calls to power. You and I cannot help but find kindred spirits in one another, my princess."

Yuui sighed, rolling her eyes. "Subaru-san, please…if you're going to call me anything, just call me Yuui-chan. I don't like all of these princess titles. It's not who I am. Just address me the way you did before I knew I was a princess. That goes for the rest of you, too. The only ones here who aren't older than me are Souma and Tomoyo. You all shouldn't be showing me this much deference."

For a moment, no one knew what to say. The next sound to be heard above their footsteps was Tomoyo's laughter.

"Oh, Yuui. You really just don't understand this whole royalty business, do you?"

"No," Yuui said proudly, albeit still a little weakly. Everyone seemed to visibly relax as the two lovers fell into conversation, either cheered…or depressed…by the happiness they could still attain.

When the group arrived back at the former king's bedchamber, they found that it was already occupied - _v_ _ery_ occupied. The only person Yuui recognized was Sakura. The five other occupants were completely new.

"I'm sorry, Yuui-chan. I know I should have asked. I was going to let them rest in my own room, but I just thought…that maybe you should meet a little more of your family," Sakura said nervously, not meeting her daughter's gaze.

"No, it's all right…Sakura-sama," Yuui said softly, saddened by the fact that her mother seemed almost…afraid of her.

Sakura shook her head, her gaze boring ever more intently into the floor. "No…please…don't…" she mumbled.

"Yuui-chan?" a new voice suddenly interrupted. Yuui glanced toward the owner of the voice - the oldest one in the group. A lanky man with graying blond hair. "You're…really her?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, dear," he murmured, a faint smile adorning his face. "It's just…you were barely five months old when I last held you in my arms. Seeing the beautiful young woman you've become…I'm happy, but it also really makes me feel the years."

"Yuui-chan, this is your Uncle Yukito."

"He's…your brother?"

Sakura shook her head again, finally looking up at her child, and looking a little less sad. "No. Touya is my brother. Yukito is his husband."

"They…allow that in Valeria?" Yuui asked, turning her attention back to Yukito.

"It's…not commonly done among the ranks of the nobility. Such unions do not produce children. But it helps if you have a little sister to pass the bloodline to. Touya and I were lucky, though. We have Eri-kun," Yukito said fondly, ruffling the hair of the boy standing beside him. The dark-haired boy smiled wryly at Yuui.

"I guess…I am your cousin."

"I…I guess," the blonde said softly, staring oddly at the boy and his father. "I'm…Yuui."

"Yes. I know who you are. I'm Eriol Fluorite…and this is my best friend, Kaho Mizuki," he continued smoothly, introducing the next member of the group, a young girl with auburn hair and a friendly, open smile. Kaho gave her a neat little curtsy and a tiny 'Hello, Princess Yuui'.

"Eriol's family was killed in a raid. He was the only survivor. The rest of the village burned to ashes. Touya and I adopted him as our own," Yukito explained in response to his niece's confusion. Yuui nodded vaguely.

"And…you are…?" she began to ask the last members of the group, a young woman about Kurogane's age, and a baby. The woman was sitting on her bed, nursing the infant. She bowed her head as best she could from her position.

"Forgive Chi for not showing you the proper deference and appearing in this unseemly fashion, Your Majesty, but Freya is hungry. She hasn't eaten all day and Chi was worried. Chi is Chi Motosuwa. Hideki Motosuwa is Chi's husband and Freya's father."

"Oh, so you're the one," Souma broke in, a warm smile lighting her face. Hideki was a good friend of hers. She'd received an invitation to their wedding, but she hadn't been able to attend. And afterwards, Motosuwa had talked all of the other warriors' ears off with stories of his beautiful wife and their new baby girl. She also remembered hearing somewhere that Chi spoke a little bit oddly when stressed.

"You _know_ Hideki?!" Chi burst out. "Please, do you know where he is?! Is he…all right?"

"Don't worry, Chi-san," Tomoyo said comfortingly. "Your husband is fine. He and many of the other imprisoned ninja were liberated from the dungeons of Shirasagi just last night. They are forming a band of rebels loyal to Kurogane and they are under the protection of Princess Yuui's vassal, Lord Rasetsu Yama. For the moment, he is safe."

"Is there…any way for Chi to speak with him?"

"We'll…work on something," Yuui murmured distractedly. She hadn't quite been able to pull her eyes away from the baby ever since she'd been named as Freya.

"Thank you, Princess."

"Yuui-chan…are you all right?" Watanuki asked, a little worried by the extremely distracted manner she'd been speaking in.

"Chi-san," Eriol started with a soft smile. "I think Yuui-san's taken an interest in Freya-chan."

"How old is she?" Yuui asked wonderingly, placing a hand back on her stomach to feel the tiny movements of her own child.

"Just four months, Princess," Chi replied as Freya finished nursing, yawning and snuggling closer against her mother's warm body. "Would you…like to hold her?"

"Is that…all right?" Yuui asked nervously, finally turning her attention away from the infant.

"Of course," Chi said with a smile. As Yuui moved slowly forward, she held her daughter out to her, being careful to support her head. Yuui did the same, copying Chi's movements and posture exactly as she took Freya's tiny body in her arms, bringing her close to lie snuggly against her own breast.

"See?" the young servant said as she secured her dress, smiling all the while. "You can do it. Women know how to. A mother is in all of us. For you…soon, Chi thinks. When is she coming?" she asked, indicating Yuui's swelling belly.

"We're not really sure. Two, maybe three months," the blonde princess said softly as she cradled the baby girl in her arms. For having a father from Nihon, Freya was still very much a Valerian child. Her soft, pale skin was only a half shade darker than her mother's milky white skin and her baby blue eyes were beginning to shift to the same amber color Chi had. The pale fuzz of blonde hair was also already present on her small head. Freya was a very calm child, from what Yuui could tell. She didn't fuss at being separated from her mother. She just stared curiously up at Yuui as she rocked her. Yuui smiled warmly, suddenly finding herself thinking of what it would be like to hold her own daughter close like this.

"She'll be beautiful, just like Freya-chan," Tomoyo's voice whispered in her ear as the voice's owner slipped her arms around her waist and kissed her cheek. The future parents' smiles only grew warmer when Freya cooed and grabbed a handful of Yuui's blouse, but Yuui's smile vanished almost instantly when her eyes happened to glance over to her windowsill.

"How long has that been there?" she asked solemnly as she passed Freya back to her mother and began to move toward the window. It was a bouquet, laid out on the cushions of the windowsill, but it wasn't the bouquet itself that worried Yuui. It was the ribbon it was tied with.

"I'm not sure," Sakura replied uncertainly. "It was here when we arrived. We thought the flowers might be a gift of some sort. Is there a problem?"

"Kotori-chan," Yuui whispered as she lifted the bouquet into her hands. The flowers were tied together with one of the ribbons she'd seen in Kotori's hair that very morning. They were…from _her_.

"Kotori-chan. Fuuma-san," she whispered over and over again as she sank to her knees, burying her face in the colorful blossoms. All too suddenly, everything was crashing down on her head. She was going to have a baby. She was going to be a _queen_. Fai was dying. The members of her own family were all strangers to her and the people she recognized as her family were pulling away from her. A group of very powerful, very insane faeries was after her head.

Kotori was dead. Fuuma had run her through. She didn't even _know_ Fuuma anymore. He would kill their child. The flowers still smelled as if Kotori had picked them only moments before.

_Because of me…it was all because of me!_

No one but Tomoyo quite knew what to do as Yuui trembled on the floor. The younger princess got to her knees beside her love and wrapped her arms around her. Yuui leaned gratefully against her. As their audience slowly drifted away, each becoming aware that they weren't needed for this, they remained in the same position. They didn't speak. No words were needed. There was nothing that Tomoyo could say that Yuui would hear.


	26. One Day He Will Come

"How long do you think we've been here?" Sorata wondered out loud.

There was really no way of telling how long they had been imprisoned in Seishiro's chamber. There were no windows and the room was kept mostly dark and very sparsely furnished. In fact, the only real furnishings to be seen were a chair and vanity with a very large, ornate mirror, and the magnificent bed they were currently lying on. A black robe had appeared for Arashi after Seishiro had left them and food had appeared on the vanity when Sorata began to feel hungry. He'd tried to get Arashi to eat something as well, but she kept on insisting she wasn't hungry and to go ahead without her. He felt guilty eating when she refused to, but he knew it was best to keep his strength up. He found himself hoping more food would appear if Arashi ever decided she was hungry.

Other than him eating, the pair hadn't really done anything else except lie in bed. After Arashi had cried all of the tears that were in her, she had fallen silent, and Sorata just held her. For the most part, they didn't speak. He just held her and she held on. He'd once suggested they vacate the bed, figuring Arashi wouldn't want to be near the bed she'd been raped in, but she'd been practical to a degree, citing the fact that there really wasn't anywhere else they could lay comfortably. So here they were.

"I don't know," Arashi mumbled against his chest. He'd slept a little since being here, but he didn't think she had. No eating or sleeping - the only thing she did was cling to him. He was at least cheered that he'd gotten her to speak.

"Are you sure you won't eat anything? Aren't you hungry at all? I know you haven't slept," he said worriedly.

"I'm not hungry…or tired. No doubt Seishiro wants to keep me in good health…"

Sorata narrowed his eyes. "If that's the only reason you're not taking care of yourself…just to spite _him_ …then I might have to force you. To punish yourself because of him…that's just foolish."

"No, Sorata, it's not that," she said softly, finally looking up at him. "I really just don't want any food. I don't feel hungry. Besides, is it really safe to be eating the enemy's food?" she pondered, briefly sounding like her old self.

"Well, like you said, Seishiro probably wants you healthy. There's no sense in poisoning us. Besides, it's worth the risk. We need to keep up our strength incase we get the opportunity to escape from here."

Arashi sighed bitterly. "You're very brave, my love, but I don't think we're getting out of here until I give Seishiro an heir."

For a long while, Sorata didn't speak. An idea had been forming in his head for some time now. He _hoped_ it might make Arashi feel better, but he really didn't know how to put it across to her. After a rather arduous internal debate, he finally settled with, "What if…it wasn't his heir?"

Again, she glanced up at him, confused this time. "What do you mean?"

"Well…it can't have been that long since he…took you. Maybe if…I was with you, too…and if you _do_ have a baby…nobody really needs to know for sure who the father is," he suggested nervously.

"You mean…if you and I have sex," she said, staring thoughtfully off to the side.

"Of course, we really don't have to if you don't want to. It's completely up to you. It was just…an idea…and not even a very good one, at that."

Arashi smiled weakly as she snuggled even closer against Sorata. "No, it's all right. I know you wouldn't have suggested it unless you really thought it would help. But…would it be enough?"

"I don't understand."

"You know I have some fey blood in me, yes?"

"I did know that, yeah. Even if I didn't, it would be a hard thing to miss after Seishiro's monologue."

"Do you know what happens to mortal women who attempt to bear fey children?"

"I've…heard stories," he muttered uncertainly.

"They die," she responded softly. "My great grandmother died giving birth to my grandfather…and my grandmother never really recovered from my mother's birth. Kaa-san was fine with Saya and I, but our father was human. In either case, any child I bear would have fey blood still…but I wonder if enough of me is fey to survive bearing Seishiro a child. I think it would be very telling as to who the father is if I were to die in childbirth."

"But you won't die," Sorata said fiercely as he hugged her even more tightly against his body. "You're strong…the strongest person I've ever known. Even if it _is_ his…you can do it."

Sorata's faith in her was reassuring, but the real question for Arashi was would she even _want_ to? If she lay with Sorata and it ended up being for nothing…if she was already pregnant by Seishiro anyway…would she want to survive such a heinous betrayal of everything she believed in? Her prince? Her country? Her family's crusade for the equality of the half fey? Seishiro would use that very thing to destroy her kind. This was even a betrayal of Sorata. No. She didn't want that. She didn't want any of it. There had to be, at least…the _hope_ …the hope that she was carrying Sorata's child - a baby made from their love - and not _Seishiro's_ child - a pawn created for his hatred and lust for power. If it was already too late, and the future could not be changed, then she would simply curl up and die. There _had_ to be hope left. They had to _make_ that hope for themselves.

Mind made up, Arashi Kishu extricated herself from Sorata Arisugawa and rolled away from him, slowly rising to her knees.

"Arashi?"

As she slid the silken robe from her shoulders, Arashi met Sorata's uncertain gaze, smiling warmly, reassuring him that she loved him and that this was what she wanted.

"Take me, Sorata."

"Arashi…are you sure?" he asked, his whole body suddenly trembling. She nodded, leaning forward and starting to help him out of his own clothing.

"Yes. I want this. I-" Anything else she might have said was silenced when Sorata put his lips on hers. The moment he felt that simple contact, all of his hesitancy vanished and he took the reins from her shaking hands. Arashi's own fear disappeared when she felt Sorata's hands on her body. Seishiro's hands had been icy and methodical. Sorata's were warm and loving.

As Sorata made love to her, Arashi's skin began to glow softly in the darkness.

XxX

_He is cold. Why is he still so cold?_

_He is standing with his back flush against Seishiro's front. His uncle's arms are wrapped securely around him and a large, soft blanket is draped around both of their bodies, but they're both naked as the day they were born. They're standing on the balcony of the tower room where he died, looking out as the full moon casts its light over Valeria._

_They'd made love only moments before and Fai can still feel the sweat on his skin and the cum dribbling down his inner thighs. The glow of his skin is only just beginning to fade and his body is still trembling slightly with the aftershocks of his orgasm. He can feel the stickiness of his own semen where his back is pressed against Seishiro's stomach and he can hear it squish softly each time either of them shifts. Seishiro's currently occupied with kissing his ear and neck. His uncle's promised to make love to him until he feels warm again. By this point, they could have been having sex for years. He doesn't know. He's lost count of the many times he's climaxed and Seishiro has probably come inside of him enough to fill the ocean. The sex has been glorious…but each time he comes, the feeling is a little bit weaker…and he's still freezing._

_Perhaps the cool temperatures of their bodies are understandable, given that they're standing exposed to the cold night air, drenched in post-coital sweat - but this is a different kind of cold. He feels the cold in the very core of his being. He's cold in a way that makes him understand he will never know warmth again._

" _I'm…cold," he says haltingly. "Uncle…why am…I cold?"_

_Seishiro doesn't answer him. He takes Fai by the hand and leads him to the very edge of the balcony. He sits down on the stone railing and helps Fai to straddle his hips. The ground seems impossibly far away when he catches a glimpse of it over the Dark Prince's shoulder. Seishiro quickly draws his attention back to him by claiming his lips with his own. Then he pulls Fai's pliant body down on his own and fucks him senseless in all of five minutes. Crying out his uncle's name as he comes, Fai quickly feels his strength drain away and he goes limp in Seishiro's arms, resting his head gratefully on his sweaty chest._

" _How do you feel now, little nephew?"_

" _I'm still cold."_

_Not even bothering to disengage himself, he stands and walks back over to the blanket they'd discarded, his little lover's body bouncing softly against his as they move. He sits down on the blanket and they have sex again. This time, when they finish, Seishiro lifts Fai off of him and lays him down on the blanket. With one hand, he pets Fai's damp hair, and with the other, he strokes his limp member. Fai doesn't get hard, though. Seishiro doesn't want him to get hard._

" _Are you still cold, darling?" he asks, still petting him like a small kitten._

" _Freezing."_

" _Do you love me?"_

" _I love you very much, Seishiro-koi."_

" _Are you my bride…my prince?"_

" _I am."_

" _Do you like it when we make love?"_

" _Yes, Uncle."_

" _Kurogane-kun's much happier now that you're dead. Did you know that?"_

" _I know that," the boy whispers, feeling something twist inside of him. He doesn't know why. There had been a lot of screaming and crying at first, but he can't remember why anymore. Kurogane's name causes something inside of him to hurt, so he chooses not to remember. He prefers the endless stream of orgasm - the simple, forbidden, passionate love he shares with his uncle. He prefers listening to the Darkness whisper beautiful, sinful, passionate, disgusting secrets in his ear - words he can't grasp the meaning of, but that sound so delicious when they slide into his ears. He even prefers the freezing cold he has to endure. Anything is better than feeling the pain that name causes._

" _Fai-kun…did you know that the fey can change their bodies into whatever shape they want? Did you know that men can change their bodies enough to bear children?"_

" _I didn't know that."_

" _Would you like to have_ _ **my**_ _child, Fai-kun?" Seishiro asks, smiling as he continues to pet him._

" _I would like that a lot, Uncle," he murmurs as he places a hand on his pale, flat stomach, imagining it swollen with Seishiro's child. His own son and cousin in the exact same person. It's disgusting - the most vile sin he can think of - but that doesn't matter because that child will be placed inside of him by Seishiro. That makes it all right._

" _So be it," Seishiro says softly, leaning over him and kissing him. Then he brushes Fai's hand away from his stomach and rests his own on the unmarred skin. The very next moment, his hand sinks right into Fai's stomach. The boy moans softly as his lover's fingers move about inside him - changing him. It feels like they're having sex again, only the feeling doesn't diminish this time. It keeps getting stronger…it grows and grows until Fai can't stand it anymore. Darkness rushes into him…through his very skin…as if the flimsy shield isn't even there. He is open…inviting…and nothing can keep the Darkness at bay any longer. It races through him, painting every conceivable inch of his soul black…blacker than night…the color of Darkness…_

_**Feel it…feel me…feel this release and know that your heart is black. You are mine, Prince of Light…all mine.** _

_His very body seems to boil with sensation as he's transformed from the inside. He knows he is being erased, but he can do nothing to stop it. He isn't even sure if he wants to. The new feelings are stripping away the cold, leaving him on fire. Instead of a block of ice, he has become a raging conflagration, burning a thousand times hotter than a thousand suns. He is fire itself. He is burning. Everything he is, the tiniest shred of his existence is burning with dark fire. His life prior to this moment goes up in flames and he can feel Hell at the very core of his being. This is what he is…what he has always been - this fire…this rage…this darkness…this destruction._

" _Don't break yet," his dark lover whispers to him. "It's almost over. You're almost there. Don't break. You're so close. You can't go back now."_

_At the very moment Fai knows he can endure no more, it happens. He screams as he's brought to orgasm - not a name. His seducer has no name. It's a scream of ultimate pleasure, satisfaction, terror, pain, and horror. For a moment, he can't see his uncle. It's almost as if he's melted into him, truly become one with him. He watches his flat stomach grow as a small bump blossoms out of it, cementing the metamorphosis. He has been permanently altered, changed into something dark. What he has become, exactly, he does not know…and he cannot bear to know. The only thing he knows is the Fai that Kurogane had loved is dead. Nothing his poor lover can do can ever bring him back to life. Fai is dead - and a new and dreadful power has been conceived from his ashes._

" _It is done," Seishiro whispers in his ear as he collapses back upon the floor. "The transformation is complete. You have been claimed by Darkness and the seed is inside of you - proof that you belong to no one else. Night is in your eyes and spirit. You are of the dark…and you can never return to the light. They would not know you as you are now. You can_ _ **never**_ _go back…never. Your heart has turned black and you will live in the darkness from this moment onward. You are mine, Fai Fluorite, Prince of Light no longer. You will_ _ **always**_ _be mine." Then the Dark Prince presses a lingering kiss to his lips and leaves, leaving Fai alone on the balcony._

_He tries to cry, but the tears simply evaporate out of his eyes. He's too hot. The release has come, but the feeling is not gone. He still burns with the fires of Hell…and it will never stop. He will always be burning. He will forever feel his flesh consumed by flames. Anything he touches will be reduced to ashes. It will never stop, and it will not be contained. His body has become a gateway for Hell to flood into the world. His fire will spread until it consumes the whole of creation._

_As he staggers to his feet and looks out at the once peaceful night, he can see that the world has transformed, just as he has. The moon and stars have faded away and the land is barren. The night is painted pitch black._

" _You bring destruction. You will reduce this world to ashes and bring all to darkness." The voice of his new lover whispers in his ear._

" _NO!" he shrieks in agony. "IT'S NOT TRUE!"_

" _But it_ _ **is**_ _true, my love. It is your destiny. This is what you are for…what you were born to become. The world will burn with you…Kurogane will burn. They will all burn."_

_Fai throws his head back and screams. He's fallen into the trap…walked right into it. It's Darkness. It has been Darkness from the very start. His battle had been lost before he'd even been aware he was fighting it. He knows the truth now and he can never_ _**un** _ _know it. As he screams, fire bursts forth from his hands and spreads across the land, burning everything it grasps…and as the world burns, Fai laughs hysterically._

_It is the closest he can come to crying._

XxX

"Hey, Suwa," Kurogane said softly, reaching forward to run his fingers through the stallion's mane. Suwa pushed his head against his hand and whickered impatiently, as if chiding him for taking so long.

It had been nearly a week since the incident with Fuuma and he had spent most of that time holed up in his chamber, doing short mental and physical exercises in order to snap himself out of the funk he'd fallen into - to prepare himself to train with Ryuuki. The rest of the time he spent meditating, only eating when Tomoyo came and forced scraps of bread down his throat. He hadn't slept at all. He forced himself to keep going, despite his exhaustion.

He had known that Suwa had been brought to the royal stables by Doumeki after Fai had been taken. He was currently in a stall right next to Leval and Tomoeda. Kurogane felt a little guilty for leaving him alone for so long. After all, next to Souma, Suwa was his oldest friend. However, Suwa was also a part of his old life. He had changed so much in the past week alone, he was almost a completely different man. He felt that he shouldn't see too much of Suwa until he was worthy to be his master again.

"That horse has really been missing you, you know," Ryuuki said as he entered the stable.

"How would you know?" Kurogane asked, a little of his old impatience creeping into his tone. "Do you talk to animals like…the twins do?"

"Not exactly," the fire master replied, coming to stand beside him. "My affinity is fire. I imagine the prince and princess received that gift from Himawari when they were born. Body language isn't so hard to read, though."

"Fai and Yuui…what are…their affinities?" he asked, still not looking at the fire sprite.

"I wouldn't know," he said, reaching into the stall to give Suwa a few good strokes. "I doubt that they themselves know that yet. An affinity is not something you are born with. Fey children discover them as they grow. It's just…something you come to know within yourself." As he spoke, Ryuuki raised a hand and lit a small flame directly on his palm. "We can all perform the same kinds of magic, but there is only one that really feels _right_ in your hands. Sometimes it's elemental magic, other times not."

"What about this Hand of Power thing I keep hearing about? I know Yuui can heal, but…Fai doesn't have anything like that."

"That only means it hasn't manifested yet. As far as magic goes, Hands are our greatest power. They often manifest in moments of extremely heightened emotion. You can't really choose what your Hand manifests as. It conforms to the thing you desire most strongly in the moment of its birth. Being as that the princess possesses a Hand of Healing, my guess would be that she had a strong desire to heal someone at the moment that power was born within her."

_That's true enough_ , Kurogane thought, watching the flames dance about on Ryuuki's palm as bitter memories swept through him. _But Fai's experienced more 'heightened emotion' in only eighteen years than a lot of people will experience in an entire lifetime. If this power hasn't manifested yet…what does it mean? That there's worse still to come?_

"Your Hand doesn't always match your affinity. In fact, more often than not, it has nothing to do with it. I, for instance, have a Hand of Soothing."

"Soothing? What does that mean?" Kurogane asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If necessary, I can calm anyone with my touch. I know most people wouldn't associate such a thing with fire, but I've always found it soothing. Of course, I could be biased against it."

"What was it you were saying last week? That you could teach me how to use fire?"

For a long moment, Ryuuki did not speak. But when he did, it was with great solemnity. "I can, Prince Kurogane, but there are a few things you must understand."

"Don't call me that," Kurogane ordered sharply.

"What?"

"Prince," he muttered, clearly disgusted with the word. "I'm not that person anymore."

Ryuuki very nearly took a step back from the young man, so staggered was he by his vehement insistence. He certainly had the fire and the will within him to learn to wield fire and rescue Prince Fai. The question was…did he have the mental stability - the control - to do it?

"All right, but what you need to understand about the control of any kind of magic is its basis. The fey… _are_ magic. Magic is the energy that gives form to our physical bodies. The first faeries were wild magic that chose to take physical form. As such, it is not at all difficult for us to _use_ magic. It is what we are. However, it is a different matter altogether for humans. You are creatures of flesh and blood. It _is_ possible for you to learn to manipulate magic, but it is much harder. The act of channeling magic through your body also drains your own life energy. The more powerful the magic you use, the more you risk death. Are you ready for that?"

Was he? Yes. There had never been any doubt in his mind. He was prepared to give up his life to save Fai's. For if he did not, then his life was over anyway. The rose tucked behind his ear was a symbol of what he was fighting for.

"I'm ready."

"You have the pieces of your old sword then? Princess Yuui called me to her and told me I would find you here."

"Yes," Kurogane responded, swiftly dropping to his knees beside a bundle that had been resting at his feet and beginning to unfold it. Yuui had given it to him that morning. When he had emerged from his room and their eyes had met, without words they had both known that it was time. She'd given him the bundle and told him she would send Ryuuki to him.

Sohi was laid out as close to its original form as Yuui had been able to get it when she'd gathered it up. The hilt was intact, but the blade had broken into several shards. The bundle had remained unopened since that day. Many of the shards were stained red-black with his dried blood from where he had fallen on them. Ryuuki knelt down in front of him and picked up one of the still clean shards, taking Kurogane's right hand in his and placing the shard against his bare palm.

"Why?" Kurogane asked, already perfectly clear on what was meant to happen.

"I imagine you were very skilled with Sohi, but it was only a sword. This new weapon must be an extension of your self - a part of you. It will have your blood at its heart. Everything that you are, it will be, as well. This is how my people make swords," he explained solemnly. Kurogane nodded his understanding, giving the fire spirit the okay to proceed. Without warning, Ryuuki swiftly sliced the shard across his palm, splitting the skin and allowing the warm blood to trickle free. Kurogane's only sign of pain was a small grunt.

"Take the hilt in your hand," Ryuuki ordered. Knowing which hand was meant, Kurogane picked up the hilt with his bleeding hand, gripping it firmly, though it stung. As he watched, his blood slowly dribbled out onto the wrappings.

"Hold it out in front of you," Ryuuki continued, slowly moving back to his feet and helping Kurogane to follow him. As he complied, Ryuuki placed a hand on top of his. Slowly, a glow began to form around the hilt.

"I should warn you right now, this will wear you out. It will take a lot of your energy."

"Just do it," Kurogane said without hesitation. He was already beginning to feel his energy draining away anyway.

Ryuuki spoke several ancient words and the shards of the sword slowly drifted into the air. As they aligned with the hilt, the pieces began to shimmer, gradually being washed clean of the blood and shame that stained them. When the shards finally glowed with purity and power, a sinuous red thread extended from the hilt and connected every piece. The cracks that separated the shards glowed and fused into a single entity once again. Kurogane felt energy flowing not just from his own body, but from everywhere at once. The earth, the air, the waters of Spirit Lake, the fire within Ryuuki…energy from all of the living beings around them…flowing into the new sword. This blade was powerful; he could feel it already. Power thrummed throughout his entire body as the hilt transformed in his hand.

Finally, Ryuuki placed his hand upon the glowing blade and sealed the spell with one last chanted word. The glowing ceased and Kurogane's body began to settle.

"And thus the will of ice becomes the will of fire," Ryuuki intoned. "Kurogane Youou, you hold Ginryuu in your hands. The Silver Dragon - the guiding light for all Nihon…and the savior of Prince Fai Fluorite Reed. It is through the dragon's maw that the will of fire will be carried out. This sword belongs in your hands and your hands alone. As a symbol of that contract, one last sign shall be given."

With that, Ryuuki ran his hand over the length of the blade and a black saya formed itself around the sword. At the very top of the saya, a ruby rose was inlaid into the black-lacquered wood. Kurogane smiled almost imperceptibly. It was certainly a potent reminder of everything that the sword was - as if he could ever forget. Reverently, he ran his fingers over the inlaid blossom, then he tied the saya to his belt. With both hands free, he could finally examine the hilt. It was a dragon's head with silver scales flowing down the length of it. A final touch was the dragon's ruby eyes. The twin gems looked almost alive.

"Draw your sword, Kurogane Youou," Ryuuki said softly. Kurogane complied easily, compelled by himself, Ryuuki, and Ginryuu itself. The blade sang as it was drawn, reminding the young man just how much he'd missed a sword's clear song - the song of battle…the song of blood. He gave the sword several practice swings to get a feel for it, all the while hearing its song. Ginryuu handled amazingly. It swung with the full weight of a katana, but it felt so light. It was the most amazing piece of craftsmanship he'd ever seen. Ginryuu truly was a part of him.

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'd like to work with Ginryuu a little on my own before I start working with you," he said to Ryuuki as he sheathed the blade, his gaze lingering on the rose for a moment afterward.

"There is really no need, but I understand your feelings. Take as long as you need."

With that, Kurogane turned and headed out of the stable. Ryuuki watched the spot he eventually vanished into long after he was gone.

_Only_ _**you** _ _think yourself unworthy, Prince Kurogane. You will have to recognize who you are if you are to have any prayer of rescuing your beloved. Ginryuu is a sword for a king._

XxX

"Oh, hello, Kunogi-san."

Himawari glanced up when she heard Sakura's nervous voice. The queen had just come from Yuui's bedchamber into the sitting room, where Himawari was sitting on one of the couches, stitching together a quilt.

"Were you looking for the princess, Sakura-sama? Their Highnesses are down in the gardens with Shiro and Doumeki. I can take you to them if you wish."

"No, I…" Sakura slowly trailed off. For a moment that seemed to last for hours, they stared awkwardly at each other. They both knew they needed to talk, but neither really knew what to say or where to begin. Sakura was the first to make a move, unfreezing and moving forward to take a seat on the couch beside the animal sprite.

"My daughter…do you…always call her princess?"

Himawari shook her head. "I called her Yuui-chan. We all did…until a week ago when we told them who they really were. We've been…trying to create some distance. We know they belong to you…but it only hurts her," she said sadly.

"No, Kunogi-san," Sakura protested, reaching forward to try and place a hand on her knee. Himawari flinched away from her. "Just because I gave birth to Fai and Yuui…it does not mean they belong to you any less. You are the woman my children recognize as mother."

Again, the animal spirit shook her head. What could she say against this? It was true, after all. "We did not…encourage…using those terms. They called us by our names…but it slipped sometimes…when things were hard."

"Kunogi-san…I must ask you…last week…I heard Yuui say that Monou-san… _raped_ her. I have to know…what happened. Why is my daughter pregnant?"

Himawari sighed heavily. There were many things about her children's lives that Sakura would want to know - and things she would never want to know, but would have to know, just the same. "It wasn't his fault. Fuuma and the Shiro brothers were deceived by a lie. Seishiro has been hunting the twins almost from the start," she said softly. The memory of when he first came hunting was still fresh for her. She didn't fail to notice the way Sakura stiffened at the mention of Seishiro. "But Subaru didn't know this. He was having an affair with Seishiro. Seishiro tricked him into believing that he didn't want his father's crown. Seishiro was the one who masterminded the whole plot. In order to be considered over him as heir, Yuui-chan needed an heir herself. Among those who knew the secret, Fuuma was the most suitable to get her with child. So he came and stole her away from us in broad daylight. We were unprepared. We never expected such a thing of him. He cast some sort of spell on the both of them. Neither Yuui-chan nor Fuuma remembers the actual deed, but I would say the fact that she's four months gone is fairly compelling evidence that it happened."

"My God," Sakura whispered. "We let you take them to keep them _away_ from all of this."

"With all due respect, Sakura-sama, the twins are still _alive_. It is more than Clow and Kotori can say," Himawari replied with a twinge of anger in her tone. "They should not have had to suffer so much, but we have done the very best that anyone could do."

"I wasn't blaming you, Kunogi-san," Sakura insisted. "It's just…hard to know that my daughter cried out in pain and I wasn't there to help her."

"She is not unhappy," Himawari said softly. "They have talked, and are mostly reconciled…but Yuui wants this baby, and loves her very much. This quilt is for the baby…actually," she finished, running a gentle hand over the soft blue fabric that would one day be a baby blanket.

"She loves her…even though it is dangerous?"

"Yes. I should think you of all people would understand that. Would you have stopped trying to have Fai and Yuui if you could have foreseen everything that would come of it?"

"No. You're right. There is nothing to match that feeling."

It was in that moment that Lady Himawari Kunogi and Queen Sakura Fluorite understood each other and their daughter perfectly. They weren't two women competing for a child's love. They were two mothers who loved a daughter, and that daughter was a woman herself who loved her own child.

"Has she…picked out a name yet?" Sakura asked shyly.

"Yes, but I think the only one who knows is Tomoyo-hime."

"How did they all meet?"

"I don't know that. I only just found out myself that they're engaged. Only Shizuka knew they were seeing each other. He didn't tell Kimihiro or myself because he knew we would never have allowed it. I suppose it's a miracle that he chose the way he did. If you want to know about that, you might have to ask the girls themselves…or Kurogane-sama."

"He barely speaks. Kurogane-kun was never much of a talker to begin with, but _this_ …it's heartbreaking."

"But at the same time, it makes you happy there's someone who's so devoted to Fai?" Himawari suggested with a sad smile.

"Exactly," the queen responded, her expression mirroring Himawari's. Again, she reached forward to try and touch her hand, and again, Himawari flinched away. "Why do you do that?" She had also noticed it when Himawari seemed to want to touch Yuui and didn't.

"It's nothing to do with you, Sakura-sama," Himawari rushed to reassure her. "I have been…cursed. I'm unlucky. If you touch me, then you will be hurt. I haven't been able to hug Fai and Yuui for a year now."

"You've suffered through this…for them?" she asked, reaching forward again, but stopping herself in time.

Himawari nodded, smiling with unshed tears in her eyes. "It doesn't matter, though. No price is too great for them. They are…my babies. I've…never had any children of my own."

"Can you?" Sakura asked, suddenly wondering if Himawari was like her.

"I guess so. I don't know. I've never tried. There has never been anyone I've wanted to have children _with_."

"What about Watanuki-san? He seems to care for you a great deal."

Himawari laughed. "That's probably because he's my brother."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly. "Really? I…I didn't know that."

"Well…not _really_ really. We're not related by blood. Kimihiro's mother died giving birth to him…and his father refused to acknowledge him. My father, Lord Eagle Kunogi, took him in and raised him as his own son. When I was born, well…he thought of me as his little sister. I think he has a bit of a sister complex where I'm concerned."

"I know what that's like," Sakura said, giggling a little herself. "Please, tell me…what were they like growing up…our babies?"

Himawari smiled to hear the twins referred to as 'their' babies. She suddenly felt very sorry for Sakura. She had missed so much. The twins' very first smiles and laughs belonged to her…but everything else belonged to Himawari. The two of them had a lot of catching up to do. So many words were needed in order to give voice to the lives of the two babies they both loved so very much.

"The very first night we brought them to the cottage in the glen, they woke up crying because they missed you…so I sang to them…

XxX

_Guard…feint…strike…left…right…back…guard…strike…cut…spin…guard…strike…again…again…never…stop…moving…strike!_

Kurogane had been awake for a grand total of three hundred and thirty-six hours. He'd actually collapsed from exhaustion on the evening of the day he'd received Ginryuu. He'd dreamt of Fai - as he knew he would. He'd dreamed that he was running through Celes. He ran until he reached Faerie Falls, and there Fai lay, at the peak of the waterfall - dead. His throat had been cut. A continuous stream of blood had been flowing from the red tear in his slender, white neck - flowing into the river and staining it red. His blue eyes were wide open, staring up at the sky in death. All the while, he could hear Seishiro's voice.

" _You should have let him die."_

He'd _actually_ woken up screaming. He'd bolted awake to find himself in his bed, surrounded by Yuui, Tomoyo, Souma, Soel, and Larg. He'd been soaked with sweat and his fingernails had carved bloody crescents into his palms from where he'd been clenching his fists so tightly. Yuui had sadly reported that he'd only been asleep for an hour. When Subaru had offered to make him a sleeping potion, he'd refused - rather violently. Fearing they would start trying to slip him some in the foods they managed to get down his throat, he'd taken Ginryuu and left. With Ryuuki's help, he'd crossed through the gateway and back to Tsubasa Island to continue his training uninterrupted. He knew he was worrying them, but he couldn't help it. They didn't have to see what he saw whenever he closed his eyes.

He practiced kata with his new sword until he couldn't make his body move. Then, in those moments when he couldn't get himself to move, he would meditate, concentrating every ounce of will power into keeping himself from falling asleep, desperate to keep the nightmares at bay. When he could finally get himself to move again, it was right back to training. Occasionally, he would run down to the shore for a few sips of water or push his training further into the island interior, looking for the berry patches. He took only what he needed in order to keep his body alive, nothing more. The edge of hunger and thirst made concentration more of an exercise. He had worked tirelessly with Ginryuu, until there was absolutely no distinction in his mind between the blade and his arm. Ginryuu was his pain, his rage, and his _will_ to get back what he had lost.

At the end of one particularly intense set, he dropped to one knee to catch a few quick breaths. He had long ago ceased to feel the sting of sweat in his eyes and the aching tiredness of his body. There was only the need to endure more - to make his body stronger. Even now, he knew he was still little more than a fly when compared with Seishiro.

However, when he finally decided that it was time to stand and continue training, he couldn't get his body to move. He tried to stand, but his limbs simply would not obey the command.

_All right, fine. Be that way. I guess it's time to meditate again._

He tried to bring Ginryuu forward to bury the tip in the ground and rest his hands on the hilt as he usually did, but this time, his body wouldn't even take that order. He just knelt where he was, Ginryuu gripped loosely in his right hand, too exhausted to move. So he began to focus his mind instead, fixing his eyes on Spirit Lake, which he could glimpse through the trees. The image was a little bit blurry, though…like it was shifting in and out of focus before his eyes. He blinked, bringing the lake back into focus. Had it always been like that? For a brief instant, he thought he could see Fai's smile flickering on the surface of the water, but it was gone the very next moment.

"Where are you, you idiot?" he whispered through dry lips. "Where have you gone to that I can't find you?"

Then he knew nothing more.

Soel watched from its hiding place in one of the nearby trees as Kurogane collapsed from sheer exhaustion. When the tiny creature was certain he would not be getting up this time, it quickly bounded to his side. Projecting an image of the fallen prince through its mental link to Larg, Soel soon heard Yuui's voice.

"We're on our way."

Within the span of a few brief minutes, a boat was surfacing on Spirit Lake. The occupants quickly poured out, letting Larg guide them to where Soel and Kurogane were. Larg, Yuui, Tomoyo, Souma, Doumeki, and Subaru found the prince collapsed in a clearing. He probably hadn't noticed it in his advanced state of sleep deprivation, but flowers had blossomed from the trees all around the clearing, growing from heights taller than the tallest faerie and blooming in showers all the way to the ground. They were tiny blossoms growing in clumps…a violent crimson color that was a little too much like blood for anyone's taste. They almost seemed to create a curtain around the clearing.

They all gathered sadly around Kurogane as Subaru knelt beside him to assess the damage he'd done to himself. His skin was slick with sweat and his normally tan complexion was splotched red in several places, and where it wasn't red, it was a sickly pale color. Already, he was visibly losing weight and there were huge, dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. As Subaru took stock of his racing pulse and heartbeat, he noted that the prince's body shook with chills. When he laid a hand on his forehead, the young man coughed weakly and he found that his skin was burning up to the touch.

"He's running a very high fever," Subaru reported tensely. "We need to get him to a bed. Why he hasn't dropped dead from exhaustion yet is beyond me."

"Can you help him?" Yuui asked, tightening her grip on Tomoyo's hand. She'd been able to carry Kurogane back to his room by herself the first time he'd collapsed, but now that she was little more than a month shy of going into labor, the others wouldn't let her lift anything heavier than a bowl of soup.

"Yes. I can get this fever down, but the rest is up to him," Subaru explained as he lifted the unusually light prince into his arms. "He's trying to do the impossible. This condition was brought on more by his fragile mental state than anything else. He must be made to understand that he is still a human. At the rate he's going, he will destroy his body before his will breaks."

"That's enough, Subaru-san," Yuui commanded softly, glancing worriedly at her fiancé. Tomoyo couldn't stop watching the way her brother's body flopped helplessly in Subaru's arms - like a rag doll. The expression on his ravaged, hollowed face was so vulnerable…so full of pain…she could hardly bear it.

_Nii-sama…what can we do to help you? Why won't you hear us when we tell you that you're killing yourself?_

"What are they?" Souma asked nervously, gazing at the wild sprays of flowers.

"Their name is amaranth," Yuui responded. She did not fear them as Souma did because she could hear them crying - crying for Kurogane. "But most people call them love-lies-bleeding."

XxX

_He is standing again…only he's somehow come to be standing on the shores of Spirit Lake. His first thought is to continue training, but he soon finds that Ginryuu isn't on him. The next thing he notices is that the sky has disappeared. It isn't just nighttime or a storm rolling in. The sky is just…gone. No sun, no clouds, no stars or moon…nothing. Then, quite suddenly, his nose is filled with the coppery tang of blood. He glances down and finds…not water splashing over his feet, as he'd expected…but blood…boiling hot, freshly spilled blood…an endless sea of it. A bolt of red lightning flashes from the non-existent sky, bathing the entire scene in an eerie crimson light._

_The very next moment, Fai is before him, standing upon the surface of the lake. He's right there! Right in front of him! He tries to reach for him, but no matter how far he stretches his arms, his love seems always to be just out of his reach._

" _You can never touch him again." Seishiro's voice - a distant memory._

" _SHUT UP!" he shrieks in agony, still desperately trying to grasp Fai. Fai isn't even looking at him. He's staring right through him like he isn't even there, his eyes devastatingly empty._

_Kurogane finally collapses to his knees in the surf, hot, silent tears flowing freely down his face as he gazes up at his unmoved lover._

" _Where are you?" he asks again. "I need you, damn it! Where the_ _ **fuck**_ _did you go?!_ _ **Where are you?!**_ _"_

_Suddenly seeming to see him, Fai kneels before him, the tide of blood lapping softly against his legs. He closes the final distance between them by wrapping his arms around the distraught prince. A smile of joy and relief lights his face as he returns the embrace, pressing a kiss to Fai's cheek._

" _You want to know where I am?" Fai whispers in his ear. Kurogane nods, though the tone of the other's voice suggests that even though he_ _ **does**_ _want to know - the truth will break him. Fai pulls back briefly in order to kiss him. He savors the kiss in the few fleeting moments that Fai allows him. If he keeps but one thing from his old life, he knows it must be this. He has to hold onto this feeling. The very next moment, Fai's lips are pressed to his ear once again._

" _Hell."_

_The only way to describe what he feels in this moment is that he's been snapped. Every string that connects him to his life, every sinew that holds his body together - all cut in a single moment with that one word. He falls, slipping silently backward through the air, Fai's face filling his vision as he hits the sand. His blue eyes are filled with tears. He's lost…so very lost…_

" _I think I'm in Hell, Kurogane."_

_Again, he tries to reach for him and fails. He's lying spread-eagle on the sand with blood lapping at his feet and he can't make himself move. It is a living Hell to him to see the pain and confusion on Fai's face and be unable to free him from it. Slowly, Fai bends over him, now kneeling between his legs as he sadly strokes his face. His pale skin is unbearably hot._

" _You…you_ _ **can't**_ _be," he whispers. "I have…to get you back. I_ _ **will**_ _get you back."_

" _It's too late," the blond whispers as he presses his lips to Kurogane's. Goddess, but his body is so_ _ **hot**_ _._

_This time, when Fai pulls away from him, Kurogane can see that he is changing. His eyes are on fire and he can see the glint of fangs in his mouth. The places where their skin touches feel like they're melting into each other._

" _What…what's happening to you?"_

_Fai's face twists into a leer as he bends close once more. Kurogane is pinned beneath him now._

" _Burn with me," he hisses, digging his fingers into Kurogane's chest. The ninja instantly feels daggers of fire shred through his heart. To him, the body above him seems to be outlined in a corona of fire._

" _I don't understand. What do you want?" he asks, his voice thick with defeat. "Do you want me to die with you? I will."_

" _Burn with me!" This comes as a scream as Fai wraps his hands around Kurogane's throat. He does not resist. Even if he could have, he doesn't want to. The world around him is slowly fading into darkness. It's beginning - his own eternal sleep. Fai is ablaze now._

_**I'm scared! I'm so scared, Kuro-sama!** _

" _Fai?" he whispers with his last breath._

_Then he feels himself consumed._

XxX

"How long do you think he'll sleep this time?" Souma asked aloud, not really expecting a particular answer. After carrying Kurogane to his room, Subaru had taken a precious long time in taking care of him, using his magic to make sure the exhausted prince remained asleep. He'd worked until he'd gotten the fever to break. The coughing had lessened considerably and the red patches on his skin had faded away, but he was still pale, still losing weight, and his body trembled weakly with each breath he took. Each moment he continued existing was clearly a mental and physical struggle for him.

Doumeki had brought lunch for all of them, though for Kurogane, he had only brought a light miso broth, because Subaru wasn't certain if his stomach could handle anything more solid than that after two weeks of eating little more than three blueberries a day. Doumeki and Subaru had only just left and the three girls hadn't touched their food yet, all of them still worrying over the fraying warrior. He had managed to pull himself back from the void of complete insanity, but everyday it seemed he was slipping backward a few more inches, finding some new way to torture himself.

"I don't know. Who could say? At least he's not having nightmares yet. That's what's always woken him up before. I think it's been about…three hours now," Yuui guessed. "It's still more than he's gotten in the past three weeks."

"Yuui…you really ought to eat your lunch," Tomoyo said seriously as she glanced up from her brother's ashen face. "I know how much you like tuna. You really need that right now."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Yuui said sadly as she turned her attention to the tray that her guardian had brought her: a freshly baked cut of red tuna and a portion of parmesan spinach…all of the things that she needed to be eating right now…but that she really just didn't feel like eating. The sight and scent of the juicy fish that she normally loved so much almost made her want to vomit, but she cut into the offering anyway, because she knew she needed it and it would make Tomoyo feel better. What she really wanted right now was a giant bowl of fried rice and a batch of chocolate chip muffins. Maybe she would look into it later.

"You two eat, too," she reminded them before forcing herself to chew and swallow a small bite of tuna. The two Nihon girls nodded in acceptance and also slowly began to eat their own meals. Souma shared food with Soel and Tomoyo shared with Larg. Yuui would freely admit that she was starting to miss the times when Larg would eat off of her plate because her tiny black guardian refused to these days. They all insisted that she needed all of the food she could keep down.

"Hmn…Nngh!" Kurogane muttered weakly in his sleep, briefly tossing his head from side to side.

"Oh, no," Tomoyo cried despairingly, her lunch quickly forgotten. "He's not waking up already, is he?"

"I'm not sure," Yuui murmured, setting aside her own food and pressing a hand to Kurogane's forehead. His skin was starting to feel warm again. The blonde immediately went for one of the cold rags that Subaru had left behind in order to apply it to his forehead.

"Is the fever coming back?" Souma asked.

"I think so," she replied as she pressed the damp rag to his sweating face - and yanked it back in shock almost immediately. He wasn't just warm now.

"What is it?" Tomoyo asked, reaching to check her brother's temperature. Yuui's hand shot out to grab her wrist.

"Don't. His skin…it…it's really burning. It feels like he's on fire."

"Then we have to _do_ something," Tomoyo insisted.

"No…no… _Fai!_ " the prince cried out, his tossing and turning becoming all the more violent.

"He's having another nightmare," Yuui said sadly.

"But…Yuui-chan…I think this one might really be hurting him," Souma put in anxiously. As they watched, Kurogane's hands slowly snaked up his body and wrapped themselves around his throat…squeezing…strangling…choking the life out of him.

"Nii-sama!" Tomoyo cried out.

Yuui quickly moved in, attempting to pry Kurogane's fingers from his neck and failing because she couldn't keep her hands on his skin without feeling her own burn.

"Kurogane, listen to me!" she cried out, trying to reach him any way she could. "You're having a nightmare. You need to wake up _now!_ What you're seeing isn't real!"

"No!" he cried out, his eyes flying open. "I…I can… _hear_ …him…"

"Kurogane, _please!_ " Tomoyo sobbed. "It's not real!"

Kurogane's head turned suddenly and he stared directly at Yuui. She was no longer certain if he was awake or still trapped in the nightmare - or if it was even _him_ that was looking at her. His eyes seemed to have been lit from within by a raging fire.

" _Burn with me!_ " he hissed in a voice that wasn't truly his.

"Merciful Goddess," she whispered in horror.

The next moment, the prince blinked and the fire began to flicker out. His fingers loosened around his neck and a bit more of his own expression began to return to his face.

"N…Nngh… _NO!_ " he finally shouted, bolting upright in bed as he tore his fingers away from his throat. His instinctual reaction would have once been to reach for his sword. Now, the first thing he did was reach for the rose tucked behind his ear, bringing it to his face and inhaling its comforting scent. For a moment, he just sat there, shaking and breathing hard, his nose buried in the red bloom's soft petals.

"Bad?" Tomoyo finally asked.

Kurogane just nodded, staying silent for a moment more and cradling his rose as if it would shatter at any moment.

"He said…that he's in Hell," he muttered. No one needed to ask whom he meant. "He…wanted me to burn with him."

Yuui wanted to tell him that it was only an illusion, that her brother would never want something like that for him in a million years, but she had also felt his skin burn and seen his eyes catch fire. She had heard the words from his mouth.

"Could it be that…something's happening to Fai-kun?" Tomoyo pondered.

"What do you mean?" Kurogane asked, turning worried eyes to his sister.

"You said those words in your sleep…only a moment ago. _Burn with me_ ," Yuui explained. "Your skin felt like it was burning and your eyes were on fire. The bedding you're lying on is singed."

Kurogane shook his head, uncomprehending.

_Oh, God…does this mean it's…really happening? That he's…really suffering like this?_

"Mokona thinks…that Kurogane is seeing Fai's nightmares," Soel said sadly, hopping into Kurogane's lap.

"How do you mean?" Souma asked.

"Fai's trying to reach out…the only way Fai can - through dreams."

"Oh, God," Kurogane moaned into his hands.

"I don't think Mokona means that he's trying to hurt you, Kurogane," Yuui tried to explain. "I think he's trying to show you what he's seeing…what he's feeling…"

"What if…something really happens to him…and I can't save him?" he wondered aloud, finally giving voice to his greatest fear.

No one had an answer.

"Kurogane," Yuui began in a very low voice. "I don't think you should be doing this to yourself anymore."

Kurogane's face instantly hardened at the insinuation. "I can handle myself. It's not up to you."

"Sorry, but you're clearly not capable of deciding whether or not you can take care of yourself, because you're _not_."

"It's my business."

"Dammit, Kurogane! Look at yourself! You've hardly slept, you're losing weight, you look like you've been through Hell, and to top it all off, you're still running a fever after that last nightmare. I know you don't want to believe it, but you _are_ made of flesh and blood. Do you really think doing this to yourself is going to make Fai happy?!"

Kurogane glanced away from his would-be sister-in-law, unable to meet the accusation in her stare. "If I can get him back, then it will all be worth it."

"Well, if you think throwing your life away senselessly is going to help Fai, you're _wrong!_ It's like we don't know you anymore. Doing this won't make _anything_ better, Kurogane! It stops here. I can't let you do this to yourself anymore. Fai would never forgive me."

" _Let_ me? Are you challenging me, Yuui?"

"Challenging? No. Flat-out _telling_ you," she said threateningly as she laid a hand over his forehead. "I could put you to sleep right now. It would be _easy_."

Kurogane froze upon hearing the threat of sleep. Anything - make him bear any burden, any punishment, endure any torture. He would cope with it - anything in the Goddamn _world -_ anything but sleep. That, he could not bear. Nothing was more painful.

"Don't make me sleep again," he whispered pleadingly _\- dangerously_.

"You really aren't leaving me much of a choice."

The moment he felt the warm buzz of her magic, Kurogane snapped, reacting the only way he knew how - with violence. He seized Yuui's arm and gave it a swift twist. The sound of the bones breaking echoed eerily in the small bedchamber.

Yuui screamed in pain as she stumbled back from the bed, falling backward onto the floor.

"Kurogane! No! Stop!" Souma shouted. Soel and Larg cried out Yuui's name as Tomoyo rushed to her side.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh," she moaned over and over again as Tomoyo took her in her arms. The cry was less of pain, and more of shock that this man she had grown up with would actually hurt her. She had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but she hadn't really known _what_ to expect, either. Kurogane was truly not himself.

"Princess!" Subaru's shouts suddenly sounded from the other side of the door. Yuui instantly threw a spell at the door, sealing it shut. It hadn't really been Kurogane's fault, but her guardians would not be as forgiving of him for breaking her arm and threatening her baby's safety. Subaru began to pound on the sealed door. "Yuui-sama! What's going on in there?!"

"It's fine, Subaru-san! I've got it under control," she said firmly. "Don't touch the door."

The pounding ceased, but Yuui knew that her knight was still waiting outside.

"Why?!" Souma demanded. "Why would you _do_ that?! It's Yuui-chan!"

"I won't sleep," he responded, the firmness in his voice belying the look of shock that adorned his face. He could hardly believe it himself - what he had done. He had reacted without thinking, just as Kusanagi warned him against all those years ago. What if it had been Tomoyo or Souma, whose arms would not heal so easily from such an attack? Fai would never forgive him for this - breaking his own sister's arm, when she was so close to giving birth. He kept his eyes locked with hers, forcing himself to look at the pain written on her face. He wanted to apologize, but even more, he wanted where he stood on this matter to be clear between them. It was just as well that they didn't know him anymore, because he was _not_ the same person, and he had no hope of ever being that man again unless he could become stronger and rescue Fai.

"Are you all right, Yuui? How is she?" Tomoyo asked as she cradled her fiancé close. Yuui was holding her injured arm gingerly against her chest. It was already healing and would be completely fine soon, but it would still be sore for a few hours. Her daughter was a slightly larger concern. She seemed all right. She'd just been a little shaken, and Yuui could already tell that she would know it for several hours. The little girl seemed to almost be rolling around inside of her, kicking and punching at her innards.

"She's fine," Yuui eventually responded. "Just a little jostled. Kurogane…sleeping or not sleeping is up to you. You and I both know you can't stay awake forever and you're eventually going to pass out again. That isn't going to help your sickness at all."

"I don't care. I won't sleep…I _can't_ ," he replied fiercely, needing for her to understand his situation. He knew she was right, but he would fight off exhaustion for as long as his body was able to.

"All right, but if you insist on this suicidal course, then _I'm_ going to have to insist that you eat and drink regularly. It's not good for you to be loosing all of this weight. It will only hurt you in the end. If you don't comply, then I'll send Ryuuki-san back to Ransho-san and I won't let you train with him."

"Fine," the young man grumbled. He couldn't allow the opportunity to train with Ryuuki to slip through his fingers. He _needed_ what the fire spirit could teach him - desperately.

"I know you miss him. I miss him, too. We _all_ need him back," Yuui said softly. She would have continued had she not noticed that Kurogane wasn't looking at her at all. In fact he was staring right over her head - at something behind her. A look of shock, fear, flickering hope, and so many other emotions was plastered onto his face.

"Fai?" he whispered in disbelief, seeming almost afraid to hope.

"What? Kurogane, no. I thought we'd cleared this up already. I'm-"

"Yuui," Tomoyo interrupted at length. "I think you'd better look." Her voice was just as thunderstruck as Kurogane's.

Yuui slowly turned in her lover's embrace - and found herself staring at her twin brother.

"O…touto?"

"H-how can it be?" Souma mumbled.

It was true. He was really there, standing right there in front of all of them. Not an illusion or imagined - a real person made of flesh and blood.

"Is it…really you?" Kurogane asked, needing to believe what his eyes were telling him, but terrified to accept it at the same time. Fai smiled, giggling as he held out his arms for Kurogane.

"Ne, Kuro-sama," he teased, using the same loving tone of voice he had always used with them. "I'm here."

"But it…it _can't_ be," Yuui muttered to herself as Kurogane bolted up from the bed, dashing to his lover as fast as humanly possible. He swept him into his arms, holding him as close as he possibly could, and pressed a kiss to his lips. Fai responded eagerly, wrapping his arms around Kurogane and kissing him back.

"I love you, Kuro-koi," he whispered against his lips.

That was when he realized that something was horribly wrong.

Fai…didn't _smell_ like Fai. The subtle hint of roses was gone. Other than that, the tiniest details were perfect, but he just…felt _wrong_ in Kurogane's arms.

"You're not him," Kurogane whispered as he backed away. "Why aren't…you _him?_ I don't understand."

Fai reached out his arms once more, his expression pleading - and breaking Kurogane's heart. "But it _is_ me. Can't you see me, Kuro-tan? Don't you love me?"

Kurogane was at a loss. Of _course_ he loved him. He could never say anything different to this fake that bore his love's face, but it still wasn't _him_.

"What's happening?" the confused young man asked, reaching out a trembling hand to touch the image's undeniably solid face. He leaned into the touch, making the exact same face and the exact same gentle sigh that Fai would have made. Kurogane shuddered with pain and longing.

"Oh, God," Yuui whispered in horror, finally realizing what it was. "Sweet Goddess, no. It…it's the sithen. It's the Goddamn _castle!_ It's not real. It's just showing me what it thinks I want most!"

"Dammit! Dammit! Goddess dammit!" Kurogane hissed, drawing the false image to him one more time and pressing his lips to the warm ones that felt exactly like Fai's before sinking to his knees. He pounded his fists against the floor in a helpless rage.

_WHY?!_

"Kuro-sama!" the image cried out in alarm as it sank down beside him and enfolded him in a loving embrace. "What's wrong? Are you all right?"

Part of Kurogane wanted to shove the lie away in disgust, but the other half - the half that cried out in pain at the ghost of Fai's touch - couldn't bear it. So he allowed the image to hold him and rock him - as he'd once done for Fai.

"No!" Yuui sobbed. "NO! This isn't what I want! Don't show me lies! Make it go away!"

"I'm real," the image whispered desperately in Kurogane's ear as it ran its fingers through his hair. "I'm just as real as he is. I could be real for you…if you'd let me…if you'd _love_ me. Together…we could have everything that you and he lost. You don't _have_ to feel this pain anymore."

At that moment, Kurogane wanted nothing more than to plunge Ginryuu directly into his own beating heart - because he _almost_ considered it. He was _so close_ …so close to taking this thing to his bed and making love to it, pretending that it was the boy he loved. What would it be like…to take refuge in this illusion…to forget this pain…and live inside a nightmare? Once again, he pressed his lips to the image's. They tasted like the lie they were.

"I love you," he mouthed against the image's lips. He could almost feel his already fragile psyche splintering into a million tiny fragments. This was really too much.

" _Stop!_ " Yuui shouted. " _No more!_ I don't want this! _Please!_ Please make it go away. Please."

Kurogane savored the image's false warmth for a moment longer. God, but he hated himself for how much he needed this. Then, all in an instant, he found himself lovingly holding empty air. Quickly, he curled in on himself, wrapping his arms tightly around his middle to hold himself together.

"Not this. Not this," he murmured over and over again.

Subaru didn't ask for permission this time. He easily broke Yuui's sealing spell and burst into the room. He found Kurogane on his knees and Souma, Tomoyo, Soel, and Larg all staring at him in shock. Tomoyo was on her knees as well, holding a trembling Yuui in her arms.

"What happened?"

"This is too much," Yuui said shakily as Tomoyo helped her to her feet. "We can't stay here anymore…not after that. It's killing him."

No one argued.


	27. So Familiar a Gleam

"Yuui-sama!"

Yuui turned upon hearing her name called. She found Kakei and another faerie she'd never seen before approaching her. The first thing she noticed about this new faerie was that he was wearing a blindfold.

"Yes, Kakei-san?"

"Is it true that you're leaving us?"

"Yes," she murmured.

"It's been decided," Subaru continued. "The princess and her entourage will depart for the Monou estate tonight. Lord Clef has been kind enough to open his home to her."

"Why…if one may ask?" the Dorragu lord queried, keeping his focus on Yuui and Tomoyo, who stood right beside her.

"One might. This…atmosphere doesn't agree with me," she said wearily. "I just can't deal with it right now. None of us can. Not with the birth so close." She had a feeling that Kakei already knew what had happened, though it had only been a few hours, but she really didn't want to speak of what had happened - ever again. Most everyone was ready to leave. Now, she, Tomoyo, and Subaru were just on their way to fetch Kamui. Subaru was uncertain of how his brother would react to going to Fuuma's home, but he wanted to try, all the same. "Forgive me, Kakei-san, but I don't think I know your companion."

"Oh. My apologies, Your Highness. I've been rude. This is my husband, Saiga Dorragu."

"Princess," the dark-haired faerie greeted in a deep voice, bowing his head slightly.

"Your husband? That is…permissible in Faerie?"

"Very much so, Yuui-sama. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well…how can you continue your line? I thought nobility was all about such things."

Kakei tilted his head curiously to one side. "You mean you…don't know?"

Yuui sighed. "Clearly. What is it, exactly, that I don't know?"

"Yuui-sama, the fey are not limited by such things as gender. We exist as we do because we choose to, and we can change our physical form whenever it suits us. This includes being able to change gender if we need to. I myself gave birth to Saiga's daughter several centuries ago. If you chose to, you could easily become a man and plant your seed in Tomoyo-hime's womb…once you've given birth to your own daughter, of course. Gender is a very relative thing to us."

As Kakei spoke, the revelation slowly pieced itself together in Yuui's mind. "But…if…that's the case…what's the problem with Fai and Kurogane? Couldn't he just become a woman in order to bear Kurogane a child? They can still marry. Why didn't you tell me this before? Why in the world would I know something like this?!" she asked, becoming more agitated by the minute.

"You misunderstand, Princess. Do you really think that Kyle would have ever uttered the curse if it was that simple to overcome? Prince Fai could do this, but it would not break the curse. The problem lies in Kyle's exact wording of his spell. He knows what he's doing. He specifically said that the two princes could wed if, and only if, Fai-sama could produce a child _of his own body_ that Kurogane is father to. This means that he cannot alter his body in any way. The body that gives birth to their child must be the body that he was born with. "

Yuui's shoulders slumped in defeat once more.

_Every time…every time we find a way…_

"Though, on a happier note, Majesty, I was just looking for you to discuss this very thing. I may have found a solution."

"What do you mean? How?" Yuui asked, instantly on alert again.

"If you would please follow me, I will lead you all to my quarters," Kakei said. Without waiting for a response, he swept away down the corridor with Saiga at his side. Yuui didn't hesitate. She was hot on his heels, followed quickly by Tomoyo and Subaru.

"What are you talking about, Kakei-san? Whatever it is…why haven't you spoken of it before?"

"Because I wasn't sure if she would help."

"What?"

"You'll see for yourself when we get there, but there are a few things that you need to understand first. What would you say if I told you that there are other worlds?"

"I'd ask you how you meant 'other worlds'," she responded after several moments of harried contemplation.

"I mean realities that exist outside of this one. As in…completely different worlds with cultures and languages and people that we could never hope to understand. Like…there could be different versions of you and your family living in these alternate worlds that you know nothing about. They would all be different Yuuis, but they would still be _you_. Does that make any sense?"

"A little," the confused princess murmured. It was a difficult thing to grasp.

"I want you to keep that in mind when I show you what I'm about to show you, because it will shock you," he said firmly when they finally arrived at his chambers. The set up was very similar to what Yuui had experienced of other fey sitting rooms, but Kakei didn't stop there. He continued to lead them on into the bedchamber that he shared with Saiga. A rather large mirror was set up along one wall.

"What are you doing, Kakei?" Subaru asked suspiciously as Kakei placed his hand on the glass. The room reflected within began to fade away and the surface turned black.

"I'm calling on someone who can help."

"Who?"

"Perhaps…someone from another world?" Tomoyo suggested tentatively.

"Can you hear me? Are you there…Witch of Dimensions?"

"I can hear you, Kakei. What is it that you need?" A terrifyingly familiar voice asked as an image began to take shape out of the blackness in the mirror.

"My princess has need of your wisdom."

"Kakei! What have you done?!" Subaru shouted as he moved to stand in front of the two princesses. The image had finally solidified. Staring into the room was the solemn face of-

"Yuuko!" Yuui gasped in horror, taking a step back and instinctively placing her hands on her stomach.

"No, Princess. It isn't her. This isn't the one who hurt your brother. This is a different Yuuko."

"Different?" she whispered uncomprehendingly.

"Remember, Yuui? What he was saying before…about other worlds," Tomoyo reminded her, keeping her hands firmly on her shoulders. Yuui nodded weakly, keeping her hands where they were. Just because they all said it was safe did not change the fact that it was still the face of her enemy…the woman who wanted her and her child dead.

"You would be Princess Yuui?" the face in the mirror asked, to which Yuui nodded. "Clow Reed is dead, then?" Again, the assembly nodded in answer. For a moment, the woman's eyes looked painfully sad, but the very next moment, she was back to business, turning to Kakei for answers. "What is your situation?"

"The former queen killed the king and accidentally forced her curse on Prince Fai. Yuui is due to give birth soon. She will be our next queen. But there is a problem."

Yuuko sighed, smiling wryly. "Isn't there always?"

"Kyle Rondart put a curse on the prince and his fiancée, Prince Kurogane."

"Fiancée?" Yuuko asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes."

A slightly happier smile twisted the corners of her mouth. "Good for them. So what's the problem?"

"They can't marry unless Fai can create a child of his own body that the prince is father to. If he cannot, then he will die when they exchange their wedding vows."

"And you want to stop that from happening?" Yuuko asked, addressing Yuui once more.

"I do."

"Then what is your wish, child?"

"My wish…my wish is that Fai could have a baby…and break the spell." Not only so that they could marry, but so that her brother could experience the joy that she felt whenever she felt her baby girl kick - whenever she imagined her smile.

"Princess Yuui, are you aware that when I grant a wish, I require payment that is equal to the value of the wish?"

"You mean…you can actually do it?"

"I can…but what are you willing to give up in exchange for this miracle?"

"I don't care. Name your price. I'll pay it. I want my brothers to be happy again."

"I'll pay, too, Yuuko-san," Tomoyo added. Why shouldn't she pay? Her wish was the same, after all.

"That won't be necessary. I require only one price for this. Yuui…your payment is any future children you might have borne."

"No," Subaru insisted firmly, moving in front of the mirror once again. "Yuui-hime, you can't do this. You can't risk your fertility like this. We'll find another way."

"I seem to recall that we had a talk about calling me _princess_ ," Yuui said dangerously. "Get out of my way, Subaru-san. I'm going to do this. Fai gave up so much for me. Why shouldn't I pay for my brother's happiness?"

"You don't understand!"

"Yuui," Yuuko's calm, commanding voice rose above the growing tumult. "It seems that you understand very little about the power that you are taking onto your shoulders. Subaru's concerns are legitimate ones. You were recognized as a legitimate candidate for the crown because you have the ability to bear children. If you gave _that_ away…if you became infertile…then you would no longer be eligible for the throne. But it isn't necessarily your _fertility_ that I require as payment."

"What do you mean?"

"Your womb would remain fertile planting ground. That is the definition of fertility. A child would still be able to grow if planted there. What you would give up is your _essence_ …your eggs…the piece of yourself that you would give to a child when one is created. That is your sacrifice. The baby you carry will be your first…and your last. Will you still pay the price?"

"Yuui…sama?" Subaru broke in before she could answer. "What if this child dies?"

Before Yuui could lash out at him in anger, Kakei cut in. "It's a perfectly legitimate concern, Yuui-sama. These are dangerous times. If you _do_ give up the possibility of future children and harm comes to this one…and you lose her…then you could not produce another heir. Where would we be then?"

"Then Fai would be king. _He_ would give you your heir."

"And if we fail to save Fai-sama?" Subaru inquired.

"Don't say things like that!" Yuui hissed vehemently.

"We're only trying to advise you, Princess," Kakei explained. "Very little has gone our way thus far. The danger of the worst happening is very real. If this goes badly…then the world falls to the Dark Court. Lives hang on your choice. The risk is there."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Yuui said calmly. "Because nothing bad is going to happen to my baby or my baby brother. We'll make sure of it. I'll pay the price, Yuuko-san. What do I have to do?"

"Kakei?"

The ancient faerie nodded and moved toward Yuui, holding up his hands in front of her swollen stomach.

"With your permission, my princess…"

Yuui nodded. When he'd been given the go ahead, Kakei began to whisper the words of the ancient language of Faerie and a small spark of light began to glow between his hands, slowly growing bigger. When it was large enough, a small tendril of it snaked out and slipped inside Yuui's body. The blonde inhaled sharply when she felt the warmth of it curl inside her, wrapping around something. Then the tendril withdrew and she literally felt that something pulled out of her. For a moment, she thought she could feel the absence of whatever it was, but she didn't dwell on the loss for very long. The sacrifice would be worth it.

Once the glowing swirl of magic between his hands had settled, Kakei carefully carried it over to the mirror. Then he pressed it to the glass and the tiny thing passed right through like the mirror wasn't even there. The next moment, the ball of magic was hovering just above Yuuko's hand and she was holding up a tiny purple phial in the other.

"This potion will work only once, so use it well. It was made with the blood of a fertility goddess that she gave to me in payment."

Kakei caught the small phial as it passed through the mirror and handed it to Yuui. The potion felt warm in her hands.

"What do I need to do?"

"Have your brother drink that. It's tasteless, so you could easily mix it with something. Once it's been ingested, all that will need to happen is for Kurogane's seed to be planted inside of Fai's body…and I don't imagine that will be too difficult. The potion will allow his seed to mix with Fai's own essence and a child of the two princes will be created. The potion will also allow the child to grow safely in Fai's body until it is ready to be born. The manner in which you deal with the birth, however, is up to you. This is all I can give you. If you wanted more, then you would have to pay more."

"I understand," Yuui said softly as she pressed the phial gently against her heart. "Thank you for this, Yuuko-san. It truly is a miracle. Thank you."

"Use it well, Princess," she reminded her one last time. "I wish you success." Then she was gone.

"How is it that you came to know a woman who not only bears the face of our enemy, but also happens to live outside this world?" Subaru asked Kakei once the mirror had returned to reflecting the Dorragu lord's bedchamber.

"I am older than any living thing in this world, Subaru. I have seen things that even you would never believe. I have been acquainted with the Witch of Dimensions for quite some time now."

As Kakei and Subaru "argued", Yuui felt Tomoyo slip her arms around her waist and rest her chin on her shoulder. She leaned back against her, grateful for the support.

"What are you going to tell Kurogane?"

"Nothing," she replied, turning her head to plant a kiss on Tomoyo's cheek. "Not yet, anyway. He's had so many highs and lows these last few weeks. I'm not sure if he could handle it. Once Fai's safe…I'll tell him then."

_Fai doesn't have to know. It would kill him._

XxX

The Monou estate was smaller than the sithen, but it was by no means any less opulent. Clef had told Yuui that the place was usually much brighter, but black had been the only decoration she'd seen since arriving. The house was still in mourning for Kotori.

Yuui was currently wandering the corridors in the early pre-dawn light. She knew that she would have to be getting back to the room that she shared with Tomoyo soon. Tomoyo didn't like to wake alone these days. She preferred to keep Yuui in her sight as often as she could. She'd woken alone on their first morning in the new location and Yuui had returned from her nightly wanderings to find her sitting up in bed, crying softly…almost like she was trying to hold it in. They had spent the rest of the day cuddling in bed.

"Don't leave me again," she'd whispered desperately to her before falling asleep that night. "Please don't leave. Just…just be here when I wake up. When I found you gone…I was afraid I'd never see you again. I keep seeing things…so many things…I don't want to lose you."

"They're nightmares, my love. Only nightmares," she'd consoled with a kiss, though they both knew that they were empty words. Sometimes it felt like years since Yuui had walked in dreams beside her beloved. Tomoyo still shared her dreams with her through their bond, but her sleep had become so plagued with her own anxieties that she was beginning to have trouble distinguishing between what was vision and what was not. There were a few things that Yuui was certain of, but she kept these things from Tomoyo. There was no need to spoil what little sleep she got with things that were certain. There were other things, however, that she prayed to the Lord and Lady were not certain.

Some nights, she stayed in to watch Tomoyo sleep. Most nights, she waited until she was sleeping, pressed a kiss to her forehead, then slipped out to wander. Sometimes she would visit Kurogane, who, rather than run himself ragged, now meditated in his room in the evenings to fill the time traditionally used for sleeping. His days were spent training with Ryuuki.

She had not visited with anyone tonight. It had simply been a night of wandering from place to place. The baby was restless and she did not fail to let Yuui know it. There was kicking and rolling and all manner of unpleasantness, and now it was really beginning to hurt. Tiny bruises were even beginning to pepper her swollen stomach. It wouldn't be very long now, and if her daughter hadn't already been letting her know, then the mounting tension among her guardians certainly would have done.

Just when she was about to head for her quarters, thinking that she might check the rose garden on the way back to see if Kurogane was up practicing his kata yet (where else would he insist that they train, after all?), she thought she heard voices. Following the faint tremor in the air, she turned left. When she saw which door had been left ajar to circulate the early morning breeze, she didn't even need to hear the voice properly to know whom the first speaker was. It was Sakura's room.

"It's not _too_ difficult. It just takes a little more concentration. Clef-san has been teaching me how to use a little more of my power. You know, I can't believe it never occurred to us. We always wondered why my skin glowed when we-"

"Who was there to ask?!" another voice interrupted, clearly flustered. "Touya-sama would have killed me if I'd _dared_ to breathe a word of what went on in our bedroom. I suppose I just always assumed…that it was something that happened naturally with royalty. I couldn't think of any other explanation." Yuui had heard the second voice only a handful of times, but she already recognized it. Syaoran - her father.

"And I know neither of us would have asked Nii-san if his skin glowed when he was with Yukito."

"It's not going to tire you out _too_ much, is it? Using the mirror to talk like this? I know you haven't been sleeping well lately."

"I could say the same about you, Syaoran. These are trying times for all of us. Our poor girl can't sleep at all and Kurogane-kun refuses to sleep for the nightmares. He only gets an hour or two of sleep when he collapses from sheer exhaustion. He's pushing himself to such extremes. It's…it's difficult to watch. Sometimes…I think about all of those lost years…when they loved each other in secret…and I can't help but wonder what might have happened if we had only _known_. If we only hadn't-"

"No, Sakura. We can't know. There's no sense in dwelling on what's past."

"H-how is Nii-san?" the queen asked hesitantly.

"Still railing at the walls that we can't be of more help against the Oni hordes. They still haven't sent human soldiers against us, so there's nothing we can do until they decide to."

"You could come here."

"You know I can't. At least one of us must be here in Cephiro to boost the country's morale and I won't take you away from our daughter. You need Yuui right now. It's enough for me to know that you're finally getting to know each other…before we lost the chance entirely."

Yuui heard Sakura sigh. "Yes. Of course. Himawari-chan and I have become great friends. She has so many wonderful stories of our babies when they were growing up. I really just can't be truly jealous of her anymore…because she loves them so much. At least…Fai and Yuui had people to hold them…when they needed them…" Then Yuui heard the faint sound of sniffling.

"Oh, Sakura! Sakura, don't cry. Please don't cry. I can't stand to see you cry and not be able to be there to hold you."

"You're r-right. I'm just…being silly, Syaoran. They're all grown up…and Yuui will have her very own daughter soon. We'll be grandparents."

"You'll let me know as soon as you can when she goes into labor, won't you?"

"The moment I know, myself, I'll find a way to tell you."

"Is it true that it's…dangerous?"

"O…of course it's dangerous. Any number of things can go wrong when a baby is born."

"You know that isn't what I meant, Sakura. Is it _dangerous_ for _Yuui_ to have _Fuuma-san's_ child?"

There was a long moment of hesitant silence before Sakura answered, "Yes. It's very dangerous. She is watched at all hours of the day to make certain that nothing happens. There's never been a case like hers before. Nobody knows what will happen. I…I'm afraid for her. I'm afraid that I'll have found her…only to lose her again."

"We won't lose her…and we'll get Fai back. If I had to choose a man for any child of mine, it would be Kurogane-kun. He will _never_ give Fai up…not ever. He will save him or die trying. We won't lose _either_ of them," the king insisted vehemently.

"Maybe not…but sometimes I fear that they're both lost to us anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"Yuui doesn't even _see_ me, Syaoran. She looks at me like I'm absolutely _nothing!_ I know it's not…not _her_ fault. She doesn't _mean_ to do it. It's no one's _fault_ …what's happened to us…but that doesn't make it hurt any less."

"Sakura-"

"I…I see her walking alone sometimes at night…and I see the weight of her sadness. I want to fly to her as fast as I can. I want to care for her…to hold her in my arms. I'd _gladly_ take all of my baby's pain onto myself…but I can't…I can never…I will never…be her mother. We're _nothing_ to her, Syaoran…nothing at all!"

Yuui couldn't stand to hear anymore. She held her breath and pulled her magic around her, and the next thing she knew, she was back in her room with Tomoyo, who was still slumbering peacefully. Tears were streaming silently down her face.

_I didn't know. I didn't_ _**know** _ _!_

But that wasn't any excuse, was it? She had not known because she had not _wished_ to know. She had refused to know. What a horrid, selfish girl she was. Of course her parents would feel this way. How would _she_ feel if her daughter was taken from her…if she gave her up…and she was raised as the child of another? How would she feel if the child that she'd carried in her womb for so many months looked to a stranger and called her her mother? She didn't know if she could bear it. She suddenly found that she understood her own mother a little bit better. She had suffered what no woman should have to suffer…the loss of a child…two children, even. Not once, but twice…her heart had been broken…twice, large pieces of her self had been ripped away a long time before she was ready. _She_ had been one of the causes of that unbearable ache. _She_ had been the cause of those tears.

For everyone's sake, Yuui knew she had to make things right between them. The land was already turning red with the rivers of sorrow that had begun to flow for the sake of keeping her and her brother safe. What right had she to cause even one drop more?

XxX

When Yukito heard a knock on his door, he fully expected it to be Sakura. He was a little surprised to open the door to find Yuui and Tomoyo standing there. Tomoyo was supporting the heavily pregnant young woman.

"Hello, Majesties," he greeted, bowing slightly at the neck. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Before Yuui could say anything, Tomoyo jumped in with, "Could she please sit down first? She shouldn't be standing for too long."

"Of course, Tomoyo-hime. Come inside."

Standing aside to allow the girls access to the sitting room, Yukito heard Chi squeak with surprise when she saw who was at the door. She had been offered separate quarters for herself and Freya, but she had insisted on staying close to Yukito and the children, so they had been given a larger set of rooms. Before the girls' arrival, they had been watching Eriol and Kaho play with Freya. Now Chi was scrambling to get chairs ready for the two.

"Would Your Highnesses like any refreshment?"

"It's fine," Yuui insisted before Tomoyo could say anything. "We've eaten already."

"So…why have you come, Hime?" Yukito asked once everyone was seated again. Eriol and Kaho were sitting beside him on one of the couches and Chi sat across from them on the other one with Freya in her arms. Tomoyo and Yuui had been seated in chairs at the ends of the two couches.

"There is…something that I need to ask you, Yukito-san."

"What is it?"

"Who is older? Me or Fai?"

"You…you mean-" he started, slightly surprised.

"I mean who was born first?"

"They didn't…tell you?"

"They couldn't. In order to keep the secret, Himawari, Doumeki, and Watanuki always told us that they found us abandoned in the forest. If that had been true, how would they have known something like that?" she responded solemnly.

"Why ask _me_ , Yuui-chan? Why not your mother? That is a question for her."

"I…cannot…ask Sakura-san."

It hurt even Chi to hear the young princess refer to her own mother in such a way. It was painful for everyone involved to observe the wall that existed between the daughter and her mother.

"You were born first, Yuui-chan. You are the eldest child. On April first, you were born as the sun was setting. Your brother was born about ten minutes later, when the full moon's pale light filled the sky. I've never seen a pair of babies quite so eager to be born as the two of you were," he reminisced, smiling fondly.

"You mean you were…actually present on the night we were born?"

"Well, yes. As high priest, I am also the chief physician. I helped bring you into being. After your birth, I was the first to hold you. I cut the birth cord and cleaned you. Then I wrapped you in a blanket and gave you to your mother." He could still remember how Sakura had wept and held the tiny infant to her breast before passing her to Syaoran in order to give birth to Fai.

" _My little girl…my sweet little girl…my Yuui."_

"The two of you were her miracle."

"Would she have still thought so…if she had known of the disaster we would bring…if she could have foreseen that we would only bring her pain?" Yuui asked sadly.

"Never would Sakura have once thought anything _like_ that. She wanted you then and she wants you now. I know that things have been…difficult between the two of you, but all you really need to do is talk to her. She loves you so much, Yuui-chan. She gave you and Fai-kun up in order to protect the two of you, even though it caused her great pain. All she wants now…is to be a part of your life…no matter how small a part."

"I wish it could be that simple, Yukito-san. I really do."

"It _can_ be, Yuui-sama," Chi interrupted suddenly, very surprised with her own boldness. As every eye in the room shifted to her, she stood from the couch and carried Freya over to Yuui, slowly passing the five-month-old into the princess' arms. "It's so easy."

Yuui's arms easily formed themselves around Freya, cradling her close. The little girl cooed sweetly as she snuggled herself against Yuui's breast. As she gazed down at Freya's tiny body, Yuui began to remember the dreams she'd had of her own daughter - and through Yukito's descriptions, she almost imagined that she could see herself in her own mother's arms…so very long ago.

Gently, the princess began to rock Freya, the rhythm of the swaying bringing to mind an old lullaby that Watanuki had sung for her and Fai when they'd been growing up. She'd always thought it interesting that her guardian would sing such a song, and now that she knew a little more about his true history, the words all suddenly seemed to fall into place.

_It's hard to remember_

_Summer or winter_

_When she hasn't been there for me._

_A friend and companion,_

_I can always depend on_

_My mother…that's who I mean._

_I've taken for granted_

_Seeds that she planted._

_She's always behind every seed._

_A teacher, a seeker,_

_A both arms outreacher._

_My mother…that's who I mean._

_Wish I could slow down_

_The hands of time,_

_Keep things the way they are._

_If she said so,_

_I would give her the world._

_If I could…I would._

_My love and my laughter_

_From here ever after_

_Is all that she says that she needs._

_A friend and companion,_

_I can always depend on_

_My mother…that's who I mean._

_My mother…that's who I mean._

_That's who I mean._

Yuui's singing slowly faded away when she noticed that Freya had fallen asleep in her arms. She smiled faintly upon seeing that the little girl was clutching a handful of her dress in one tiny fist. After exchanging a reassuring smile with Tomoyo, she bent closer and pressed a gentle kiss to the baby's forehead.

_Thank you, little one. I think I understand._

XxX

For the first time in about a week, Yuui was having an 'in' night. Tomoyo had fallen asleep only a little while ago and Yuui was still contentedly watching her sleep. She wasn't sure how late it was when she finally pulled herself away, but she was certain it wouldn't matter. This needed to be done.

Quietly, she drifted into the sitting room of their quarters, where a decent-sized mirror was set up. Focusing her mind on the reflective surface, just as Kakei had taught her to do with the Reflecting Pool, she sought out the mind of one person.

_Syaoran-san? Syaoran-san, can you hear me?_

She waited a few breathless moments before her own reflected image began to flicker. When the image finally became solid again, it was the sleepy visage of King Syaoran. However, when he saw who it was that was calling on him, he immediately straightened up, snapping awake.

"Yuui…chan? What do you need? Is something the matter?"

"Where are you?" she asked, noticing how little of his surroundings she could see. It meant that he was using a much smaller mirror.

"A war camp just outside the city."

"You're outside the barrier? What's been going on? No one will tell me. Does Sakura-san know?"

"She knows…and they wouldn't tell you. They asked _me_ not to if you should ask. They don't want you to strain yourself with worry when your time is so near. I agree with them, but at the same time, none of them have ever held the position that I have and that you were born to. I believe you _need_ to know. Kyle has sent the forces of Nihon against us."

Yuui's face darkened considerably. It was finally beginning - the war between men. The fey could fight for years without true consequence, but now would come the portion of the war where innocent men would die in battle because they had no other option but to fight each other. Nihon's army did not know the true story behind Kyle's coup. As far as they knew, Amaterasu and Kurogane were still in Shirasagi. The Nihon soldiers had no choice but to obey the man who acted as their emperor, and if he sent them to fight their long time allies, so be it. If the Valerian soldiers refused to fight the Nihon soldiers, then the Nihon soldiers would be made to fight against the Fire, Earth, and Wind Guards. The Oni were aware that their enemies would not kill innocent humans, and if the Guard battalions refused to fight, then the war was already lost. It was either face the men of Nihon in combat…or allow the world to fall into the hands of the Dark Court. It was a choice that each of them dreaded, but at the same time, they had all known from the start what the answer had to be.

"How long has this been going on?"

"Only a few days. In order to minimize the need to repeatedly reopen the barrier around the city, we have set up a camp outside the walls in order to carry out a campaign against Nihon. For the moment, we can only defend. Their numbers are just too great."

"And what are the conditions within the city?"

"Touya-sama could give you a more accurate report, but our enemies have clearly been planning this siege for a very long time. Even before your mother and I were born, the Dark Court was carrying out raids against many of our villages. That's how Touya-sama's father, King Fujitaka, was killed. They've been systematically closing in on us and we never even saw it coming. For a long while, it was only border villages that they attacked. More recently, it's been larger cities. Refugees from their attacks have been pouring into the capital. It was already putting a strain on the city. Now things are just getting worse. Beset by the Oni as they are, the fey can only do so much to help us."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Nothing. The best thing you can do is to keep yourself safe until you and your child are safely through your pregnancy. You must keep yourself alive…for the sake of both your peoples…and for my sake, and your mother's…your guardians and your fiancé…for the sake of your entire family. Without you and your brother…it will have all been for nothing."

"Is that what Fai and I are to you?" she asked abruptly. "Game pieces?"

"That isn't what I meant, Yuui-chan. If we lose you now…it will mean that your mother and I gave you up…that we have suffered all these years without you…and that the two of you suffered the knowledge that you might have been abandoned…all for nothing."

"I didn't mean to accuse you," she said softly, turning away from her father. "It's just…difficult. I'm beginning to understand why Kurogane, Tomoyo, and Souma started to escape to Celes to be with us. You cannot know…who really cares for _you_ …as you are."

"Your mother cares for you, you know? She misses you. She wishes that you would let her in. I do, too."

"I know. I'm sorry for that," Yuui said as she lifted her head once more. "That's why I contacted you, actually. I just…I want…O-Otou-san… _forgive me_ ," she finally whispered, begging.

"For what?" he asked, confused.

"For ever thinking that you abandoned us…for thinking that there was ever a moment in your lives when you didn't want us…for bringing you nothing but pain…"

"You're so wrong, Yuui-chan," Syaoran broke in on her. "I won't lie to you. It's been hard…but it would have been even more painful if you had never existed at all. You had no reason at all to think anything but that you were unwanted. Your mother and I can hardly blame you for such a thought. There's nothing to forgive."

"Please. _Please_ forgive me. I _need_ you to forgive me." She was desperate now.

"Why?"

"Because I'm ashamed of it," she finally cried. "You gave up so much for us…and we hated you before we even _knew_ you."

"None of it was your fault, but if it will make you feel better…then I forgive you, my sweet daughter…my Yuui."

"Thank you," she said softly as a few silent tears dribbled down her face.

"I'm very proud of you, Yuui. You've grown into such a lovely young woman. You will make a truly worthy queen. If it could not be your mother and I, then I could not have asked for anyone better to raise you than they that did. I'm sure you will raise your own child the same way," he said, his fond smile seeming almost tearful. "I wish I could have held you in my arms one last time…when you were still a baby."

"It…it's not too late," Yuui suggested tentatively.

"All right," Syaoran returned, smiling gratefully. "The next time I see you…I'll hold you close…for all of those years when I could not…you and your mother…and Fai."

XxX

"Just how long do you plan to keep them in there?" Seishiro heard Fuuma asking as he emerged from his quarters, easily sealing them behind him. He had just lain with Arashi again and he was more than certain that Sorata was having his turn with her now. They had to be fools to think they could keep their little scheme hidden from him. Of course…it didn't _really_ matter. Arashi was already pregnant…nearly a month and a half, in fact. She had been impregnated that first night. He was only waiting for _her_ to realize it.

"I'll send them back to their friends when Arashi-chan figures out that she's with child."

Fuuma chuckled. "As if you didn't already make things complicated enough for them."

"Was there something you wanted, Cousin?" Seishiro asked, his friendly smile bordering on what amounted to dangerous for him. He had known going into this that it would be this way, but it was still somewhat difficult for him to be working so closely with someone else.

"Nothing in particular. Care to walk with me?"

"Certainly," he responded, easily falling into step with his long lost relation as the two of them headed away from Seishiro's quarters with no particular destination in mind. "What brings you away from the battles, Fuuma? I fully expected your bloodlust to last much longer than this…another three hundred years, at least."

"It's an interesting thing, dear cousin. I was expecting a similar thing when I became yours. It is the nature of what we are, after all…but that thirst does not consume my every waking thought as it once did yours. It is merely an occasional tickling fancy. I imagine this is because the will of the Sakurazukamori is worked through you and has mastery of itself after all this time…unlike the day it was unleashed. With you, that power had to learn its limitations. The Sakurazukamori has reacquainted itself with the world now…and the part it has to play. It has made of me a very efficient tool, without all of the messy trial and error that had to be done when consuming _your_ will."

"I cannot help but wonder why you should speak to one who's will…who's very _being_ …has been consumed. Why should you continue to address me as your cousin, or I address you as mine, for that matter…when we are essentially the same being. The Seishiro that was is dead. That soul was dead the moment I bonded myself to this body. The trouble is that the vestiges of such a strong will cling to this vessel even now. It is the same with you. Pieces of that mind are still saturated with the essence of the Fuuma that was…pieces of will that still believe that Fuuma exists within you somewhere. Believe me, _Cousin_ , these vestiges will fade with time."

"You and I both know that isn't true…Seishiro."

The one who had once been called Seishiro froze mid stride, slowly turning to look at the one who had once been called Fuuma. The certainty with which he had spoken that name…the ambiguity as to which part of his explanation he was accusing of being a lie…the serene smile on his face…even for him, it was all quite unnerving.

"What's not true…Fuuma?"

"As I said before, it's a very curious thing, Cousin. You are aware that my Hand of Power is the ability to know people's hearts…to look inside of them and know their deepest selves…to see that which cannot be seen?"

"Of course."

"Then you also remember that after your transformation into the Sakurazukamori, I could never quite manage to see into your heart. The truth of your self was hidden from my sight."

"Yes. So?" Seishiro queried, slightly disliking the direction this was going.

"Now that I have become a part of you…that is not so anymore. The Hand of Seeing still exists…and I can see into the heart of you. I see what your true desire is."

"Do you now?" he asked softly. To someone who didn't know him, his voice would have almost sounded bitter. Someone who _did_ know him…well, that someone would know better than to think such a thing of Seishiro. "And what, exactly, is left to be seen?"

"What _you_ truly wish…and just _who_ is the one doing the wishing. I can also see what dear _Subaru's_ true wish is."

"Have a care, baby cousin. It is dangerous ground that you tread. In fact, it may not even be ground upon which you stand," he warned.

"But don't you want to know?" Fuuma teased, managing to be completely cute and just as deadly all in the same breath. "I promise you it will surprise you."

"Fuuma," Seishiro began, indulging his counterpart's penchant for their physical identities as he started to walk away from him. "If Subaru has any other wish than to kill me and avenge the wrongs I've done to him and those that he loves…then I have no desire to know about it."

"Just as well," the new disciple said aloud, the same benign smile still adorning his face.

_Only_ _**you** _ _have the power to give Subaru what he truly wants._

XxX

"You do realize that this is dangerous, don't you?" Ryuuki asked as he lit a small ball of fire in his hands.

"I know. I can handle it. Don't hold back," Kurogane responded stolidly, standing his ground before his sensei and igniting his own flame between his palms.

Ryuuki sighed. Sometimes one really did have to wonder if Prince Kurogane Youou even knew the difference between danger and safety. One certainly couldn't tell judging from the ordeal he'd put himself through these past weeks. He pushed himself to his dying breath and still found a way to draw one more from his beleaguered body - one right after the other. He had worked with Ginryuu until the blade was not just an extension of his arm, but his will, as well. His was truly a will of fire. It was for this reason that Ryuuki knew that Kurogane could bear the weight of fire in his veins. It was there inside of him. All it needed was direction. That was Ryuuki's purpose - to be that direction. He had run Kurogane through several meditation and breathing exercises, mentally and physically preparing him to manifest those flames. As the days had passed, he had slowly become able to light that fire and hold it in his own hands, but Ryuuki had not allowed him to attempt any more than that. Today was the first day he would be allowing Kurogane to try and move fire, rather than simply create it. Yet, in spite of all this, they both knew that Ryuuki could not truly heed Kurogane's desire for him to not hold back. Really, he had no choice but to do so. Kurogane's mortal body was still like paper when compared with the steel of Ryuuki's own existence. And yet…Ryuuki wondered…

Unfortunately, there was only one sure way to test his theory…and that involved Kurogane being ignorant of his intentions.

Many people were currently concealed around them, somewhere in the rose garden. Their concealment was futile, but both teacher and pupil pretended not to be aware of them, just the same. It was well known what was meant to happen today and they could hardly blame the spectators for their concern for Kurogane's safety. Allowing them to watch was also, in Kurogane's mind, the only way to dispel their fears about his abilities. They would see him conquer this day. Ryuuki would shoot a stream of fire at him and he would absorb that attack into his own flame, directing the attack back at Ryuuki. The challenge in this exercise, Ryuuki had told him, would be to control the fire…to keep it from growing too big and outright consuming him. It was as he'd said before. He would either master these powers - or he would die trying.

As he surveyed Kurogane's determined expression, Ryuuki suddenly began to feel Yuui's consciousness seeping into his mind. It wasn't because he was attempting to keep her out of his head. In fact, he was completely open to her. It was happening slowly like this because Yuui was hesitant - because she felt that she had no right to intrude on him.

 _Do not fear, my princess,_ he reassured her, actively embracing her presence in his thoughts. _I will not harm the prince. No matter what you might think you are seeing, Kurogane will be protected._ Briefly, he felt her surprise at such a direct acknowledgment of her intrusion. Then, just as quickly, she retreated from him.

"What are you waiting for? Attack me," Kurogane challenged, calm on the outside, but clearly on fire beneath the surface.

"If you insist…" Ryuuki replied, beginning to draw power into his fireball, weaving new threads of energy into its structure and allowing it to grow. When he felt it had reached a sufficient size, he fired a tendril of it toward Kurogane, connecting the two flames.

At first, everything seemed to be going well. Kurogane absorbed the energy that Ryuuki sent at him, slowly allowing his flame to grow bigger. It was all going smoothly…until Ryuuki decided that smooth wasn't good enough.

The only warning Kurogane had before it happened was a brief glance at the fire sprite's face. He'd stolen a quick glance at him to see if he was doing well, and seen the spark of malicious intent mere seconds too late. The very next instant, Ryuuki was pouring energy into the connection, more than Kurogane could possibly hope to contain. For a few moments, he did manage to keep the volatile element from consuming him, but then he found himself gazing into its depths…and he saw Fai's molten eyes staring back at him…felt that unbearably hot skin melting into his once again.

_Burn with me._

" _Burn with me_ ," he hissed, suddenly caught in the grip of the nightmare again. The only difference was that this time, he really was consumed. The fire became too much to handle and it escaped his control, blazing outward and enveloping his body in flames.

Shouts erupted from all corners of the garden and figures began to appear out of the greenery.

"Oh, my God," Sakura breathed in shock.

"What have you done?!" Souma shouted as she moved forward to try and help her friend.

"KUROGANE!" the Mokona shouted together, bounding to join Souma.

"Nii-sama!" Tomoyo cried out, unable to rush forward with the others as Yuui was holding her back. She could easily throw off her heavily pregnant fiancé, but she would never risk such a drastic move. Yuui held Tomoyo back because, while she was terrified for Kurogane herself, she trusted what Ryuuki had told her.

Thankfully, Kurogane did not make a fool of himself by acting on his first impulse to cry out in pain, because upon closer inspection, he found that there _was_ no pain. He was clearly on fire…and yet he did not feel himself burning. In fact, the warmth of the fire dancing along his skin was almost…comforting.

"What is this?" he asked as he watched the flames ripple across his body, leaving it completely unharmed.

"It's as I suspected," Ryuuki began to explain as the full complement of spectators began to drift toward them. "It's a Heart of Fire."

"What do you mean?"

"This amulet you're wearing," Ryuuki responded, lifting said amulet from Kurogane's chest. It was glowing brightly. "The ruby at its center isn't just a gemstone. It's a Heart of Fire…raw fire magic given a manageable form. It's very powerful magic. Only a few of the elder fey have ever managed to create Hearts. Not only will it help you harness and control the power of fire when you've mastered it, but it will also protect you. So long as you wear this pendant, fire cannot harm you."

"Is that why you attacked him like that?" Yuui asked as Tomoyo led her closer.

"Yes. I knew that the gem had some measure of power, but I couldn't be sure just how much unless I tested it. If he had been aware of the experiment, he wouldn't have been able to give a true reaction. Hearts will interact with the wielder's own heart. It was responding to the fact that he was in mortal danger from fire."

"But…my father gave this to me. It was his. Where would he have gotten a magic jewel from?" Kurogane pondered, his confusion lessening only slightly.

"From whoever gave it to him, I imagine. It must have been from a very powerful faerie. A faerie with the ability to make a Heart would not just give one away unless he had a very clear purpose in mind. Whoever it was that gave this charm to your father knew that it would be needed."

"Kurogane-kun…does that mean the charm you gave to Fai when he was a baby…is also magic?" Sakura asked the prince, marveling at the play of fire on his skin.

Suddenly losing his focus, the flames that blazed around Kurogane's body snuffed out of existence. Memory was assaulting him, clawing at the gates of his conscious mind, begging to be released. He'd had this feeling before - that there was something he _ought_ to know, but didn't. It had been about Fai's pendant then, too.

"What are you talking about?" It was there, _right there,_ lingering just out of his reach.

"Maybe you wouldn't remember…you were only three years old, after all. When you and your parents came to the twins' naming ceremony…the day it happened…you gave Fai a necklace…a silver pendant in the shape of a crescent moon that was set with sapphires. It was meant for Yuui. Amaterasu-san said that Ashura-san had given it to her as a wedding present…and that you were going to be giving it to Yuui…as a promise. Goddess, I remember that one moment so much better than I should. When you tried to give the charm to Yuui, Fai grabbed it instead. You tried to take it back, but when he started crying, you gave it back to him…and when I saw my son again, after all that time, he still had that pendant."

"I remember," he said softly. He _did_ …quite suddenly…and he wondered how he could have _ever_ forgotten. Fai's most treasured possession…came from _him_.

The memories of that day were so fragmented. He'd forgotten a great deal of it because there had been no other choice. Had he remembered, he would have remembered witnessing his father's death and his mother's grief. A child does not need to remember such things. He remembered his father's sad face, and the weight of the sun charm as he'd placed it around his neck. He remembered Yuuko's red eyes and the sound of her vindictive laughter. He remembered crying alone afterward…and never crying again after that night…not for many years. But suddenly, among all of the shattered fragments, he found another memory - a memory of what had come _before_ all of that…a precious memory, tucked away and kept hidden, kept _safe_ from the pain of that day. Small babies…lying in a cradle together, smiling, laughing, and cooing…so new to the world. Pudgy fingers grabbing a silver chain and sucking on a priceless sapphire like a chew toy. He found himself smiling inwardly at the memory. Fai would, he really would. That tiny, helpless, pink thing…was it _really_ Fai… _his_ Fai? Yes, it was. He would know those blue eyes anywhere. To hold the memory so deep inside him…had he known, even then…had _Fai_ somehow known, even as a little baby…how much they would need each other…what they would be to each other? Had Fai staked his claim on his heart even then?

_We've always been together. A part of me has always been with him…and is_ _**still** _ _with him._

As he examined the memory, holding it close to himself after so many years, he absently reached a hand up to brush his fingers against the rose tucked behind his ear in order to be certain that it hadn't been harmed by the fire. Thankfully, it was still intact.

"It _is_ magic," he announced, finally waking to the others around him once more. "I think it's a Heart of Water. I saw it stop a river once," he said, remembering the day he and Fai had finally come together. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but looking back, a feat like that should have been more than a little advanced for Fai.

"That's probably what it is, then. You say he still has it?" Ryuuki asked Sakura, who nodded in response. "Good. It should be of help."

"But…where would Ashura-san have gotten such things?" Sakura pondered.

"You know…don't you?" Kurogane asked as he slowly turned to look at Watanuki and the other guardians, who had been mostly silent up to this point. Doumeki remained stoic; Himawari and Subaru both shook their heads. Watanuki was the one to step forward, nodding.

"Yes. I was aware that Clow had created Hearts of Fire and Water, but I didn't know what had become of them until I saw them set into those pendants that day at the naming ceremony. His Highness must have known they would be needed, so he gave them to Ashura."

"My father knew Clow?"

"Yes, quite well, actually. I'm not one hundred percent certain on the details of their friendship, though. The only ones who _would_ know are dead…unless Amaterasu knows something." Watanuki fell silent after that. There was no need to bring up Amaterasu's current condition.

"Well, we'll just have to ask Kaa-san when she wakes up," Tomoyo said cheerfully. "Nii-sama, I think you've trained enough for now. You and Yuui need to sit down. We should all have some lunch."

"You eat," Kurogane said solemnly as he wrapped a determined fist around the sun pendant - the Heart of Fire. "Now that I know this stuff can't kill me no matter what, I want at least two more hours of training."

"Kurogane-"

"I'll come in later. I promise. But we've hardly done anything today. I need to get stronger. There isn't much time left," he said, gazing pointedly at Yuui's swelling stomach. Yuui placed a hand over her growing child, meeting Kurogane's gaze at it shifted up to her face. Perhaps it was because of what his niece's birth meant for his own personal interests, but whatever the reason, they were both very much aware that her time was coming fast - much faster than anyone would like.

"All right," Tomoyo said, nodding her understanding. Without saying anything else, she turned and started to lead Yuui out of the garden. One by one, all of the others who had gathered there followed the two princesses, finally leaving Ryuuki and Kurogane truly alone.

"Okay," Kurogane began, taking an extra moment to center himself once more. "Hit me again."

XxX

_Why is it him? Why does he have to come here_ _**now** _ _**?** He's cried and cried for him…and he's only come now…at the moment when he's at his lowest. If anyone…_ _**anyone** _ _…had seen him, anyone at all, he would have been able to handle it. He could have handled anyone else…anyone but_ _**him** _ _._

" _Why now?" he asks quietly, anguished. "Why did you come?"_

" _Because you called for me. I was trying to find you," he responds angrily._

" _Well, you're too late…_ _ **far**_ _too late. If you'd come sooner, it wouldn't have happened," he cries, tears slipping silently down his face. "God, I didn't want you to see me like this!"_

" _Well, I_ _ **am**_ _seeing you like this. God, Fai, it's like I don't even know you," Kurogane says, gesturing angrily at the very obvious bump in his stomach - the evidence that he had shared Seishiro's bed, and would bear a child for him, and not for Kurogane - the man he would have given his life to be able to have a baby with. "Is_ _ **this**_ _what gets you hot? Having an affair with the man who_ _ **raped**_ _you? He's your Goddamn_ _ **uncle**_ _, Fai! It's disgusting!"_

" _I know."_

" _I loved you…and you betrayed me…with_ _ **him**_ _." The hurt he's feeling is so plain to be seen, it breaks Fai's heart. He moves toward him - tries to take him in his arms._

" _No! It's not_ _ **like**_ _that. I didn't_ _ **mean**_ _to. It just…happened. I don't know why. I never wanted this. I could never betray you. I love_ _ **you**_ _, Kurogane."_

_Kurogane just brushes him aside, pushing him to the ground. "Don't bother lying to me, Fai. I can't even hear you. That thing inside you is screaming louder than any words you could ever say."_

" _Kuro-koi…please…hold me, kiss me…make love to me like you used to. Take me in your arms and tell me that it's going to be all right. Please…_ _ **forgive me**_ ** _!_** _"_

" _No."_

" _Please!" he sobs, desperately searching for the engagement ring Kurogane had given him…the symbol of their love…the promise that they would always be together…but it's nowhere to be found. It had disappeared when Seishiro had come inside of him and made his skin glow._

" _We're finished, Fai. It's over. There's nothing left to fight for anymore. Just go back to him._ _ **He's**_ _the one you really want."_

" _Don't…don't say that!" the boy sobs brokenly. "Don't look at me like I'm_ _ **nothing**_ _to you! You're the only reason I'm_ _ **alive**_ _, Kurogane!"_

" _Then you're dead…because you_ _ **are**_ _nothing to me."_

" _Don't look at me like that," Fai repeats dangerously as he struggles to his feet. He suddenly feels an indescribable rage replace the pain in his chest. How_ _ **dare**_ _Kurogane turn away from him…after pulling him back from the grave…after showing him what it meant to love another person?_

" _How else should I look at you? I can't stand the sight of you."_

" _ **I SAID DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!**_ _" Fai shrieks as he seizes his lover, tackling him to the ground and forcing himself upon him with more violence than he'd ever known his being could hold. His bloodlust is so great he doesn't even_ _ **hear**_ _the young man's screams of pain…or…perhaps he_ _ **does**_ _hear…and he just doesn't care. Finally he can release the true fey strength in his blood._

" _Fai…stop…_ _ **please**_ _ **!** "_

_**He cannot hear you, Kurogane,** _ _a dark voice whispers._ _**He will never hear your voice again.** _

_When it's all over and Fai is sated, he looks down…and finds himself staring into his fiancé's blank, unseeing eyes._

" _Ku…Kurogane? Kuro-sama?" he whispers fearfully, reaching down a hand to touch his still warm cheek. The prince is dead. Somewhere in the middle of it all, Fai had broken his spine and he had died in agony. As this realization slowly dawns on Fai, he feels what little sanity he still possesses slip even further away from him. He cradles the cooling body tenderly against his chest…as if to press his own heartbeat into the corpse. "Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. Kurogane, I'm sorry. I didn't_ _ **mean**_ _to. It was an accident. I was just so angry. Please…Kurogane…wake up. You've got to wake up! You can't_ _ **die**_ _ **!** You __**can't**_ _ **!** I still need you! Kuro-sama…Kuro-koi…_ _ **don't leave me here by myself**_ _!_ _ **KUROGANE!**_ _"_

_But no matter how much he screams or cries, no matter how tightly he clutches the body to his chest…he cannot bring Kurogane back to life. He is gone._

" _You did it," Seishiro whispers in his ear. "You_ _ **actually**_ _killed him."_

" _ **IT'S YOUR FAULT!**_ _" Fai shrieks, lunging at Seishiro with a look that could have frozen Hell itself. When Seishiro dodges him, Fai steps back, taking a moment to gently rest Kurogane's body on the earth. Tenderly, he closes his eyelids and presses a kiss to his cold lips. Then he stands once more and faces his enemy. "You've taken…_ _ **everything**_ _away from me. I have nothing left to lose."_

" _Oh, poor, poor Fai-kun. You're so wrong. What will you do? Will you kill me…and find out just what more you can still lose?"_

" _Yes," Fai hisses, drawing in his power. It won't be enough to simply tear Seishiro limb from limb and grind what remains into dust. He has to make him really suffer. He has to tear him to shreds from the inside. "Bleed," he commands, imagining just what it is that he wants - and it happens._

_Seishiro's veins burst open from within. Blood pours from every conceivable orifice. It seeps from his skin, rushing out of him in great torrents._

" _ **Die!**_ _" he hisses, focusing every atom of his being on killing his uncle. Blood gushes ever faster from his body. It sprays into the air. Fai feels it splash onto his skin, covering him. It keeps coming until there's nothing left to drain, and Seishiro smiles that same friendly smile the entire time._

_Suddenly, Fai realizes just what it is he's done. He falls to his knees, gazing at his hands lying loosely in his lap. They're covered in blood. There's blood everywhere. Seishiro's…Kurogane's…his own…he really doesn't know anymore._

" _This is your power," Seishiro whispers to him, though he is clearly dead. "You wished for a power that could kill me…and now you have it. Your hands are steeped in blood…and that is your gift: the Hand of Blood. Blood is yours to command."_

_Trembling in shock, Fai slowly wraps his arms around his middle, rocking himself back and forth. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God," he mumbles to himself over and over again. The scent of blood is clogging his nose and he can feel the hot liquid drying on his skin. The coppery taste of it fills his mouth. Everything is red - so_ _**red** _ _._

" _ **AAAAAGHH!**_ _"_

XxX

Sometimes it felt like it had been years. Other times it felt like everything had happened only yesterday. Whatever kind of day it happened to be, Chitose was truly starting to wonder if Empress Amaterasu was ever going to wake up.

Subaru had been keeping the empress in a magically induced coma for the past two months while her mind recovered from Kyle's dark influence. He'd been using his power to maintain the baby growing inside of her, now about four months along. Chitose realized that years of poisonous influence would take time to cleanse, but Subaru had stopped using his magic to keep her asleep within the last few days. He'd said that from this point on, it was up to her. She would either wake up…or not…on her own.

Chitose was working on a quilt for the new baby at Amaterasu's bedside when she suddenly felt a hand on her knee. She glanced up in shock to find Amaterasu staring at her, sleepy-eyed and dazed, but undeniably awake.

"Your Majesty!" she cried out, dropping her work and instantly falling to her knees beside the bed, taking the empress' hand in hers.

"Chitose-san?" she murmured confusedly. "What- what's been happening?"

"It's…extremely complicated, Highness. Perhaps it would be best if one of-"

"Wait!" Amaterasu interrupted, seizing Chitose's hand and struggling to sit up. "Where is Kurogane? He was going to kill him! Where is my son?!"

"Kurogane-sama is…safe. Majesty, perhaps it would be better if you rested-"

"No. There isn't time. Take me to them. I need to see my children."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Lullaby is 'My Mother' from The Chipmunk Adventure.


	28. I Know What You'll Do

"HAMA RYUU-OU-JIN!"

As Kurogane screamed the words of power, slashing Ginryuu through the air, fire magic was channeled through the blade and knifed through the air, taking the shape of a fierce dragon.

"Where did _those_ words come from?" Ryuuki asked as he examined his pupil's handiwork. He had never heard such an incantation before. The attack had managed to completely obliterate a row of targets that he'd set up for him.

"I don't know. They just…seemed right, I guess."

"Oddly fitting. Magic wave, attack of the dragon king," the fire sprite said, nodding approvingly. "You're getting much better."

"It's still not good enough, though," Kurogane murmured to himself.

"KUROGANE!"

The ninja prince turned upon hearing his sister's urgent voice. Tomoyo was walking into the rose garden with Soel and Larg perched on her shoulders, leading a very pregnant Yuui, who waddled along beside her as fast as she was able. Yuui really did look like she could burst at any time. The baby would be born any day now.

"Tomoyo, what is _she_ doing out here?" Kurogane asked, nodding toward Yuui and sheathing Ginryuu as he ran to his sisters. "I thought you said she needed to stay off her feet until it was time."

There was a moment of silence after that. For that split second, they were all expecting Fai to jump in with a comment about what a softie Kurogane was, but there was only silence. Tomoyo was the one to finally break that painful silence.

"She wanted to be here. Kurogane…Kaa-san is awake."

"What?!"

Instead of responding, Tomoyo and Yuui stepped aside to reveal who was entering the garden behind them. Chitose and Amaterasu, with Amaterasu leaning against Chitose as they walked. She looked very weak and tired, but she was awake…and clearly herself again.

Standing in shocked silence for a moment, Kurogane suddenly rushed forward. Chitose stood back as the young man swept his mother into his arms, trying to be careful of the bump in her stomach as he held her close. Even with the added weight of the child, she seemed to weigh almost nothing. When had she gotten to be so much smaller than him?

"I'm so sorry, Kurogane," she cried in his ear, speaking her child's name with her own lips for the first time in so long. "That _creature_ was going to kill you. He whispered it to me every night when he took me. I knew what was happening…I could see it…but I couldn't say anything. I couldn't stop it. I'm sorry. It's my fault. I let him get close to me. He might have _killed_ you!"

"Shh," Kurogane shushed his mother, almost as if he were calming a child. "The only one to blame is _him_ …and the rest of us should have seen it sooner."

"I'm glad…that you and your sister are safe," she said when he finally released her, though he continued to support her. "The things he said…every morning, I was terrified that someone would come to me with the news that you'd been killed in your sleep and Tomoyo had been raped."

"We're fine," Kurogane reassured her. "And we're going to make that bastard pay for the things he's done. We're going to make all of them pay."

"You've…got a new sword," she said softly as she noticed the silver hilt at his waist.

"Yes. It's a magic sword. I'll be able to fight our enemies with Ginryuu."

"Tomoyo and Yuui-san have been telling me everything that's been happening with themselves and you and Fai-san. I'm sorry you've had to hide it for so long."

"You're not angry?" he asked as he led her to a bench to sit down. "You've no problem with the fact that I mean to have no heir unless it comes from him?"

"I'm afraid there's no time for anger. Right now we need to focus on staying alive."

"Yuui's called a council," Tomoyo explained as she led Yuui over to sit by their mother. Chitose came behind them. "The others should be here soon. Kaa-san needs to know what's been happening."

Just as Tomoyo said, it didn't take long for the other members of their group to gather in the garden. Those that were already there were joined by Watanuki, Himawari, Doumeki, Sakura, Subaru, Clef, Yue, Kero, Souma, Kujaku, Yukito, Chi, and, amazingly enough, Kamui. The captain had spent most of his time over the last month sitting in Fuuma's old quarters. He hadn't spoken to anyone in all that time and had neither slept nor eaten, but he emerged now, looking a little more alive than anyone had seen him in the months since the loss of Fai, Clow, Fuuma, and Kotori. Once Amaterasu had been informed of the happenings during the time of her enslavement and coma, and Yuui had revealed that she had been in contact with Syaoran and knew of events in Valeria, talk began on how best to proceed.

"I would say that the most immediate problem is that parasite growing in Amaterasu-chan's womb," Kujaku noted callously while still smiling. "It's an enemy right in our midst and I think it ought to be gotten rid of."

"No," Amaterasu, Yuui, Tomoyo, Sakura, Himawari, and Chi all chorused, vehemently and immediately.

"Kaa-san, it's _his_ baby. It's a threat to everything. You really _should_ get rid of it," Kurogane insisted, trying to control his anger at his mother's stubbornness. He had almost lost her, and he _still_ might lose her.

"Your Highness, you don't seem to understand that this child will kill you," Watanuki tried to explain. "Being mortal, you are simply not strong enough to bear this child. Its existence will drain away your life and your body will be broken when it is born. The only thing we can conceivably do for you would be to…terminate this pregnancy."

"Even though it is entering the final term?" Amaterasu asked softly as she placed a hand on her swollen belly.

"Even so. It would be best for _you_."

The queen shook her head. "It is _never_ best for a mother to choose to kill her baby."

"But…wouldn't it be difficult…to kill a fey baby?" Souma asked tentatively.

"Not so difficult," Watanuki began sadly. "For all fey have a reputation of being impossible to kill, it is very easy for us to choose suicide. All one need do is truly wish to end one's life…and one would simply fade away. It would be the same, if not easier, for a child. The practice of exposure has been used before, but it is not the exposure itself that kills the child. A fey child could survive most anything if it really wanted to. What kills the child is the feeling that it is unloved…unwanted. Fey children mature much faster than human children and they are able to perceive such things earlier. Left out in the cold…helpless, unfed, unattended…what else would a baby think exists but cold and darkness and pain? The child would simply decide not to live anymore…that life isn't something worth living…and fade back into nothingness."

"That…that's so awful," Yuui whispered, struggling to choke back tears. So close to giving birth herself, it was the most horrible thing she could imagine - a child _choosing_ to die. Dying because you were unwanted…was there a worse fate? All of the mothers seemed to agree with this sentiment, fighting to hold back extreme reactions of horror, grief, and despair.

"Enough of this talk," Amaterasu commanded decisively, knowing that the young woman beside her didn't need this sort of emotional shock when she was clearly very near her time. "It's _my_ decision. Maybe it _will_ kill me, and perhaps it _is_ Kyle's child, but it is also _my_ child. I will not kill my child…even if it is a choice between the two of us. That is the way of this world, after all. The older generations must die to make way for the new. Hundreds of women before me have died giving birth to children. I have given what I can to this life. What makes me any different from them? Why murder this child for something that isn't its fault? This baby had no control over who fathered it."

"But why should _you_ have to die for something you never wanted?" Kurogane asked angrily. "Nihon still needs you, Kaa-san."

_**I** _ _still need you! I'm not_ _**ready** _ **_!_ **

"That's enough, Kurogane. My mind is made up. There are more important matters at hand. How is the situation in Valeria?" Amaterasu asked Watanuki.

"It isn't good. The Oni are ravaging the country and refugees are still coming to the capital. We are doing what we can, but there have been food shortages in the city. Nihon is under the control of the Dark Court and Valeria is in flames. There is nowhere else for the survivors to go. There has been talk of bringing the refugees to Faerie, but transporting so many would be difficult…next to impossible without risking many lives. The Dark Court will never allow us to remove the populace safely. The only help to be had for Valeria is to find some way of ending the Oni's siege of Cephiro."

"Can it be done?"

"From where we're standing, no. The two sides are equally matched. Oni against the Guard battalions, with neither side able to gain an advantage over the other, and while Nihon has superior numbers, they have no healers. Darkness is no home for healing magic. The Valerians have the benefit of our healers on their side. Fewer of them die in battle. The combatants are equal to the letter. There are only two possibilities right now. Either we find some kind of advantage over the Oni…or Kusanagi-san gathers enough people to form a decent resistance in order to aid Valeria. We've been in contact with him, but he says their numbers are nowhere near enough to be of any help. He is still trying, though."

"And what of Prince Fai?" Amaterasu asked, finally touching on the most sensitive subject. For a long moment, no one answered. Yuui was the one to finally come forward.

"Once my daughter is born, a group of us will strike out for the Shirahime Mountains. We will enter the Dark Court and rescue him. We will bring him back alive."

"Your pangs could begin at any moment, young princess. I would be thinking about who is to go on this quest for your brother. You will need strength, but certainly not much in the way of numbers."

"I know it," Yuui said softly, pressing a hand to her stomach. Everything would be decided by when her child decided to be born, and she knew it would be soon. The little girl was constantly restless. There had been many days recently where she'd had to stay on her back all day because moving just hurt too much. The bruises were constant now and her ribs ached constantly from all of the movement. Whenever she could get herself to stand and move about, her back ached liked she'd just carried a heavy load a hundred miles without rest. She knew it would be better for the baby if she slept, but she also knew that if she did, she wouldn't wake up, which could potentially be even worse for the baby. All she could do was eat properly and abstain from too much physical exertion.

"And you, Kamui-san? What do you intend to do about this Fuuma-san?" Amaterasu asked the silent faerie. Kamui locked eyes with her, holding her gaze for a moment before answering.

"I will get him back. I'll free him from the Sakurazukamori's spell."

_Even knowing what that means…_

" _Oh!_ " Yuui suddenly cried out very sharply, bending over and clutching her stomach.

"Yuui! What's wrong?!" Tomoyo asked, quickly kneeling in front of the older princess.

"I…I think that was my first real contraction," she said weakly. She had experienced several small ones over the past few weeks, but something felt different about this one. Something told her that this was the real thing. The baby kicked her hard, as if to say, 'I'm coming now, Kaa-san. I hope you're ready for me'.

"Are you sure, Yuui-chan?" Sakura asked worriedly, quickly taking up a place beside Tomoyo.

"I'm…pretty sure. I think today's going to be the day."

"Well, if it's only just beginning, I say it's time we moved back into the sithen," Subaru said, trying to keep calm for Yuui.

"But…is it safe to move her?" Himawari questioned.

"We'll have several hours before we need to worry," Amaterasu reassured her. "And from what you've told me, it won't take long to get back there."

"That's true. Besides, as you know, we need to get Yuui-hime back to the sithen in order to get her back to the other side. She must give birth in the sacred labyrinth."

"Wait a minute. What's this about the labyrinth? No one ever told me about that," Yuui said, glancing around at her guardians. All of the guardians glanced at each other. Had they really forgotten to mention that?

"Forgive us, my princess. We seem to expect you to know more than you should. It is tradition for members of the royal bloodline to give birth in the labyrinth. Children born there will be granted protection. Royalty are not permitted spells to dull the pain of birth either."

"What?" Sakura asked incredulously. "I thought you said this could be dangerous. Giving birth is painful enough as it is. Can you really afford to go by tradition in this case?"

"That is the way it has always been done and the way we must do it now," Watanuki explained. "Otherwise there are none in Faerie who would accept her as their queen. Birth is the threshold where queens prove their worth. If one cannot handle the trials of giving birth, then one is not strong enough to rule. This is Yuui-chan's test."

"But-" Sakura started to interrupt.

"No…Okaa-san," Yuui stepped in. "I can handle a little pain. If I have to do this, then I have to do this."

For a moment, Sakura was stunned into silence by the sound of the word 'Mother' from her daughter's lips, but she was soon arguing again, not wanting that daughter to have to suffer as much as she knew she would.

"You don't know what you're saying, Yuui. You don't _know_ how painful it is, even _with_ charms and herbs. You'll have nothing if you listen to them. You'll beg for death before it's over."

"Then I'll beg," Yuui responded calmly. "But I won't die…I _can't_. You don't know how much pain Fai's suffered in our eighteen years. I don't see why I shouldn't take a little bit of that burden."

"Words truly worthy of our queen," Kujaku said, but Yuui couldn't quite manage to look at him or acknowledge the praise. His expression and the timbre of his voice still reminded her too much of Seishiro.

"Well, if we've got somewhere to be, why are we all standing around here?" Kurogane asked gruffly as he went to Yuui and lifted her from the bench fairly easily. Yuui smiled weakly and Tomoyo and Souma both giggled as he carried her over to Kero and deposited her on his back. "Let's get a move on."

The winged lion briefly raised an eyebrow, but didn't protest. He would have made the offer anyway, since Yuui really didn't need to be moving around. Yuui was about to thank the two of them when another contraction suddenly seized her and she decided to remain quiet for a bit. She rested her head in the sun guardian's mane and dug her fingers into the warm fur, trying hard not to cry out.

"We must make ready to leave," Clef finally announced. "Everyone must be ready to go within the hour."

XxX

"Taking a break?" Koryu heard Fuuma asking as the older faerie came to stand beside him. He was sitting on a bluff overlooking the fields that surrounded Cephiro. The once fertile land had been painted red by the tides of battle. The Oni didn't really need him to lead them in battle. Left to their own devices, the demons would constantly be seeking out a new enemy to devour. The only thing they needed a master for was to tell them whom to attack and when to stop. Some days when Koryu found himself tired of the battle, he would find a less crowded place to watch the action from.

"Something like that. I just don't feel like fighting right now. I'm bored with it." He was actually thinking of heading over to Shirasagi to find a human to lie with. Battle was, he had discovered, an amazing way to maintain his strength for control over the Oni, but he did still feel a need for the old methods on occasion.

"Do you _know_ what happened to your cousin?" Fuuma asked out of the blue.

"I never asked," Koryu replied pointedly, not looking up at Fuuma. While he knew that the former lord was supposed to be on their side, he still found it difficult to talk to him sometimes.

"As well you shouldn't have. It may well have earned you death; but have you honestly never once wondered what, exactly, became of Lord Kokuyo Satani?"

"I've wondered…if for no other reason than to stop myself from making the same mistake someday."

"He fell in love," Fuuma said bluntly.

"Excuse me?" Koryu asked, finally turning to glance up at Fuuma.

"You heard me."

"But…that's…impossible. He was _Kokuyo_ , for crying out loud! He would never fall in love with anyone."

"You're certain? Did he ever talk to you about a wind spirit he was seeing?"

"Sort of," Koryu started, thinking back. "He told me he was trying to get this blonde wind faerie into bed…but that was a while before he disappeared."

"Don't you remember hearing the rumors that he'd stopped sleeping around?"

"Oh, I remember those," the Oni lord responded automatically. "I just didn't think for one minute that they could possibly be true. Even if he'd lessened the number for a while, there had to be somebody out there that Kokuyo was sleeping with."

"The rumors _were_ true. Once he became fixated on that one woman, sex stopped mattering to him. Hisui is her name."

"The wind master that never saw battle? You've _got_ to be kidding me!" he burst out, suddenly on his feet. "Kokuyo would never have gone that far for a servant of Clow!"

"He did. What makes that so impossible to believe?"

"He kept his hold on the Oni right to the very end. There's no way love could give you that kind of power. It takes blood…battle… _sex_. Falling for a servant of the light…that would have made him weak. Kokuyo wasn't weak."

"And it never occurred to you that maybe love might be a stronger force than all of those things?"

"Even if that _is_ what happened…what happened to Kokuyo? Did Yuuko execute him for the betrayal?"

"No. He's still alive. The queen put him to sleep…and he lies sleeping in faerie under Hisui's care. That's why she's never seen battle. She won't leave his side. They glow for each other."

"Pfft, glowing. Who cares?" Koryu said dismissively. "The old ways are dying."

"And are you really happy about that?"

"I…"

"Your father discovered the same power as Kokuyo, you know."

"How would _you_ know a thing like that? My mother was the only one who knew my father's name and she wouldn't even tell _me_ who he was. Why would _you_ even know who my father was?"

"If you'll remember, I have a Hand of Seeing. The truth of it is written in your blood, plain to be read upon your skin to my eyes."

Koryu's eyes widened briefly. He at least knew _that_ was true. So…could it be…?

"You know who my father was?"

"I do…and while he was the first to discover that love is the strongest fuel that one can have to exert control over the Oni…he also paid a heavy price to experience that love."

"Who?!" Koryu demanded fiercely. "Tell me who my father was!"

"Are you certain you want to know? What I tell you won't be anything but the truth," Fuuma warned him.

"I'm sure. I _need_ to know. Tell me."

"Koryu Satani…you are not only Kokuyo Satani's cousin. You are his brother, as well…fully. No half-siblings are the two of you. You both share the same parents and the same blood. Lord Akuma Satani was your father."

"Akuma?" Koryu murmured, swallowing hard. "But…but my mother was his sister…"

"That is also true. When Akuma could not have the one he loved, it drove him to madness and he coupled with his twin sister, Lady Sonsei Satani, and together they conceived a child. Not just one child, either. It didn't stop there. You are the final result of the sins of Akuma and Sonsei Satani."

It didn't occur to Koryu to accuse Fuuma of lying. He had no _reason_ to lie to him, and Koryu didn't think he had the will, either. What was he but Seishiro's plaything, after all?

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked, keeping fairly calm, considering what he'd just learned.

"Because you asked me."

"But you knew I would ask the moment you brought it up," he countered. Contrary to popular belief, he was not a fool. "So why?"

"Because it's something you ought to know when you think on what it is that you really want."

"And what do I really want?" he asked snidely. He had heard about this portion of Fuuma's power…that he knew what it was that every heart truly desired.

"Love."

"Love, Fuuma? Really? I'm not some abandoned child crying for his parents."

"That isn't what I meant. I don't mean that you want to _be_ loved. I mean that you want _to_ love…but you aren't free to openly acknowledge or love the one that you want to."

Koryu wanted to respond with a sharp come back, but honestly, there was nothing he could say. If Fuuma was talking about what he _thought_ he was talking about, then he was right.

"You gave Kyle your word that you would keep the secret, but now that it's actually happening, is it a secret that you _can_ keep? You ought to think on that…and what fate befell your parents…the next time you speak with Kyle."

"But…why should one small matter…something as insignificant as _this_ …complicate things so much?"

Instead of answering, Fuuma glanced behind him, back toward the battle, and his face instantly brightened. "Well, it looks like it's time. Remember what I've said, Koryu."

"Time for what?!" Koryu shouted after him as he leapt back into the thick of battle, soon disappearing from sight.

_Just what does he expect me to do? Why should people believe me over Kyle?_

XxX

"Sakura, you really don't need to pace like that," Yukito said gently.

Upon arriving back at the sithen, they had set up something of a waiting room in Clow's old bedchamber. Both Yukito and Kakei had examined Yuui and agreed that, even though she was experiencing contractions, she wasn't quite dilated enough to have entered active labor yet. She was close, though. They had decided that when she was open enough, they would make the move to the labyrinth to continue with the birth. For the moment, the two physicians had her on the bed on all fours, to help the baby shift into position, they said. Other than them, the room contained mostly women. Tomoyo was sitting on the bed next to Yuui, soothingly rubbing her shoulders and wiping away any perspiration that happened to gather. Soel and Larg were dancing for the two princesses, being careful not to bounce the bed too hard. Himawari was sitting about as far away from Yuui as she was able. She'd almost opted not to be present, but Yuui had insisted. Sakura had been sitting beside her before she'd started to pace. The only other male present was Subaru, incase his healing powers happened to be needed. Everyone else was waiting out in the sitting room. They had been trying to keep the atmosphere calm for Yuui's benefit, and it had been working until Sakura had begun to pace.

"You know perfectly well that it won't make the baby come any faster," Yukito continued to chide her.

"I know. It isn't that. I have absolute faith that you'll deliver Yuui's daughter in perfect health. I mean, look at Yuui," she said, smiling softly at her daughter. "It…it's Syaoran."

"The king? What about him?"

"He wanted to be told when Yuui went into labor…and I can't contact him. It must mean that he's out fighting. They would have told me if something had happened. I…I feel that he needs me now…and I cannot help."

_YUUI-SAMA! YUUI-SAMA, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!_

Yuui cried out in pain, a contraction seizing her body at the very same moment that the desperate cry exploded in her head. The others immediately gathered around her, demanding to know what was wrong, but she held up a hand to indicate that she was fine and that she needed a moment.

_I…I hear you, Ransho-san, but I'm…kind of going into labor. What is it?_

_Oh…I'm sorry, but I thought I should tell you…Syaoran is engaged in combat with Fuuma._

" _What?!_ " she shouted aloud.

_I'm so sorry, my princess. I couldn't stop it. My cousin will not be deterred from this battle. He's just toying with the king now. I'm trying to intervene, but-_

_He'll kill him. He'll kill him. My Goddess, he'll kill him!_

_Yuui-sama, calm down! You can't let this affect your labor._

_But he's going to_ _**kill** _ _him! He'll do it…because Syaoran is_ _**my** _ _father._

"Please…someone…someone activate the mirror," she grunted, pointing toward the large mirror set up on the wall opposite the bed.

"Why?" Subaru asked as he moved to the mirror and placed a hand on it.

"I want to see the battle."

"Absolutely not," Yukito tried to step in. "Not this close to labor."

"Do it, Subaru-san!" Yuui ordered. "Fuuma-san is fighting Syaoran-sama."

The reactions around her were all of horror, but Sakura's was the most violent.

"Oh, God!" she cried out in shock, her face growing frantic as she darted to Subaru. "Please! You've got to do it! I've _got_ to see him!"

Subaru kept his own reactions in check as he summoned up an image of the battlefield on the glass surface.

"Show me my father!" Yuui commanded firmly. The image instantly focused in on a single desperate fight. Syaoran and Fuuma were locked together in heated combat, with Syaoran trying his hardest to throw Fuuma off. Ransho was on the fringes of the duel, constantly trying to step in, but Fuuma kept throwing him aside, always going for Syaoran.

"Why can't the earth general do something?" Yukito asked. "He can take that sword to the chest and still survive it, right?"

"That's just it. He can't. Not that sword. Fuuma wields Assassin's Hand in this fight," Kakei explained sadly. "That blade is feared by all in Faerie. It has magic such that no one could survive a fatal wound from it. A human wouldn't even survive a scratch."

"Oh, God! Oh, God!" Sakura screamed upon hearing this. She pounded her fist against the glass. "Get out of there, Syaoran! You've _got_ to get out of there! He'll kill you! He'll kill you!"

Indeed, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the former lord truly meant to kill the Valerian king. If Assassin's Hand pierced his skin even slightly, it would be all over for Syaoran. Himawari moved closer to Sakura in an effort to calm her, but it did little to soothe the distraught queen. Still trying to keep the room calm, Kakei and Yukito both agreed that it was time for another examination and Yuui nodded her approval. She was barefoot and dressed in nothing but a white silk slip; so all that was needed in order to examine the dilation of her birth canal was to raise the skirt of the slip. Once they had checked everything out, Yukito and Kakei easily reached a consensus.

"Already a little wider than three centimeters," Yukito reported.

"We should probably start making the move to the labyrinth," Kakei suggested.

"No. Not yet," Yuui insisted. Her eyes hadn't left her two mothers once since the mirror had been activated. Slowly, she crawled to the edge of the bed. "Tomoyo, could you please help me up?"

Tomoyo complied, slowly helping her lover to get to her feet. Then Yuui began to make her way to the mirror, where the others were watching the battle with bated breath.

"Yuui-hime…what are you doing? We shouldn't be delaying for too long," Subaru pointed out.

"I know…just a little bit longer," she murmured as she took Sakura's hand in hers, just as worried as she was. Sakura took note of the contact, but she was too focused on Syaoran to really acknowledge it.

"Please, please, please," the queen prayed over and over again. She winced with every single blow Fuuma threw at her husband.

Then, quite suddenly, Fuuma's gaze turned and he seemed to be staring right at them…as if he _knew_ they were watching. Then, just as quickly, he turned his attention back to Syaoran. Moving faster than any human eye could track, he slipped beneath the king's attack and plunged Assassin's Hand directly into his stomach.

Syaoran cried out in pain and shock as he fell to his knees. Fuuma smirked down at him for a moment as he buried the blade in his adversary's stomach all the way up to the hilt. Then he whipped it right back out, spraying blood everywhere. Syaoran grunted in pain, struggling for breath as he gazed defiantly up at his foe.

It took everyone that long to realize just what it was that had happened, it happened so fast.

"NO!" Sakura screamed in anguish, throwing her hands forward as if she meant to ram right through the glass. Without thinking, both Himawari and Yuui reached forward to grab her wrists, hoping to keep her from falling, but the moment Sakura's hands found the mirror, the thrum of power instantly resounded within everyone present. There was a brief flash of light and the two mothers and their daughter vanished as if they had never been.

"W-what just happened?" Subaru asked softly, still not quite comprehending. "Were they taken?"

"No," Kakei whispered, a fairly transcendent look passing over his face. "They were taken to the battlefield. I believe Sakura's just developed another Hand."

"But…but Yuui was in _labor_. If that's where they've gone, then we have to get them out of there!" Tomoyo insisted vehemently.

XxX

It took no more than the blink of an eye - and instead of the calm atmosphere of the bedchamber, Yuui found herself right in the middle of the battle. "What…where…?" she mumbled in confusion.

"This shouldn't be able to happen," Himawari said nervously.

"Oh, my. What have we here?" Fuuma's voice suddenly sounded in their ears.

"Syaoran!" Sakura cried out, quickly racing to her fallen husband and gathering him in her arms. Yuui waddled after her mother and Himawari quickly moved to stand between them and Fuuma.

"Sa…kura?" he whispered, weakly reaching a hand up to touch her cheek.

"Hold on, Tou-san. I can fix this. Really, I can," Yuui tried to reassure them, but as she placed her hands on the bleeding wound, another contraction seized her body and she curled up in pain. Syaoran tried to speak, but coughed up a small gush of blood instead.

"Don't…don't speak, Syaoran. You need to save your strength," Sakura murmured soothingly as tears spilled down her face. He smiled reassuringly, though that smile was soaked with blood.

"Too…late…"

"Don't say that!"

"…I'll wait…Sakura…I…I love-"

With his lips still forming the last word, King Syaoran Fluorite breathed his last and died in his wife's arms. Sakura gave one keening cry of grief and buried her face in Syaoran's still chest, sobbing

_You…you_ _**can't** _ _go! Don't leave me here! What will I do without you?! SYAORAN!_

"Oh, God," Yuui whispered in horror as she stared at her dead father.

_I could have saved him! I could have healed him…but I wasn't fast enough. This is_ _**my** _ _fault. Oh, God, it's all my fault!_

"Now how is it that you find yourselves here?" Fuuma asked Himawari as he glanced over her shoulder at the grieving family.

"I don't know," Himawari admitted, keeping herself firmly between Yuui and harm. "It shouldn't be possible to reach this world unless you travel through Spirit Lake."

"That baby's just about to pop, isn't it? Why don't we welcome her properly?" her former friend suggested snidely as he started to push past her. Himawari pushed right back.

"You will not _touch_ Yuui," she said firmly, threateningly. Her eyes promised danger, and the old Fuuma would have heeded that threat.

"But that's also _my_ little one she's carrying," he reminded her. "Why shouldn't I want to see my daughter born?"

"Stay away!" she shouted, shoving him back yet again.

_HIMAWARI-CHAN?! HIMAWARI-CHAN, WHERE ARE YOU?!_

Good. Watanuki and the others were on their way.

 _Hurry. Hurry, Kimihiro-nii-san_ , she called softly to him in her thoughts…and it was this that told Watanuki that something was wrong. She never called him Kimihiro _or_ big brother. Something was _dreadfully_ wrong.

"You're trying my patience, Himawari," Fuuma warned, making another bid at getting around her.

" _Stay back!_ " she shouted, throwing her arms wide and summoning up a small barrier behind her, sealing Yuui, Sakura, and the dead king inside.

"Himawari!" Yuui cried out in fear.

"I must admit you've got a lot of heart. Let's see just how strong it really is." With that, Fuuma plunged his hand directly into her chest, wrapping his fingers tightly around her heart. Himawari threw her head back, crying out in pain, but she did not release the shield.

"HIMAWARI!" Yuui shouted, struggling toward the barrier her adoptive mother had created and pounding her fists against it.

"Impressive…but what if I do _this_?" he asked, digging his fingers into the beating organ. Himawari screamed as she felt her heart crushed. A small stream of blood rushed up her throat and trickled from her mouth, but still the barrier remained intact. Yuui continued to scream, pounding against the magic field as if she could break through it.

 _Yuui-chan, calm down_ , she soothed, reaching out for the girl's mind. _Panicking isn't going to help the baby. You'll be devastated if you lose your child. I won't have that._

_But he's_ _**hurting** _ _you!_

_I can take it. Whatever he does to me, I'll survive it. The wound is healing already._

_What about Assassin's Hand?_

_It's on the ground three feet behind him. If he goes for it, I can transport myself inside the barrier. Calm down._

"Fuuma-san, stop! _Please_ stop!" Yuui cried desperately. "This isn't _you!_ Don't hurt Himawari! Don't you- _Ah!_ " Her protests were suddenly cut off by another contraction.

"Yuui!" Sakura cried out, moving toward her daughter while still clutching her husband's body to her chest.

_Sakura-sama, do you hear me?_

_I…I hear you._

_Kimihiro and the others will be here soon. When I release this barrier, I want you to be ready to run. They will take you to safety._

_But…what about Syaoran?_

_I'm sorry, but he's gone. There's nothing we can do. Ransho has contacted Touya-sama. He will come for him. If my plan works, there will not be any enemies left to despoil him._

_What are you going to do?_

Himawari did not respond. Instead, she drew the attention of someone else.

_Ryuuki, can you hear me?_

_Where are you, Himawari? Is the princess all right?_

_She's fine. I'm protecting her and Sakura-sama from Fuuma._

_We'll be there soon. We couldn't get away any sooner. We had to lock Tomoyo-hime in the bedchamber when she tried to come with us. We're all coming…Watanuki, Doumeki, Subaru, Kamui, Kakei, Kero, even Kurogane and Souma. We won't be able to get back to Faerie, though._

_Why not?_

_Seishiro was there. We barely escaped. We may not even be able to get Yuui-hime into the labyrinth._

_You'll find a way. You_ _**must** _ _. But for now, you can't come to us. You need to gather the other masters and tell them to retreat._

_Why?_

_The spell should only target our enemies, but I can't truly guarantee anyone's safety. I want you all to be as far away from here as possible. Ransho has already told Touya-sama to have his generals order a full retreat._

_What are you going to do?_

_You'll see._

_Himawari, you can't be thinking of using the Wolf's Paw! You_ _**can't** _ _do it! It nearly killed you last time!_

_OBEY MY ORDERS, RYUUKI! You've_ _**got** _ _to retreat!_

Throughout all of this, Fuuma's hand had remained inside her chest cavity. He would allow her crushed heart to heal; then he would crush it anew. It was excruciating, but she endured it. She would _always_ endure it. Though it didn't help that she could feel Yuui attempting to break through her barrier with her magic. They were both fighting to keep the other from getting hurt. Neither will would break. The only difference was that Yuui's concentration would now and again be broken by a contraction.

"Stop! Please stop it!" she begged.

"Dear Yuui-chan, if you want me to stop, all you need do is come out here. I want to see our little girl."

_You're not going anywhere, Yuui-chan. You_ _**won't** _ _get through that shield._

_Himawari, I'm_ _**begging** _ _you! Just come inside the barrier!_

_Only if I must. While I'm still out here, I serve as a distraction. If I were to come inside, then he would concentrate all his efforts on breaking the shield…and he would eventually. I can't hold it against him. Don't worry. The others are coming. They'll be here soon._

Himawari's will alone could have endured forever. Unfortunately, a body does not always match a will. Just when the animal sprite was on the verge of passing out, she heard Watanuki's voice calling out to her, renewing her strength.

"HIMAWARI!" Watanuki screamed as he and the other guardians burst through the haze of battle that surrounded them. Gratefully, the beleaguered faerie allowed her shield to drop, making way for their rescuers to converge on Yuui and Sakura.

Kakei, Kero, Kurogane, and Souma went straight for Yuui, preventing her from stepping in between Fuuma and Himawari. Kakei immediately went to examine her, struggling to hold her back while he worked. Her hands were covered in blood, but once he had ascertained that it was Syaoran's and not hers, he reassured her friends that she was unhurt.

Doumeki and Subaru went for Sakura, separating her from Syaoran's body as gently as they could. Sakura clung to Subaru, sobbing in grief.

Watanuki and Kamui stood on either side of Fuuma. Watanuki was ready to attack but Kamui's sword was unsteady in his hands.

 _Keep it together, Kamui. You promised us that you would. You have a duty to your princess_ , Watanuki reminded him.

"Fuuma…why are you doing this? She's your friend," Kamui said weakly. Slowly, Fuuma turned his head to look at him.

"I'm doing this because it's what _she_ wants."

_Kimihiro-nii-san, all of our forces are retreating. You've got to get these two to safety._

_I know…but what are_ _**you** _ _going to do?_

_What I must. Everything is for her…her and Fai…our babies._

_Imouto…?_

Himawari shook her head as she slowly raised her hands to grip Fuuma's arm. There was no time for long goodbyes.

_Yuui-chan…this is goodbye._

"What are you _talking_ about?!" Yuui cried aloud, fighting against her captors to get to her mother.

_It's all right. You'll be fine. I won't be able to hurt you where I'm going._

"NO! Yuui shrieked, breaking free of the arms that restrained her and running to Himawari, wrapping her arms around her from behind. "You don't have to do this!"

_This is the only way. I love you…my Yuui. You and your brother were a miracle for me, too. You will always be my babies. Take care of yourself._

"No! No! I love you, too! Don't go away! Don't leave me like Fai did!"

"I love you."

Yuui suddenly felt arms wrap around her and pull her away from Himawari. Then they were running, and Himawari was already shrinking in her vision.

"No! _Wait!_ KAA-SAN!" she shrieked.

"Go, child," Himawari whispered.

"You know what will happen, don't you?" Fuuma asked her.

"I know…but she'll be okay. Tomoyo-chan will wake her with a kiss."

"They fled, you know? When your own soldiers retreated, the Oni scattered."

"They won't escape…not from this."

"Why choose this path?"

"The Sakurazukamori will not understand…but Fuuma would have. There are more than just the three of us. Yuui has many protectors now. I'm where I need to be. My talents are of more use to her here."

"She'll hate you for this."

"For a while, yes…but she'll remember me."

"Will you kill this body?"

"Maybe you _were_ the one to hold me when I drew my first breath…and you will be here when I breathe my last…but for them, I will not hesitate."

"Heh, all right. I'll let you try. Who knows? You might even succeed."

_Mother Wolf, there is one who would harm a child. With the power that the Goddess gave you, let us vanquish those that would dare to harm our cub. Howl with me. Lend me your strength!_

With that, Himawari shrieked, unleashing the howl of the wolf that was in her. As her power was channeled forth through her voice, the very air exploded with white light.

Watching from the borders of Celes, Yuui screamed in grief and anguish when the world turned white. She knew that her mother was gone.

"NOO! KAA-SAN!" she shrieked, throwing her pain-filled face skyward, railing at the heavens. Even Doumeki had trouble keeping a hold of her struggling form.

_Damn you, Kunogi._

"Himawari…" Watanuki said softly, mournfully.

"What did…she do?" Kurogane asked. He had never seen such power.

"It is called the Hand of the Wolf…though we mostly call it Wolf's Paw. Such a gift has only been seen twice before in our history…and only mothers have possessed it," Kakei began to explain. "She used it once before…but at such an awesome height of power…the spell takes the wielder's life."

"She killed the Oni…all who could not escape in time…and few did. The Wolf's Paw targets those who would harm loved ones," Subaru continued. "For the moment, she has bought Valeria respite. She may have even killed Fuuma."

"She didn't," Kamui said firmly. "He's still out there. I know it." No one was certain whether or not to take the unstable captain at his word.

"Kaa-san, I'm _sorry!_ I didn't mean _any_ of it! I don't blame you at all for not telling us the truth! I love you, Kaa-san! _Are you listening?!_ " Yuui sobbed helplessly, her struggles growing weaker at the pain of the contractions.

"We need to get her somewhere safe," Doumeki said softly, drawing all of them back into the present.

XxX

Even though they had only been away for two months, Celes was already starting to overtake their cottage once again. The foliage was creeping in from the outside and everything was covered with a fine layer of dust. It had been the only option, though. Seishiro was waiting for them at Spirit Lake and they'd discovered that the Water Guard was battling what remained of the Oni in the area for control of the entrance to the labyrinth.

Doumeki had carried Yuui up to the twins' old room and Sakura and Kakei had followed. Kakei had examined the princess once again and determined her to be at four centimeters dilation. Labor still seemed to be progressing normally, if not a tiny bit fast. They had to find some way of getting her to the labyrinth soon.

Sakura was currently sitting on Yuui's bed with her back resting against the headboard and Yuui's head in her lap. She ran her fingers through her daughter's short hair as they cried silently together.

_I'm sorry, Tomoyo. I tried…really, I did, but this is just too much. I'll be waiting for you…my love._

XxX

"How exactly did they get there in the first place?" Doumeki heard Kurogane asking as he and Kakei came down the stairs. "Isn't the lake supposed to be the only pathway?"

"As I was trying to explain before," Kakei began. "I believe, in her moment of desperation, Sakura developed a Hand of Power…the ability to travel through mirrors. I've never seen such a thing, but Hands dealing with alternate methods of teleportation are not unheard of. Perhaps if we could get the queen a mirror, _she_ could get us into the labyrinth. Once inside, we would be protected."

"Where's Watanuki?" Doumeki asked. Subaru pointed off down the hallway that led to their three bedrooms. Doumeki nodded and disappeared down the hallway, unsurprised to find Watanuki in Himawari's room, curled up on the bed. Doumeki quickly went and sat beside him, pulling him to face him. His face was streaked with tears.

"I failed her. I failed her so many times…my little sister…and now I'll never be able to make up for it!"

Doumeki silently pulled the younger faerie into his arms, gently rubbing his back as he held him. "If you believe that," he whispered in his ear, "then you truly are an idiot."

Watanuki smiled ruefully as he gave Doumeki's side a half-hearted punch. For a moment, he pulled back from the weather spirit and gazed uncertainly at him. Doumeki stared back. Hesitantly, he leaned forward. So much had been lost already. What did he risk losing…if he was rejected? Anything? Everything? _Nothing?_ Was it his imagination…or was Doumeki leaning toward him, too?

Just as their lips brushed tenderly together in a searching kiss, a harrowing scream sounded from overhead. The two guardians were on their feet and up the stairs before the others had even reacted, but they were hot on their heels.

Sakura was clutching Yuui to her chest, screaming and sobbing.

"Sh-she fell asleep! She won't wake up! _She's gone!_ "

Indeed, Yuui had fallen still and silent. Her body was cold and the healthful color had left her skin. The sleep of death had conquered and claimed both twins.

"Goddess protect us," Subaru whispered in horror.


	29. The Nightingale Her Troubadour

Locked in.

She was completely closed in - trapped with no way out - no way to help Yuui.

Tomoyo had fought tooth and nail to go with the others when they'd left so suddenly to go and rescue Yuui, Himawari, and Sakura, but they had all insisted it was too dangerous and they had sealed her inside of the bedchamber, leaving her to wait anxiously for news. Yue had been posted outside the door, but he wouldn't tell her what was happening and Subaru had silenced the mirror before leaving. She had no way of knowing what was happening. Yue only said he would tell her when Yuui was safe. But she didn't need him to tell her anything. She heard Yuui herself.

_I'm sorry, Tomoyo. I tried…really, I did, but this is just too much. I'll be waiting for you…my love._

When Tomoyo heard Yuui's voice in her head, she instantly knew what was happening. She could almost swear she was _feeling_ it happen. Yuui was letting go - slipping into the darkness from which there might not be any return.

_NO! No, Yuui! You can't do this! Don't give in! You can't leave me like this! What if you can never come back?! What if you_ _**die** _ **_?!_ **

_I believe in you._

For a moment, Tomoyo felt Yuui's love, but then there was only emptiness - silence, darkness, and emptiness. Tomoyo knelt on the floor before the empty mirror, feeling the enormity of her loss crush her. She didn't know when she had ever felt so alone. It was just like before - with Fai. Kurogane hadn't been able to get to him. They'd kept him away just long enough, and they'd taken Fai away. Would they take Yuui away, too - Yuui and the baby? They _couldn't!_

"No! I _won't_ let you go!" she shouted hysterically as she raced to the bed, throwing herself down on it. She was sealed in; that much was true. She did not have the power to undo the magic that had been used to imprison her, but there was one power she _did_ still have left to her - the ability to walk in dreams. If Yuui was falling asleep, maybe she could still catch her in dreams.

"Princess Tomoyo? What are you doing in there?" Yue asked from the other side of the door. Tomoyo ignored him, willing herself to fall asleep. It didn't take much effort from her to set even one foot on the road that led to dreams.

Moments too late, Tomoyo heard the moon guardian burst into the chamber, shouting at her to stop, but she _couldn't_ stop. She was already asleep, dreaming her way to Yuui.

_She's moving, walking…steadily drifting away from her…fading into the black._

" _Yuui! Yuui, stop! Come back!" she shouts, running after her. Yuui doesn't even look back. With every passing second, her form grows dimmer and dimmer in Tomoyo's eyes. She can barely see her…and no matter how fast she runs or how far she reaches, she cannot grasp her lover in her arms._

" _Well, well, well. What do we have here? A little lost princess?" a cold voice suddenly whispers in her ear as a pair of viselike arms wrap themselves around her waist, stopping her short. Yuui continues to fade away._

" _No! Let me go! YUUI!" she screams as tears pour down her face._

" _She can't hear you," the voice explains. "She is forgetting. The love that filled her heart is leaving her…leaving her open to Darkness. As it did with Fai, it will flow into her…take her and make her its own."_

" _NO!" she cries out, still fighting her hardest. She can't even_ _ **see**_ _Yuui anymore! She can't let something horrible like_ _ **that**_ _happen to her. She just_ _ **can't**_ ** _!_**

" _It's too late. Forget about your beloved princess. If you ever see her again, you won't be able to recognize her. Once she has been known by Darkness, she will be forever changed. She won't be the girl you love anymore. It's best to remember her as she was."_

" _No! Never! I can't just give up on her like that!"_

" _Believe me, Princess, if you had followed her down that path, you would have been just as lost as she is…but if you insist on remaining trapped in the Darkness, then you can stay here with me…my dear Princess Tomoyo." As the owner of the cold voice speaks, he presses a tender kiss to her ear - and, suddenly, she knows him._

" _It's_ _ **you**_ _," she whispers in dread._

" _Yes, me," he replies softly, sliding a hand up her body and fondling one of her breasts with it. "And since you're so keen on being a prisoner…perhaps I can show you just how I deflowered Fai two years ago."_

_As he starts to reach into her yukata, Tomoyo remembers how Yuui had broken down and sobbed when she'd told her what had happened to Fai that night. She remembers the wish for death she'd seen in the boy's eyes the very next day. The guardians hadn't been able to protect Fai against Seishiro. Yuui had failed, too. Kurogane hadn't even been able to keep Fai safe from Seishiro. What chance did_ _**she** _ _have against him?_

" _NO!" she screams once more as she tears herself away from him. He releases her quite easily and she falls to the ground, quickly rolling onto her back to stare up into the cold face of the Dark Prince. "W-why are you here?"_

" _I thought you might try something like this, so I came to stop you. You can't very well break my mother's spell if you're trapped in a dream yourself. Until the time is right, you'll stay here with me…and I think I know just the perfect setting for your prison." Having said so, Seishiro waves a hand and the scenery instantly changes. The darkness fades away to be replaced by the twins' old room in the cottage in Celes. Yuui is laid out on her bed with Sakura crying over her and everyone else bustling around them like mad, trying not to think they might have just lost the one they were trying to protect._

_Tomoyo tries to go to Yuui, but finds herself stopped by a barrier. Briefly, she pounds her fists against it, but she already knows it won't give no matter what she does. She sinks to her knees, gazing across the space that separates her from her comatose lover in despair._

" _Oh, Yuui…_ _ **Yuui**_ _…" she cries softly._

_**I could have saved you. If I'd only waited, I could have come to you and broken the spell…but now we're** _ _both_ _**trapped. I was such a fool! Who's going to rescue you now, Yuui…my sweet Yuui…?** _

" _You failed her, Tomoyo-chan," Seishiro says gently as he places his hands on her shoulders. Tomoyo does nothing to shake him off. She nods her agreement, then buries her face in her hands and cries._

XxX

_She is lying naked on the ground. Gentle hands support her body, but she barely feels their tender care through the pain gripping her entire being. Her innards are on fire with agony and it feels like the opening between her legs is being torn open by a bolt of lightning. She screams to high heaven in order to relieve some of the pain, but it seems no amount of screaming or pushing will bring true release from it._

" _Come on, Yuui. You can do it. You're almost there. It's almost over. She's coming…I can see her now. You're so close, Yuui," Tomoyo's soothing voice coaches her as she appears by her side, rubbing her heaving stomach and holding her hand tightly to relieve some of the burden._

" _Oh, Tomoyo," Yuui cries weakly as tears of pain slide down her face. She grips her lover's hand for all that she's worth. "I…I can't do it. It hurts so much. I'm going to die!"_

" _Don't say things like that. You'll make it. You'll_ _ **both**_ _make it. You'll hold our daughter in your arms…and you'll name her…and you'll see her smile for the first time and sing her to sleep at night," Tomoyo reassures her. "Just a little bit more."_

_Renewed by Tomoyo's words, Yuui forces her wasted body to give one last mighty push. With a scream of agony that feels like it might split her in two, her daughter is born in a violent torrent of blood. As she collapses back on the stone floor, she hears the sweet cries of a newborn._

" _You did it. She's perfect, Yuui, absolutely perfect," Tomoyo praises as she kneels beside her once again, this time holding a tiny bundle in her arms. Yuui hears her daughter crying out for her and she can see her tiny fists waving in the air._

" _Let me hold her," she mumbles weakly, reaching out her arms for her baby._

_However, just as Tomoyo's moving to pass the little girl into her arms, her happy, smiling face twists into a mask of pain and shock. A gasp of pain leaves her lips, followed by a small fountain of blood. Yuui glances down and finds the tip of a blade protruding from her chest._

" _TOMOYO!"_

_The blade retracts as Tomoyo falls, lifeless. Yuui catches her wailing daughter as she falls from Tomoyo's grip, clutching her to her chest in terror as Fuuma appears behind Tomoyo, holding Assassin's Hand - stained with Tomoyo's blood._

" _Fuuma-san!_ _ **Why?!**_ _WHY?!" she screams, clutching her child to her all the tighter. She can't escape. Even if she_ _ **could**_ _run…there's nowhere to run to he cannot find her._

" _Because this is our fate, dear princess," he replies, smiling softly as he drops the sword and reaches forward, grabbing the baby girl's small head and crushing it in his large hand._

" _ **NOO!**_ _" Yuui shrieks, her baby's death scream filling every corner of her mind as her breast is bathed in warm blood. Fuuma kneels beside her, catching her body in his arms as it goes limp._

" _Why? Why?" she sobs over and over again as she hugs her dead child to her chest. "Why did you take them away from me? I love them. I can't_ _ **live**_ _without them!"_

_Fuuma's expression becomes rueful as he holds the mother of his child close, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. "You misunderstand, Yuui-chan. I've taken nothing away from you. It was you yourself that did that."_

" _What?" she whispers, her eyes blinking open in shock._

" _You carved your own sorrows into your path the moment you were born. This is the destiny that was laid out for you and your brother. You are fated to visit ruin and tragedy upon the world. You and the child that you shared a womb with are the wrath of Hell sent into the world disguised in fair flesh. The two of you will be the portal through which Darkness will enter this world. When the two of you become one flesh, the world of men will fall into darkness and perish and a new age will begin…an age that sees the setting of the sun and the coming of the endless night."_

" _One…flesh…" the princess whispers in horror and disgust. "You're…wrong…"_

" _I'm not. You don't have to accept what I tell you will happen in the future…and it_ _ **will**_ _happen. The two of you will lie together and find ecstasy in each other's arms in the act of creation. But you_ _ **must**_ _accept what you are. The twin prince and princess of Valeria bring disaster in their wake. All those who come into contact with you…whom you choose to love…will suffer for it. Himawari was cursed with misfortune, but the two of you…it is in your very blood. You cannot escape it…unlucky children of an unhappy bloodline. All who descend from Clow Reed's seed are fated to bring sorrow to those they love the most."_

" _I don't believe you!" Yuui screams._

" _You say that, but you know…in your heart…that what I say is the truth." As he speaks, Fuuma presses his bloodstained hand to her bare breast - against the place where her steady heartbeat could be felt, the proof of her life._

_**The proof that has been snuffed out in so many lives…because of you…** _

_The moment the guilty thought enters her mind, Yuui finds herself floating underwater, still held by Fuuma and still clutching her dead child. It isn't just water, though. Whatever liquid they're suspended in, it is red…thick, warm, and red…_

_**No…No! It can't be!** _

" _Open your mouth," Fuuma orders calmly. Yuui shakes her head. If she obeys him, if she gives in, if she acknowledges it…then she will absolutely lose it._

" _I said open your mouth," he repeats a bit more firmly as he takes hold of her jaw and attempts to force her lips open. Briefly, she struggles against him, but it's no use. He forces her mouth open, the substance rushes into her, and the metallic taste of copper fills her mouth._

" _What is it, Yuui-chan? Tell me what it is," he hisses in her ear._

" _ **BLOOD!**_ _" she shrieks. "It's blood! Dear God, it's_ _ **blood**_ _ **!** "_

" _Yes, blood. This is the blood that has been spilled for_ _ **your**_ _sake. This lake of blood exists because of you."_

" _Lake?" she whispers, dazed, uncomprehending in her shock._

" _This is Spirit Lake, Yuui-chan. It has turned red with blood. See?" he murmurs, nodding his head to something floating in front of them. Against her better judgment, Yuui follows his gaze and finds herself staring at Clow Reed's lifeless corpse. His arms drift haphazardly in front of him…as if reaching out for something. His unseeing eyes stare listlessly at nothing._

" _Grandfather?"_

" _Yuui," the half-imagined whisper drifts from the dead lips to her ears._

" _He allowed himself to be killed so that you might live. Not just him, either. Look."_

_She does. Her eyes shift away from the horrifying sight to find that the water is filled with corpses. Kotori…Himawari…Syaoran…Tomoyo…Fai…Kurogane…Souma …Subaru…Kamui…Sakura…Watanuki…Doumeki…all of them…so many…nameless and faceless corpses._

" _Why…are you all dead?" she calls softly to them, needing and dreading an answer._

" _They died for_ _ **you**_ _, Yuui-chan. They did so willingly…because they love you."_

" _But I don't…want them to die," she cries._

" _Armies have fought and died for the sake of your precious life. They die for you without ever knowing who you are…_ _ **what**_ _you really are."_

" _I never…asked anyone to fight for me. I don't want people_ _ **dying**_ _for me!"_

" _That cannot be helped. Because of who you are, as long as there are people who love you, they will die for you. They will all of them be led to the slaughter with a smile on their faces to save your life. You see, Yuui-chan, people do not kill because they hate. They kill because they love. All this violence…all in the name of love."_

" _Stop it."_

" _Himawari abhorred violence. She hated bloodshed…yet she slaughtered thousands of Oni in an instant, snuffed out countless lives, perhaps even a few innocents without meaning to. This she did because of her love for you…her precious daughter."_

" _ **Stop it!**_ _" Yuui screams desperately. She wants to block it all out, to silence the truth coming from the lips of the man who fathered her daughter, to banish the sight of everyone she loved dead in a sea of blood, and the bitter taste of it from her mouth, but it's hopeless. She can never escape from the truth of the nightmare because she knows it in her heart. All around her, the voices of the dead scream silently in her ears._

" _Can you hear them, dear Yuui-chan? Can you hear their cries? They do not grieve for themselves. Even in death, they only want you to know how much they_ _ **love**_ _you. Well, words whispered through dead lips lose their effect, perhaps?"_

" _I hear them. I can hear them all!" she sobs openly. Hatred would be better, but she only hears words of love - love that led them all to their deaths. "WHY DID YOU_ _ **DIE**_ _ **?!** "_

" _Kaa-san?" a tiny voice whispers. Yuui looks down to find the half-crushed face of her little girl blinking up at her with the green eyes that Kotori had foretold. "I love you, Kaa-san."_

_Far too shocked to scream, Yuui simply releases the tiny body, allowing it to spiral away to join the roiling sea of the dead._

" _That is why they died, Yuui-chan. This is the world that will soon be born. When you and your twin finally consummate the demon union you were born to carry out and you mate…together as one…no child will be born as a result of your coupling. When you open to your brother and he plants his seed inside of you…the world before your eyes now is the world you will create."_

_All of the fight has left Yuui. She's completely drained. She doesn't resist when the man who raped her turns her body about in his embrace - and begins to touch her. There is no_ _**reason** _ _left to fight._

" _How does that make you_ _ **feel**_ _, Yuui-chan…knowing you'll one day open your legs for your own brother? Something like_ _ **this**_ _, maybe?" he suggests, stimulating just the right spot and sending a jolt of undesired pleasure through her body._

" _No," she murmurs numbly._

" _You_ _ **are**_ _going to mate with Fai, Yuui-chan. It is going to happen. I promise you. You shared a womb and you were born together; now you will share flesh as lovers," the former lord says as he takes her for the second time in their lives. "It almost makes the things Seishiro and Fai have done seem tame, doesn't it? The passionate intercourse we shared will be all but forgotten when_ _ **he**_ _takes you. I promise you that no one else will be able to satisfy you once you've known the forbidden taste of your twin's lips…the touch of his skin. I'll just have to give you something to remember me by."_

" _F…Fuuma…Fuu…ma!"_

XxX

It really was too much. It was almost as if those two difficult months had never passed. It was as if they had never left the tower room where Fai slept.

Yuui was laid out on her bed and Sakura was kneeling beside her, holding one of her cold hands in hers and stroking her hair with the other.

"How could I let this happen?" she mumbled to herself over and over again as tears streamed silently down her face. First her son had been taken, then she had lost her husband, and now her daughter, as well. Would she lose all of them? She hadn't even allowed herself to truly feel the loss of Syaoran yet. If she acknowledged that she would never sleep by his side again, that he would never hold her close and press his lips to hers again, she would die right there. Now knowing who she was, and knowing she had fey blood, she also knew that she had nearly an eternity to spend without him. For the rest of her life she would need him, think of him, turn to say something to him, and she would never be able to reach him again.

"None of us are any less to blame, Sakura-sama," Kakei said sadly. "There wasn't anything any of us could have done."

"It'll be all right, though," Watanuki insisted as he and Subaru hurriedly went about the task of conjuring a mirror. "All we need to do is bring Princess Tomoyo here."

The three guardians had decided on the very first day that there would be no mirrors in their home. It would have left the twins far too vulnerable to being contacted by someone who would have done them harm. Unfortunately, that didn't matter anymore. If Kakei's theory was correct and Sakura could travel between the two worlds through mirrors, then they needed a mirror now. Sakura would be able to bring Tomoyo through to Yuui and they would never have to worry about facing Seishiro. Then she would be able to transport them into the labyrinth safely, as well.

"It's ready," Subaru announced grimly as he and Watanuki stepped back from the newly created mirror: a work of art set into a finely detailed, freestanding, silver frame. Much as he _wanted_ to believe that Tomoyo would be able to help…almost nothing had worked out in their favor thus far.

Doumeki was the one to finally step forward to activate the newborn mirror. He pressed his hand to the cool glass, praying with all his might for the face of Tomoyo.

"Princess?" he murmured softly as the surface faded to black. "Princess, can you hear me?"

The darkness faded away fairly quickly, but the face they'd all been so fervently praying for was not the one that came into view. Instead of long, black hair, slightly tanned skin, and violet eyes, they saw white hair, moonlight pale skin, and ice blue eyes. Yue.

"What is happening?" the moon guardian asked reservedly. "I felt…the princess…Yuui-sama…"

"She has been taken from us," Kero reported sadly as he came to stand beside Doumeki. "But there's still time. We only need to bring Princess Tomoyo to her."

Yue shook his head. "No…I'm afraid there _isn't_ any time left. You're too late."

"What are you talking about?!" Kurogane demanded, shooting up from where he'd been sitting on Fai's bed. "Where's my sister?!"

"I'm sorry, Kurogane-sama. I wasn't fast enough," Yue explained as he stood to the side to allow someone else forward - someone carrying something.

It was Lady Sai, a look of sorrow bleeding through her usually stoic countenance as she revealed what she held in her arms. Tomoyo - just as pale and unmoving as Yuui. The Mokona were perched on the clan master's shoulders, crying helplessly over the fallen princess.

"Tomoyo?" her brother whispered, uncomprehending.

"I'm sorry. We failed her. We should have left someone with her."

" _What happened?_ " Souma breathed in horror as she stared at her princess' lifeless face.

"She must have felt it…when Princess Yuui went. She tried to follow her into the dream. We cannot wake her. We've been trying. Nothing will rouse her from this sleep. She is imprisoned inside a dream. The enemy _knows_ that the princess is a dreamseer. I suspect that Yuuko is somehow behind this," Yue explained.

"No matter what we do…it seems she is always one step ahead of us," Subaru said mournfully, voicing aloud the thing everyone was thinking.

"Yue…who knows of this?" Kakei finally asked.

"Those of us who were gathered here. Amaterasu-sama did not…react well. Yukito-san and Chitose-san took her back to the sitting room to try and calm her. Saiga-san and Kujaku are with them, as well. As you know, the other lords were informed that Her Highness' labor had begun and they are on their way here. Doubtless they will already have felt that something has happened to Yuui-hime. But…Kakei-san…is everyone safe?"

Kakei shook his head. "Eagle-kun will have felt it already, but we still have the unhappy task of informing him that his only child is dead."

"Himawari-san?" Yue asked, his eyes widening.

"Yes. She gave her life to end the siege."

Yue and Sai both bowed their heads in sorrow and the two Mokona cried all the harder.

"Himawari!"

"Himawari!"

"She was much too young," Yue said softly. At the very moment he spoke, the sound of a door opening could be heard from his side of the mirror and Yukito, Kujaku, and Saiga soon came into their view.

"Oh, hello…Kakei-san," Yukito half-stammered upon seeing him in the mirror. "They told me what happened…to Yuui-chan. She's not…still in labor, is she?"

"No. The labor appears to have halted completely. We can only guess that it will resume when she wakes. How is Amaterasu-sama?"

"Sleeping. Saiga-san had to cast a spell on her. Chitose-chan and Chi-chan are with her now. Is…Sakura there?"

All who stood before the mirror moved aside to allow Yukito to see past them to Sakura and Yuui. Upon seeing the state his queen and princess were in, the high priest looked stricken.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," he murmured after a long moment of heavy silence. "Syaoran…will be missed."

"All right," Kakei finally spoke up, taking a deep breath. "There's nothing for it but to move forward. In the absence of the princess and her consort, I will take charge. If she can do it, Sakura-sama will bring Tomoyo-sama through to this world. Until we can discover a way of waking Tomoyo-sama, I think it would be best that we keep the princesses together. We cannot let them be separated."

"With all due respect, Kakei-san, would it not be safer to keep them in Faerie, where the enemy cannot get to them?" Yue asked.

"There is less and less guarantee of that with each passing moment. I say that we keep Yuui-hime as close to the labyrinth as we can for the time when she awakens. We'll need you to come, as well. It will be safer here because you and Kero-chan are going to form a barrier around this place."

"Could I come through, as well?" Sai broke in suddenly. "I don't know why, but I feel responsible for this. I feel I ought to protect her as best I can."

"As you wish. We'll need all the help we can get. Though, Saiga, if you wouldn't mind staying behind to tell the others of everything that has happened-"

"Say no more. I'll keep things under control here. Do what you have to."

"Larg…have you got the baby blanket that…Himawari made?" Watanuki asked.

"Uh-huh. Himawari finished it last night. She told Mokona to keep it safe for Yuui."

"Kakei-san?" Yukito cut in hesitantly. "I don't wish to sound like I'm complaining, but what about me? I…want to see my husband as soon as I can."

"I understand, but the kingdom of Valeria is unstable at best. I think it would be best for you and your companions to remain under the protection of Faerie until Cephiro can be considered secure again. Right now, our top priority _must_ be Yuui-hime and Tomoyo-hime."

"Of course. I understand."

"If it's all the same to you, I'll come, too," Kujaku said casually. "My _princess_ has need of me, after all."

"If you insist," Kakei responded, his voice sounding almost tight as he turned to address Sakura. "More importantly, do you think you can do this, Sakura-sama?"

Sakura trembled visibly as she climbed to her feet, reluctantly releasing Yuui's cold hand. "I don't know what kind of power I have…but I'll do whatever I must to save Yuui. I'll try."

"All right then. Come here," Kakei said, holding out his hand to her. Slowly, she came to him, took his hand, and allowed him to lead her to the mirror.

"Do you remember how you felt earlier when you did it?" he asked her as she placed her hand on the smooth glass. She nodded, closing her eyes and focusing her will on the mirror.

_I have to get there. I_ _**will** _ _get there! Nothing will stop me!_

For a moment, Sakura heard a great rushing noise in her ears. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself standing in front of the mirror in the bedchamber she'd left not two hours ago.

"It worked," she breathed. "It actually worked." The very next moment, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and lift her up into the air.

"You're brilliant, Sakura. Absolutely brilliant!" Yukito cried out.

"So how does it work?" Kujaku asked as the high priest set his queen back on her feet.

"I…I think you just need to be touching me. That's what happened earlier…when we traveled."

"All right. Let's give it a try."

Once again, Sakura turned to face the mirror, this time seeing Kakei and the others on the other side instead of Yue and company. As she placed her hand onto the glass once more, the others gathered around her. Yue placed his hand on her right shoulder and Kujaku placed his on her left. Hefting Tomoyo in her arms, Sai grabbed a hold of Sakura's left elbow and the Mokona twins scampered forward to settle in the crook of her left arm. Again, she focused her power, and again, she heard the rushing sound. Then she was collapsing on the wooden floorboards of her children's bedroom with the others gathering worriedly around her.

"It…worked?" she asked faintly, feeling someone gather her up in their arms.

"It worked," Watanuki said softly to her. "Are you all right, Sakura-sama?"

"Yes. I think I just…made myself tired. I'll be fine."

"In the future, you should probably transport fewer people, Your Highness," Kakei gently chastised her. "I didn't expect you to attempt to bring all of them at once, but before I could say anything, you were already here."

"What about Tomoyo-sama?" Sai asked as Watanuki helped Sakura to her feet.

"Lay her with the princess. I said that we would keep them together and we will."

Sai nodded and carried the younger princess to Yuui's bed. As she moved, Doumeki moved back to the bed as well and lifted Yuui into his arms. Then Subaru moved in and pulled the blankets down for them. Doumeki and Sai laid the sleeping girls back on the bed and Subaru tucked them in, preparing them for a long sleep - as the three guardians had done for Fai. Watanuki came last of all, holding his hands palms-up over the bed. From one hand, an apple blossom sprouted, pure white with pink tints at the very edges of the petals. From the other, a pale pink sakura blossomed. With the greatest care, the nature spirit tucked the apple blossom behind Yuui's ear and the sakura behind Tomoyo's ear. Just as the rose tucked behind Kurogane's ear was a symbol of Fai's life, these blooms signified the lives of the two princesses.

"They look so beautiful…together like that," Sakura whispered as tears began to gather in her eyes once more. The two young women did indeed look ethereal in their beauty in this moment, but it was made all the sadder by the fact that they were so close, and yet still could not touch each other.

As the others looked on, Kurogane slowly approached the bed where his sisters lay. He hadn't spoken a word since Tomoyo's awful fate had been revealed. Now he knelt beside her and reached out a hand, catching a strand of her dark hair and gently allowing it to slip through his fingers.

"Tomoyo…" he whispered as his carefully stoic exterior slowly began to crack.

_I failed her. I've failed her…so many times. I lost her. I lost them both…just like I lost…_

Drawing his sword in an inhumanly quick flash, the fallen prince released a cry of impotent rage and anguish, burying the blade violently in the floor.

"Kurogane! Kurogane, stop. Stop it right now!" Souma sobbed. "This won't make anything better!"

Falling silent at the sound of Souma's panic, Kurogane knelt over the protruding hilt and gripped it in his hands once again. Slowly, he withdrew the blade and sheathed it, then pounded a fist angrily against the floor before sweeping out of the room.

"Kurogane-kun, wait! Where are you going?!" Sakura cried after him, unable to pursue him in her weakened state.

"Let him go," Kamui said softly as Doumeki moved forward to repair the hole in the floor and Subaru drew the curtains closed around the bed. "He needs to be alone. He can handle himself."

Souma wasn't certain how true that was. Only she, Tomoyo, and Yuui knew just how far Kurogane had fallen, and now only _she_ knew how far he could still fall. However, even though she knew all of this, she also knew she couldn't help him. He wouldn't listen to her. There was no one he would listen to anymore. For the past two months, he had only listened to Yuui and Tomoyo, and not very well, at that. Without the two princesses, who would reclaim Kurogane's slowly fading sanity?

Kurogane's heart was disappearing. Souma had seen it with each passing moment. Every step that Fai took toward death was a step that Kurogane took toward Darkness.

XxX

Several hours later, night found Sakura in the bedroom, alone except for the sleeping princesses and the Mokona twins, who had both promised to remain with the girls until they could find some way of waking them. Save for her, everyone else in the room was asleep. Sai was just outside, standing guard.

The queen had taken several hours of rest on Fai's bed, recovering from the very powerful feat of magic. Yue and Kero had gone to erect wards around the glen, promising to keep an eye out for Kurogane, but he _still_ had not returned, as far as she knew. Souma and Subaru had gone out to search for him.

Sakura was currently sitting in front of the mirror, gathering up the nerve to contact her brother. She didn't think she could stand during this. She knew that he would ask her about Yukito…and then offer his condolences about her own husband…and she didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to hear _anyone_ tell her how sorry they were that Syaoran was…dead.

_Sweet Goddess, just…just get it over with, Sakura._

"Nii-san?" she murmured, focusing her thoughts on the mirror. "Touya?"

Slowly, waveringly, like her thoughts, the mirror went dark, then began to ripple into focus once more. When the image was at last solid, she found herself looking at the tired face of her older brother.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"Somewhere safe."

"How're Yuki and Eriol?"

"Still in Faerie. They're fine."

"What about Yuui?"

Sakura swallowed heavily, briefly turning to glance back at the bed where her daughter lay. "It's happened. Just like Fai. She…she's so cold, Nii-san. She won't wake. But…it isn't just her. Tomoyo-chan's gone, too."

Touya's eyes widened. "How? What happened?"

"She tried to save Yuui herself…by following her. They think that Yuuko…may have trapped her in a nightmare somehow."

The former king bowed his head for a long moment, looking contemplative. "They can get her back, right?"

Sakura shook her head. "I don't know." Beginning to feel herself overcome, she placed her hands over her mouth, trembling slightly. "Where…where…?" she tried to ask.

"The old dungeons," he responded with a look of pity. "It's the only place big enough…to keep all of the dead. I had the mirror set up…because I thought you might want to see."

"How…how is…the city?" she asked, struggling to get the words out.

"We have respite for the moment," he said softly. "There should be time for proper funerals."

"Is…is he…is my…the king…"

Touya said nothing. He only moved to the side to allow his sister to see into the room behind him.

It was a fairly large jail cell. Back in the old days, it would have been able to hold at least ten prisoners. Valeria had had little use for its dungeons and prisons in recent years…so now the dungeons of Cephiro had become an impromptu morgue.

He was laid out on a cot that had been draped with white silk. His body had been cleaned of blood and dressed in simple robes of green linen. His hands were folded over the right side of his chest in the pose of the dead, ready to offer himself to the Lord and Lady. At the very least, his face was free of pain and strife. He was at peace. He might have almost been asleep - like their babies. If only…if only it could be so easy…to just pass through the mirror and awaken him with a kiss…

_But he won't be there when they wake. We'll never be all together as a family…like we used to dream. You won't ever know your son…or your granddaughter. Why? Why_ _**now** _ _, Syaoran?! I need you so much! Why did you have to leave me_ _**now** _ _**?!** You were supposed to be here!_

"Syaoran! _Syaoran!_ " she cried helplessly, over and over again, her body wracked with sobs of anguish. She wanted so badly to go to him, but she knew that if she went to his side now, she would never leave it. She would die with him, and she knew she was still needed here.

Throughout all of this, Touya looked on in silence. There was nothing he could say.

XxX

"Souma and Subaru just returned," Doumeki reported as he walked back into Himawari's room. Watanuki was sitting on the end of the bed with his chin in his hands.

"Did they find him?"

"No. I don't think they really expected to. Celes is unpredictable. If Kurogane truly doesn't want to be found, then he won't be. He'll come back when he's ready. He has no ill intent. The forest will protect him until then. I think the two of them just wanted to feel like they were accomplishing something."

"We're all feeling pretty useless right now," the nature sprite bemoaned as Doumeki sat down beside him. "Couldn't even keep Tomoyo safe inside our own kingdom."

"We can't blame ourselves for this," Doumeki said, keeping his voice low as he placed a hand on Watanuki's knee. "Dreams…Tomoyo has that kind of power. She was desperate. She would have done it no matter what. Any of us would have done the same."

"I guess," Watanuki said sadly, turning his gaze down to the smooth wooden floor beneath his feet. Outwardly, he made no reaction to Doumeki's hand on his knee. Inwardly, his already confused, despairing thoughts only became more jumbled. For several long moments, the two of them sat in silence, neither one quite ready to break the silence that had been between them for the past eighteen hundred years. Watanuki was the one to finally speak.

"Doumeki…why did you kiss me?"

Watanuki winced briefly when he felt the weather spirit's grip on his knee tighten slightly. His own hands gripped the blanket beneath him, turning white as he waited in anxious silence.

"Look at me."

"Why?"

"Because I want to see your face."

Another agonizing silence followed the request, but Watanuki eventually complied, slowly turning to look into the assassin's eyes. As usual, his expression was stoic, but there was something… _more_ in his eyes tonight. Loss…acceptance…longing…need… love? Whatever this new thing was, it was roiling so fiercely in his eyes that the confused nature spirit could hardly pin it down.

"I didn't kiss you any less than you kissed me. _We_ kissed…and you know the answer to that question."

"Then…why?" he asked again, feeling his chest tighten unbearably.

Doumeki reached out and placed his free hand on Watanuki's cheek, gently stroking the soft skin. "Do I need a reason? I knew you were different from everyone else from the very first moment I saw you."

"But how can you be so sure?" Watanuki asked, his voice breaking. His eyes were starting to itch again.

"I'm not wrong," the taller faerie replied with absolute conviction. "I knew it was you before I even knew what it was. If I learned anything from my father, it was to trust your instincts. I _know_ you'll be the one."

Watanuki shook his head. "You're not answering the question. Why me?"

"Because it's cute how flustered you get over the tiniest things. Because that flowery scent of yours reminds me of spring rain. Because it hurts to see you crying. Because you were the first person who had the spine to hit me. Because your eyes are like the sky just before the dawn breaks. I have thousands. Do you need to hear more?"

"I only have _one_ blue eye now," Watanuki reminded him.

"That isn't the point," he countered.

Again, Watanuki looked down, staring directly at the hand on his knee. "You haven't said it yet," he whispered in a tone so soft no mortal ear could have heard it. "I want to hear you say it."

Gently, Doumeki slid his hand from Watanuki's cheek down to grasp his chin, slowly drawing his face up to look him in the eyes. He could hear the sound of the smaller faerie's breath trembling in the utter silence they were cocooned in.

"Kimihiro Watanuki…I love you. I've always loved you. I want you with me forever."

Watanuki laughed bitterly as several tears escaped his mismatched eyes. "You make it sound so easy. Can we really just…out with it…and expect everything to turn out all right?"

"Even if it _doesn't_ turn out all right…at least, at the end of everything, we'll be able to say that we have this," he consoled, reaching up to wipe the tears from Watanuki's face. For the first time since knowing him, Watanuki suddenly heard uncertainty in Doumeki's voice. "You…haven't said it either."

As he gazed into Doumeki's eyes, the enormity of the situation suddenly descended upon Watanuki. In this moment, for all his stoicism, the hardened assassin was his to make or break. Shizuka Doumeki had finally spoken the words that had been suspended between them for so long. What would his answer be?

"Shizuka," he whispered, using the other's name for the first time since he had pulled him back from the grave. He raised his own hand and laid it on top of the hand that gripped his knee. "My heart belongs to you. I…I love you…but don't expect me to say it every minute of everyday," he couldn't quite resist adding as a few more tears trickled down his face. He'd been terrified of admitting these feelings to himself for so long…it almost felt like he was giving in to Doumeki…and something about that would always irk him.

Doumeki just shook his head as he drew Watanuki closer, an almost-smile lighting his shadowed features. "Wouldn't have it any other way." As he whispered the words, he closed the infinitesimal distance between them, pressing his lips to Watanuki's once more. At first, the kiss was soft and chaste, a gentle sharing of tenderness, but a few more moments of the intimate contact made it firmer…more demanding… _passionate_ …

As Doumeki laid Watanuki down on the bed, he kissed the tears away from his face, slowly starting to remove his tunic.

"Wait," Watanuki murmured, pressing a hand against Doumeki's chest to slow him down. "Can…can we really be doing this right now?"

"You don't want to?"

"No, I…I _want_ to. I want to _be_ with you. It's just…right _now?_ What if we're needed?"

"I've spoken to Kamui. He and Fuuma only had one night together before it happened. I guess…what I'm trying to say is that we can't know what's going to happen tomorrow. If the sun sets tomorrow night and…one of us isn't here anymore-"

"Don't say that!" Watanuki hissed, shoving Doumeki back. "Don't. Just _don't_. We've lost too much already. If I lose you-"

"You _know_ it could happen," Doumeki shot back, grabbing the shorter faerie's shoulders and pinning him to the bed. "No one is invincible. Our time is limited. We're just bricks in the wall that separates Yuui and her daughter from Yuuko and Seishiro. If the worst should happen-"

"No," the nature spirit whispered as more tears squeezed their way out of his eyes. "Please…don't…"

"If it _does_ …I don't want either of us to have any regrets. I don't want to regret not showing you what you are to me…if one of us doesn't make it through to the morning."

For a long while, Watanuki lay beneath the weather spirit, trembling and crying softly. There were so many things he had wanted to say to Himawari. What would it feel like if Doumeki left him, too? What would he do if he were forced to wake every morning for the rest of his life knowing he had never shared this moment with Doumeki? He couldn't bear it. When he finally felt he was ready, he swallowed hard and looked up into Doumeki's eyes once more. "I don't want that, either. I'm ready now. Take me."

Doumeki was only too happy to obey. First, he went about kissing every single tear away from Watanuki's face, leaving him fresh and clean. Then he slowly stripped him of his clothing, leaving him completely open. Once he had removed his own clothing, he took a long moment to just take in the sight of Watanuki beneath him - _ready_ for him. Goddess and Consort, how long had he dreamed of this moment?

"What?" Watanuki finally sniped, unable to bear the archer's silent stare any longer. A light blush spread across his face as he slid his eyes away from Doumeki, who chuckled when he saw the display.

"Even at a time like this," he began, reaching down to stroke the most sensitive part of his lover's anatomy, "you can't relax?"

Watanuki shuddered in pleasure at the sensation, tossing his head lightly from side to side as he moaned, bucking up slightly against Doumeki's skilled hand. They had barely begun and he was already embarrassed by the strange new sounds that Doumeki could cause to trickle from his lips.

"How does it feel?" the taller faerie asked, loosely pumping the hardening shaft and running his thumb in circles around the very tip of it, already swollen red.

"Feels…good…" he moaned, already half-gone with pleasure. If Doumeki could do this to him with a few simple touches, the climax would be nothing short of earth shattering.

The pair wasted no words as they went about uniting. They blended so seamlessly together, one would have thought they were meant to be one, that they had _always_ been one. As they glowed in each other's arms, one green and one silver, their complementing scents filled the air, inundating the cottage with the scents of newborn flowers and a mix of rain and lightning.

For someone who carried the power of the lightning in his hands, Doumeki was as gentle and loving as a light spring shower. In his arms, Watanuki knew no pain, and afterward, when he slept there, the two of them knew the first real peace they had experienced since the loss of their son.

"No more regrets," Doumeki whispered in his sleeping lover's ear as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. He knew he wouldn't sleep tonight. He had waited so long; he didn't want to miss a moment of this. He would hold his Kimihiro close to him for as long as he was able. Gently, he pressed a kiss to the younger sprite's forehead.

"I love you…Kimihiro."

XxX

_Battle. She's surrounded by battle. Perhaps…she never left it? Maybe the fight's still happening? Maybe none of it happened? Maybe…her father is still alive…and Himawari hadn't…sacrificed her own life? Maybe…?_

" _Kaa-san?" she mumbles weakly as she looks around. Blood and magic fill the air; and through this haze, she begins to realize that it isn't the same battle. The land is different. The Oni are still the enemy, but their opponents are different. Fey…only fey…not a human in sight._

_Just when Yuui feels ready to collapse and bury her head in the sand, she hears a voice. Not just any voice, but a beautiful, enchanting voice filled with light, warmth, and healing._

_**Leaves from the vine,** _

_**Falling so slow,** _

_**Like fragile, tiny shells** _

_**Drifting in the foam.** _

_**Little soldier boy** _

_**Come marching home.** _

_**Brave soldier boy** _

_**Comes marching home.** _

_Turning about to find the source of the voice, the princess lays eyes on a young faerie with the same shockingly white hair as Karura…and she's enclosed in a barrier with none other than Karura herself. Could it be…her sister? Karyoubinga?_

_Yuui swallows hard, clutching her own arms in horror as a dreadful revelation is born in her heart. If this is truly Lady Karyoubinga Garuda…then she already knows what moment she is witnessing._

_Her fears are confirmed when she sees Yuuko approaching the shield, accompanied by a male faerie she's never seen before. Karura is aware of them almost instantly, channeling more of her strength into maintaining the barrier. Karyoubinga notices as well, but she continues to sing her song, knowing it is needed._

_Yuuko smiles her typical, not-quite-sane smile as she reveals the weapon she wields - none other than Assassin's Hand. Karura draws her own sword, wincing as Yuuko easily shatters her wards with the dark blade. Rather than engage the Garuda master, Yuuko stands back and lets her wingman do it. The new faerie springs into action, wielding his own dark sword. He moves about Karura, lashing out at her in bursts of inhuman speed and power. Yuuko just stands back, smirking languidly. She knows she can take her time._

" _Karyou!" Karura shouts to her sister from the heat of her battle. "Get away! Get out of here!"_

_Yuuko's eyes flash almost simultaneously with Karura's command. Before Karyoubinga has even a moment to contemplate obeying her sister or not, Yuuko is upon her, thrusting her son's sword into the young woman's heart._

" _ **KARYOU!**_ _" Karura screams as her sister coughs up a small stream of blood and slips awkwardly off the end of the blade._

_Yuuko backs away as Karura runs from her attacker to Karyoubinga's fallen form. Her assailant does not pursue her. He simply falls back to Yuuko's side. The Dark Queen watches with a sad smile as the distraught noble gathers her sister in her arms._

" _That one is much too young. Tell him to yield," she orders Karura before disappearing back into the battle with her captain._

_Karura barely hears the command. All of her will is focused on keeping herself together as her baby sister dies in her arms._

" _B-big…sister?"_

" _Karyou…Karyou…please don't die, Karyou," the mighty storm mistress cries desperately._

" _I…I'm…sorry," Karyoubinga murmurs weakly as blood continues to stream from her mouth. Then a final shudder runs through her body and she dies._

_For a moment, Karura can only stare at the lifeless corpse she holds. Then, as she pulls her sister's body closer against her chest, the fragile young faerie fades away into nothing. Yuui can see her sanity fading as the clan master gazes uncomprehendingly at her empty hands. It's the same look she's seen in Kurogane's eyes so often since that horrible moment in the tower._

" _ **AAAAAAAAGGHHH!**_ _" Karura shrieks as she throws her face to the heavens, raking her fingers across her chest and biting deep into the flesh, drawing blood. As her unearthly screams fill the air, her rampant power summons storm clouds to the field of battle, calling down rain and lightning. The vision slowly fades into the storm as the other combatants turn toward Karura's display of boundless grief._

" _Poor Karura-san," Yuui murmurs as the darkness envelopes her. She can certainly forgive the clan master for thinking she isn't strong enough to help avenge this terrible wrong. But…is that truly what happened? She's never seen the past in her dreams. Is it her seer's gift…or the nightmares that have plagued her since Fai was taken away?_

_When the darkness twines itself into a new vision, Yuui finds herself in a completely different place…a darkened corridor…perhaps the sithen? It certainly isn't anywhere in the mortal world. The occupants of this vision are all fey, though she only knows one of them by name. A younger Kamui Shiro stands beside an unfamiliar man, both with swords drawn, menacing another faerie who stands at a door that leads out of the corridor. Upon closer inspection, Yuui realizes it's the faerie she saw at Karyoubinga's death - the dark one who fought against Karura to keep her distracted._

" _You shouldn't be here," the faerie with Kamui says softly, neither advancing nor retreating._

" _You_ _ **know**_ _it isn't a question of whether or not I should be here, Kazuhiko," the dark faerie spits. "What you_ _ **should**_ _be saying is that I_ _ **can't**_ _be here. How, oh how, am I here…when all of those who chose to serve the Dark Court were banished from Faerie? Well, I'm here because Tohru_ _ **wants**_ _me to be here. That's how I could enter this place."_

" _Akuma, don't hurt them!" a female voice calls from beyond the door. "I'll give you what you came here for. Just leave them be!"_

" _ **Give**_ _me? Heh, you're in there begging for it right now. If anyone's giving anything tonight, it's me," the one called Akuma replies, sneering._

" _You're clearly out of your mind. Do you really want Tohru to see you this way? You should leave," the one called Kazuhiko tells Akuma._

" _She never loved you, you know," the dark faerie whispers, leaning casually against the door. "Why she married you is beyond me._ _ **I'm**_ _the one she's always loved."_

" _I know that," Kazuhiko replies calmly. "It was not a marriage of love for either of us."_

" _Father, what are you saying?!" Kamui asks in a shocked voice, turning his attention to his father._

" _You_ _ **knew**_ _ **?!** If you knew…_ _ **then why did you take her away from me?!**_ _" Akuma hisses dangerously as he draws his own sword, moving menacingly toward his rival._

" _Because I had already lost the one I loved…and Tohru told me that it had to be so."_

" _Had to be so? Well…you'll pay for your little 'had to be so'…pay with your life!"_

" _Akuma! Stop! Don't do this!" Tohru's voice calls desperately. Yuui feels magic attempt an assault on the sealed door._

" _Don't come out here, Mother!" Kamui insists, battling against his mother's power to keep the seal on the door. "We'll take care of this madman."_

" _Kamui, don't interfere," Kazuhiko orders, calm as ever. Kamui looks ready to argue, but seems to decide against it. He trusts his father's abilities._

_The duel doesn't last very long. Kazuhiko doesn't even seem to fight very hard. Almost before Yuui realizes what she's witnessed, Kazuhiko is on his knees with Akuma's sword in his chest_

" _Father_ _!" Kamui shouts, rushing forward. Without even glancing at him, Akuma throws a blast of dark magic at the young Shiro. The black energy easily seizes him and pins him to the wall. No matter how he struggles, he cannot break free of Akuma's power._

" _Don't worry about your wife, Kazuhiko. She won't be lonely after you're gone._ _ **I'll**_ _keep her company tonight."_

_Kazuhiko makes no response. He only smiles sadly. Yuui doesn't know that she's ever seen despair and relief combined so seamlessly in one expression. However, the very next moment, that ambiguous expression is gone, as Akuma has withdrawn his blade from Kazuhiko's chest and beheaded him._

_Kamui can't quite believe his father is dead until the headless corpse and its accompanying head vanish into the night air. His shouts of rage and anguish fill the corridor as he struggles all the harder against the spell that binds him._

" _It's no use, boy. There's no one that can help you now," Akuma taunts, drawing a cord from the mass of dark energy that holds Kamui prisoner and pulling the younger faerie right up against his own body._

" _Akuma! Akuma, why?! He was no threat to you at all!" Tohru's voice continues to call from beyond the sealed door, now riddled with sorrow._

_Instead of answering, Akuma places his free hand on the door and begins to undo the spells that seal it. When the door finally swings open, Akuma is facing a fey woman that Yuui's never seen, but whom she can only assume is Lady Tohru Shiro - Subaru and Kamui's mother._

" _It was never about whether or not he was a threat to me. I_ _ **knew**_ _you never loved Kazuhiko Fay-Ryuu," he explains as he forces his way into the room, dragging Kamui behind him. "It was about him touching what was mine."_

" _And you_ _ **wonder**_ _why she chose my father over you?!" Kamui snarls._

" _Be silent, little fool," Akuma hisses, quieting Kamui by calling up another strand of darkness. The new rope snakes its way up Kamui's neck and forces its way into his mouth. "This doesn't involve you."_

" _Are you going to kill my son, as well?" Tohru asks calmly. "He is the ultimate proof that Kazuhiko touched me."_

" _No, Tohru. I wouldn't do that to you. He doesn't need to die," Akuma says, turning and resealing the door. Then he uses the dark energy imprisoning Kamui to bind him to the wall once more…and, once more, he struggles._

" _What do you want?" Tohru asks._

" _I want him to watch," the dark faerie replies as he moves toward Tohru, gently taking her into his arms. "I want_ _ **someone**_ _to know the truth." Then he presses a kiss to Tohru's unresisting lips. This makes Kamui struggle all the harder._

" _I wouldn't struggle if I were you," Akuma warns, turning his attention away from Tohru. "The more you fight, the more that dark energy will crawl inside of you."_

_Almost instantly, Kamui's eyes go wide and an odd, strangled sound escapes his throat._

" _Don't hurt him," Tohru orders softly._

" _You don't fight. Did this 'have to be so', as well?"_

" _Nothing_ _ **has**_ _to be so, my Akuma. It's that things must be this way so that something even worse won't happen."_

" _Worse? How could it have been worse?! Everything I've done, I've done for you. Why would it have been worse if you had chosen a life with me?"_

" _I wish you_ _ **hadn't**_ _done it. I love you no matter what you look like…but Akuma…do you truly like yourself this way?" she asks as Akuma pulls her into his arms once again._

" _It doesn't matter," he whispers in her ear. "Like you, I know a few things about what must be so. Just let me have this one night."_

" _Yes…I'm ready," she murmurs breathlessly as Akuma carries her over to her bed. As the dark faerie slowly undresses her, Tohru keeps complete eye contact with her son._

_**I'm sorry…I wish you didn't have to see this…but this is also the truth that I want you to remember after we're gone.** _

_With that, Tohru Shiro and Akuma Satani begin to make love. Even this, Kamui might have been able to endure, but the worst shock is still to come. As the two clan masters draw closer and closer to their release, their skin begins to glow in harmony, twining together perfectly - just the way they were meant to._

_This is the moment that finally breaks Kamui. He turns away just before the glow reaches its height, unable to bear watching his mother climax with the man who's just killed his father._

_**So…this is it. The events that led to Subaru-san's birth…the secret pain that Kamui-san has carried with him all these years…they were all the results of a love that couldn't be acknowledged. They all claim it was rape. Subaru-san has always been told that it was rape. Kamui-san can't let himself believe that it was anything else…after what he witnessed in that room…but…was it really rape? Did Tohru-sama really love Akuma? Is it possible that…the glow of skin can be wrong?** _

XxX

" _Why are you crying?"_

_Tomoyo looks up to find herself staring at…herself…if not a few years younger._

" _Who are you?"_

" _I'm Princess Tomoyo," her mirror image responds._

" _But…you're not_ _ **me**_ _, either…right?"_

" _Not exactly, no," she says with a smile._

" _Another me…like Kakei-san said?"_

" _Yes. I'm you from a different world."_

" _Then…you're a dreamseer, too?"_

_The other Tomoyo smiles sadly as she sits down beside her. "For the moment…and the dream has brought us together for some reason. You didn't answer my first question."_

_Tomoyo bows her head in shame at this. "I failed my love."_

" _Show me," the other her says gently, taking her hands in hers. Tomoyo nods, allowing her own memories to flow into her younger twin. She gives her everything. Their days in the forest…their brothers…the moments of their first love…Yuui's baby…their engagement…and finally…losing her to the darkness._

" _So this Yuui-san is…Queen Sakura's daughter?"_

" _Yes."_

" _I had a Sakura-chan that I loved…but she died when we were both very young."_

" _I'm sorry," Tomoyo consoles. She doesn't even want to imagine how she would feel if Yuui were to truly die._

" _It's all right. Everyone dies. I'll be with her again someday. But…you…this Seishiro, the one keeping you here…Is he a dreamseer? Can he see you now?"_

_Tomoyo shakes her head. "I don't know. He's done…many horrible things in dreams."_

" _But apart from this nightmare…have you ever actually seen Seishiro in your dreams?"_

" _No, I-" Tomoyo stops quite suddenly. She's thought of that before. She has seen many of the other fey in her dreams of the future. Seishiro, on the other hand…the one who's hurt them the most…the one who's caused the most suffering…she's never once beheld him in her dreams until_ _ **he**_ _came to_ _ **her**_ _. She has never been able to see what he'll do until he's actually doing it. Could it be that…she_ _ **can't**_ _see him in her dreams? "But…if I_ _ **can't**_ _see him, then…is it a dream he has me trapped in?" she wonders aloud._

" _He called it a Hand of Illusion, didn't he? Perhaps it is just that…an illusion. I don't think we would be able to meet like this if he could keep you imprisoned in a dream. You're dreaming_ _ **now**_ _."_

" _But I can wake up from a dream. I don't know how to wake up from an illusion. I don't think I can leave until he decides to let me go."_

" _He will. From what I understand, he has to remain inside the illusion himself in order to keep you imprisoned. He can't possibly stay there forever."_

_Tomoyo nodded. "Yes. You're right. Thank you…Tomoyo-chan."_

_The other princess giggles. "You're welcome, Tomoyo-chan. One thing, though. Could I ask something of you?"_

" _Anything."_

" _Could you please make sure your brother finds happiness in your world? Kurogane has fought so hard across so many different lives. He deserves to be happy with his soul mate in at least one of them. He's as dear as a brother to me in my own world, and I can guarantee that he can be with the one he loves…but I cannot guarantee they will have a happy ending. Once…just once…I want for Kurogane and Fai-san to find happiness."_

" _I'll do my best."_

" _Oh, and if you ever happen to see them, tell them I'm thinking of them."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lullaby for this chapter is "Little Soldier Boy" from Avatar: the Last Airbender.


	30. Visions

When one considered the fact that right up until his night with Kamui prior to his transformation, Fuuma had been one of the most eligible bachelors in all of Faerie, it truly was unfortunate that the only witness to his approach to Spirit Lake was a semi-conscious Seishiro.

Himawari's attack had completely destroyed all of his clothing…had almost taken him along, as well. As he approached the shore of the lake, naked as the day he was born, the only thing he carried was Assassin's Hand, still stained with Syaoran's blood.

Remaining silent, he laid the dark sword down beside Seishiro as he sat beside him. The Dark Prince was sitting cross-legged in the surf, hands resting on his knees and eye half-closed, as if he were in a trance. Fuuma knew his orders. He was to deliver Assassin's Hand to Seishiro, then report to Yuuko in his stead. Of course, he didn't think anyone would _mind_ if he took a small moment to rest before continuing back to the Dark Court. While it hadn't managed to destroy him, Himawari's dying spell had severely taxed his strength. _Surely a night of rest won't go amiss_ , he thought as he lay down to sleep, secure in his knowledge that the powerful of Faerie would be too caught up in the recent tragedies to worry about them for one night. Either way, Seishiro wouldn't be here for much longer. He didn't need to keep Tomoyo prisoner in his illusion for long…

…just long enough.

XxX

_Anger…hurt…confusion…denial…pain. He's never felt a pain like this one in all his life. Anger and jealousy roil fiercely in his stomach, making him feel like he might be sick. Where his heart should be, there is only pain…as if someone had shoved a flaming blade right through it._

_**Betrayal.** _

" _Why now?" the source of his agony asks. "Why did you come now?"_

" _Because you called for me. I was trying to find you," he answers, barely able to contain his own rage._

" _Well, you're too late…_ _ **far**_ _too late. If you'd come sooner, it wouldn't have happened," Fai cries. "God, I didn't want you to see me like this!"_

" _Well, I_ _ **am**_ _seeing you like this. God, Fai, it's like I don't even know you," he says angrily, gesturing wildly at the bump that protrudes from his fiancée's stomach. He had wanted so much for a miracle…but that miracle is not his. It seems that…they were not meant to be after all. "Is_ _ **this**_ _what gets you hot? Having an affair with the man who_ _ **raped**_ _you? He's your Goddamn_ _ **uncle**_ _, Fai! It's disgusting!"_

" _I know."_

_**I know? I know? I fucking know? That's all he can say?!** _ _Doesn't Fai understand how much he's hurt him? So much pain…so much rage and jealousy…he honestly feels like he could die right now. "I loved you…and you betrayed me…with_ _**him** _ _."_

" _No! It's not_ _ **like**_ _that. I didn't_ _ **mean**_ _to. It just…happened. I don't know why. I never wanted this. I could never betray you. I love_ _ **you**_ _, Kurogane," Fai insists as he moves toward him, trying to embrace him._

_Kurogane can't take it anymore. He shoves Fai away, resisting the urge to help him as he falls to the ground. "Don't bother lying to me, Fai. I can't even hear you. That thing inside you is screaming louder than any words you could ever say."_

" _Kuro-koi…please…hold me, kiss me…make love to me like you used to. Take me in your arms and tell me that it's going to be all right. Please…_ _ **forgive me!**_ _"_

" _No." How can he_ _ **ever**_ _forgive him? What could possibly make him forget this hurt?_

" _Please!" Fai begs desperately. Kurogane just shakes his head. He really_ _ **wants**_ _to take Fai back, but something in him won't let him. Agony? Hate? Anger? Jealousy? He doesn't know…and he never will. All he really wants right now is to_ _ **end**_ _it. He doesn't want to live past this hurt. He wants for the two of them to die together._

" _We're finished, Fai. It's over. There's nothing left to fight for anymore. Just go back to him._ _ **He's**_ _the one you really want," he says, bringing all of his anger and jealousy to bear on Fai…to prevent himself from breaking down and crying until he's empty._

" _Don't…don't say that!" his former lover sobs brokenly. "Don't look at me like I'm_ _ **nothing**_ _to you! You're the only reason I'm_ _ **alive**_ _, Kurogane!"_

" _Then you're dead," Kurogane says plainly as he draws Ginryuu, "because you_ _ **are**_ _nothing to me." His entire world becomes Fai's scream of agony as he plunges the blade into his stomach, spraying blood everywhere…Fai's blood…_

It was his own cry of denial that woke Kurogane from the nightmare. He shot bolt upright in Fai's bed, fingers raking desperately at his face and arms in a vain effort to cleanse himself of Fai's blood.

He vaguely heard people calling his name and he felt arms around him, but he couldn't reconcile them in his mind. His only thought was that he absolutely _had_ to get the blood off. He couldn't be stained with Fai's blood. He just _couldn't_ be!

It wasn't until he was bodily pinned to the bed and he could no longer scrape at his skin that he realized it wasn't Fai's blood he was covered in; it was his own. He had torn deep gashes in his own flesh in order to rid himself of the memory of Fai's hot blood splashing onto his skin. It had taken Sai, Watanuki, Doumeki, and Subaru all working together to hold him down and keep him from hurting himself any further.

"Oh, Kurogane…what have you done to yourself?" Souma cried softly as she surveyed the bloody furrows her friend had dug into his own skin.

"Are you here, Kurogane?" Doumeki asked calmly once Kurogane had stopped struggling. The young man nodded, barely feeling the pain of his self-inflicted wounds.

"Yes."

"We're going to let go of you now. Will you promise me you won't hurt yourself anymore?"

This acknowledgment was a little slower in coming, but Kurogane finally nodded.

"Yes."

Slowly, the four faeries holding him down withdrew. Subaru hovered near, ready to start healing his wounds, but Kurogane held up a hand to stop him, groaning in pain as he sat up.

"We need to take care of those," Subaru said sternly. "If we don't, you're liable to bleed to death. Never mind infection."

Kurogane shook his head, reaching behind his ear.

"He only needs a minute," Souma clarified, knowing what he was doing.

Kurogane plucked the rose from its place, drawing it to his face to make absolutely certain it was safe. When the delicate bloom presented itself to him, healthy and whole, he breathed a sigh of relief and kissed one of the petals, holding it close to his face to breathe in the scent.

"Can I continue?" Subaru asked uncertainly. Kurogane just nodded. Subaru quickly went about sealing up the deep tears in the young man's skin, which were shockingly numerous for how little time had lapsed between his horrified cry and this moment. As he worked, Watanuki moved in to clean up the bloodstains.

"What happened?" Souma finally asked.

"I…I killed him," Kurogane whispered, staring helplessly at the rose. "I killed him with my own two hands."

"But you wouldn't do that," Souma tried to console him, sitting down beside him as Watanuki and Subaru finished their work. "You would _never_ do that."

"Really?"

"When did he come back?" Sakura asked Sai as the others tried to give Souma and Kurogane some space.

"A few hours ago. He said he wanted to see his sisters, so I let him in. You were sleeping in front of the mirror. He fell asleep on Fai-sama's bed. I know he doesn't like sleeping…but I just couldn't wake him. He looked half-dead," Sai explained sadly.

"It's all right. Any of us would've done the same. He'll never admit that he needs to sleep," Sakura murmured, the worry of a mother in her voice.

"Hello?" another voice suddenly echoed in the dimly lit room. Everyone stiffened upon recognizing the speaker. "Hello? Would someone mind unblanking this mirror? I have a message for the false queen and her rabble."

Sakura moved to stand near Souma and Kurogane and Souma made certain that Kurogane remained seated as the faeries all moved to stand in front of Fai's bed to conceal them.

"Don't pretend you don't know that you can't speak to Yuui," Watanuki said angrily as he unblanked the mirror, allowing Kyle Rondart's image to appear on the glass.

"Oh, dear. Has the little princess finally gone to sleep? Sweet dreams, darling Yuui-chan," he sneered.

"Be quiet!" Kurogane snarled.

"Why, Watanuki," Kyle began, completely ignoring Kurogane's outburst, "is there any particular reason why you're dressed in nothing but a sheet?"

Too angry to be embarrassed, Watanuki just glared. "I don't see how it's any of your business."

"It isn't, but the answer is Doumeki standing there in absolutely _nothing_ ," Kyle said, appreciatively eyeing Doumeki's well-displayed figure. Watanuki growled low in his throat, an unusual sound to hear from the nature spirit…but Doumeki did not even flinch, not even when Kyle continued with, "I shall have to have a taste of that when Faerie belongs to us."

That was too much for Watanuki. "If you touch him, I'll-"

"What do you want, Kyle?" Kakei quickly interrupted.

"As I said, to deliver a message to the renegade queen and her consort."

"Stop playing games!" Kurogane shouted, attempting to jump up from the bed. Souma managed to keep a hold of him, though, and the line of faeries remained in place, still concealing them from view.

"Oh? Are you back there, Kurogane-kun? Excellent. It will make the message that much easier to deliver. You see, as emperor of Nihon, I was going to-"

"You are _not_ emperor of Nihon!" the young man shouted, finally succeeding in throwing Souma off of him. Sakura caught her before she could fall off the bed.

"Why don't you come around to the front so we can talk better? It's rather hard to see you behind your little gaggle of protectors," Kyle chided mockingly.

Kurogane wasted no time in coming around to the front, seething in anger. "What do you want?!"

"As I was saying, before I was so _rudely_ interrupted, I was going to tell Yuui-chan and Tomoyo-chan to hand you over. Now I'll just ask you to turn yourself in. The sentence of banishment has become one of execution."

"What happens if I _don't_ turn myself in?"

"Then your high priest, Chang Ang, will die…and for each day that you do not submit, more of Nihon's people will die."

Kurogane stiffened in shock upon hearing the ultimatum. Prince or no, he still had an obligation to his people.

"Think of it this way," Kyle continued when Kurogane remained silent. "If you come to me by the stroke of midnight tonight…alone…I will tell you where you can find your precious Fai-kun. That's a fair trade, isn't it? Just remember that you only have until midnight."

"You can't go, Kurogane," Souma insisted the moment Kyle's visage had disappeared from the mirror. "It's a trap. You'll never make it out alive!"

"Of course it's a trap," he muttered, staring angrily at the mirror. "He means to kill me. He thinks he can get me into his web by tempting me with a way to find Fai, but he's just going to kill me." His logic appeared infallible. He seemed to be perfectly in control of himself and to see right through Kyle's trap. The only problem was that the trap was working. Kurogane was perfectly aware he was being lead around like a horse on a lead rope, but he didn't care. If he could find out where Fai was, it would be worth the risk. Now that he had Ginryuu and the power of fire on his side, he might be able to get the information he wanted and still manage to escape alive. Besides, much as he disliked Chang Ang, he couldn't let him or anyone else die for his mistakes.

"Kurogane-kun, I know that look," Sakura suddenly stepped into the conversation, utilizing an imperious tone that was very unnatural on her tongue. "Don't think for one minute that we're going to let you go off and get yourself killed. We'll find another way."

"I don't mean to die. I'll get that pompous old windbag out…and I'll save Fai. Don't tell me you don't want that."

"This isn't the way. We have enough magic in our hands to be able to find Fai when the time is right."

"It's still not as good as an exact location."

"You really think he'll tell you?" Doumeki asked calmly. "Why would he give you the information if you're already caught in his trap?"

"He'll give it to me. I'll _make_ him."

"You can't possibly think this is going to make anything better," Watanuki reprimanded him. "Nothing short of destroying Kyle will stop him from killing your people."

"Well…maybe I can do that, too," the fallen prince responded, a shade of his former confidence showing through.

" _He will kill you_ ," Sakura said sternly, her face a mask of pain and anger. "Too many have died already. Himawari-san and Syaoran both gave their lives. I won't see _you_ die, too. If you die…then Fai dies, as well. Think on that before you go making reckless plans."

That silenced Kurogane fast as lightning. Sakura had seen this happen before…the moments when the fraying threads that held the prince together seemed to snap all at once…when his face became a mask of pain, confusion, despair, and anger. She felt such guilt at being the cause of it, but she knew she had to contain him until they could come up with a plan. Souma came to lead Kurogane back to Fai's bed as the talking began in earnest.

"The sun is only just rising," Subaru noted as he glanced out the window. "We only have until midnight tonight. What can we do?"

"Could one of us go…disguised as Kurogane-san?" Watanuki suggested.

"Oh, yes, because Kyle wouldn't see right through that," Kamui said snidely, rolling his eyes.

"Have you got something better?" Doumeki shot back.

"We have to do _something_ ," Sakura insisted, closing the curtains of Fai's bed around Souma and Kurogane. "We can't just let him walk to his death!"

"Why not?" Kujaku asked, speaking for the first time since arriving and shocking everyone.

"How can you say that?" Sakura asked softly, not quite certain what to make of the faerie.

"I can say it because that kid'll go no matter what you do. The only way to stop him would be to kill him…or do the exact same thing that Yuuko did. It's not a question of whether or not he's going. The only question is how are you going to protect him when he _does_ go?"

"M-Mokona can help," a shy voice suddenly came from behind the curtains of Yuui's bed. The next moment, Soel hopped onto the floor. "Mokona can't be held by normal magic. Mokona can get through wards."

"It's very brave of you to offer, Soel," Sai said as she went to pick up the white Mokona. "But I don't think we can count on it working a second time. We were lucky the first time. These past months…Kyle will have been preparing to defend such a hole in his fortress."

"Maybe not," Kakei said thoughtfully. "Clow knew what he was doing when he created the Mokona. He will not have made their own brand of magic so easy to poke holes through. With only Kurogane-san and Soel-chan…we just might be able to pull this off."

"You want the two of them to walk into this death trap… _alone?_ " Sakura demanded fiercely.

"It's what Kyle wanted. It's the only way to get Kurogane-san inside the city with any prayer of escape."

"I still don't like it. I think Himawari-san would have agreed with me," the queen continued to argue, glancing pleadingly at Doumeki and Watanuki.

As the debate continued, Soel hopped out of Sai's arms and over to Fai's bed, slipping through the enchanted curtains. Kurogane was sitting up, leaning heavily against the headboard. Souma was sitting in front of him with one hand resting on his knee. Kurogane just stared straight ahead. He could hear the conversation, but the argument meant very little to him. Kujaku was right. He was going…no matter what they decided. The risk was worth it. He didn't fear his own death…but the thought that it would be the cause of Fai's death sent a small thrill of trepidation through his entire being.

Soel hopped into Kurogane's lap and nuzzled gently up against his stomach.

"Kurogane is sad," the tiny creature lamented. "Mokona knows that Kurogane misses Fai…but why does Kurogane hurt so much?"

Kurogane visibly winced as washes of memory flooded through him. It had been a little easier to bear back in Faerie because he had no memories tied to the place…but _here_ …there were so many memories in this room alone…memories both tender and burning with passion…and some of pain and anger. After all, it was in this very bed that Fai had suffered his most grievous pain…but also here that Kurogane had held him close and made love to him so many times…where they had whispered of their love and dreamed of their life together…

" _I love you…Kuro-koibito."_

But now there was only silence.

"Because I can't protect him," Kurogane finally answered, patting the tiny guardian's head. "I promised him I would. I swore nothing would hurt him while I was around…but I didn't keep that promise. I couldn't do anything to protect him when he needed me the most…and now he's suffering…burning alone in the darkness. That's what hurts…feeling his nightmares. I have to make them stop. I have to get him back…no matter what."

Soel hopped up onto Kurogane's shoulder and nuzzled itself solemnly against his cheek. "All right. Mokona will help."

"Good," Kurogane said softly before standing from the bed, pushing the curtains aside, and announcing, "I'm going."

"What?! You can't go _now!_ " Sakura objected. "You should at least have some food and rest first."

"Oh, yes…because we've all seen what wonders _sleep_ has worked for me," Kurogane growled softly, looking the Valerian queen directly in the eye. "I'll eat if you really want me to, but once that's done, I'm going. I'll take the fight to Kyle this time."

XxX

The sun was hanging low in the sky when Kurogane and Soel materialized within sight of the gates of Shirasagi. The others had convinced him it would be wise to wait and at least make it appear that they were deliberating.

Kurogane knew it was foolish, but part of him still wished it would be Saiki and Sorata guarding the gates as they had a few short months ago. He wanted to walk through those gates after a day in the forest with Fai and know he was coming home. He wanted the city to be the same - the streets filled with the cheerful, fast-paced hubbub of people going about their lives. However, he knew that it couldn't be so. This place wasn't home anymore.

A figure cloaked in pure black waited at the gate. Before it could be spotted, Soel quickly burrowed into the hood of Kurogane's cloak, keeping out of sight.

 _It's an Oni_ , Kakei's voice said calmly in his head. _For some reason, Kyle is wasting glamour giving it a human form._

While only Soel could actually be with him undetected, that didn't mean the others needed to abandon him entirely. Being fey, they could speak to him in thoughts and see the situation through his eyes, and while he couldn't speak directly to them, they could easily read his own thoughts and respond to them.

"What is your business here?" the concealed demon asked in a voice that one would almost expect to hear from a snake.

"I was summoned here…by Kyle," Kurogane responded through gritted teeth.

"If you wish an audience with His Majesty, then you will show the proper respect for Nihon's sovereign. Use his proper title," the guard admonished.

_If this bastard thinks for one minute that I'm going to-_

_Do as he says, Kurogane-san. Kyle is watching you right now_ , Kakei warned him. _He wants to see you debase yourself. He could just as easily have the Oni take your head off right here. The protective charms we laid over you have already lost their effectiveness this close to the city._

_No way in Hell! I_ _**won't** _ _bow to him!_

_I'm not asking you to bow. Just use the words emperor and Kyle together in a sentence. Is it that difficult?_

Kurogane growled low in his throat as he stared at the dark faerie. Just because he wasn't prince here anymore didn't mean that Kyle was emperor.

 _It's for Fai. It's for Fai. It's for Fai,_ he reminded himself over and over again as he rephrased his earlier statement.

"I was summoned here by the emperor…Kyle."

"That's better. If you'll follow me, I will take you into His Majesty's presence," the guard said, bowing wispily as it backed off to open the gate.

Even the air tasted different when Kurogane entered the city. The sad misery of what his eyes, ears, and nose reported could almost go without saying. He had been able to steel himself slightly against that…but this foul taste in the air he had not been prepared for. What _was_ it?

 _It is darkness_. Doumeki was the one to respond this time. _Dark magic…after a time, the essence of the stuff will come to pollute a place. I'm certain it will get stronger as you get closer to its source._ It went without saying what that source was.

In truth, Kurogane almost didn't recognize his own city. What he remembered as open and light was now twisted and smothered. People who had been reasonably well clothed and nourished were now dressed in threadbare rags and looked to be practically starving. No one greeted their neighbors or friends. They seemed to avoid eye contact at all cost. The eyes he did manage to catch were filled with misery and mistrust. The fallen prince also noted with alarm that several shops had been burned down. Some of the charred sites had notices posted on the wreckage proclaiming that fey blood would not be tolerated. As they moved away from the market and through the residential areas, he saw that several homes had been vandalized…graffitied with the kanji for faerie. It was a crumbling city on the verge of chaos.

_Lady and Consort, what have they done? What have these monsters done to my people?!_

_Nothing that cannot be_ _ **un**_ _done_ , Subaru reminded him gently. _Kyle_ _ **wants**_ _you to see this. He_ _ **wants**_ _you to feel the rage. He means for you to completely lose control when you confront him, but you must not. You must remember that all wounds can heal if given time. Remember whom you are fighting for._

Kurogane nodded resolutely, steeling his nerves as he was led inside the palace. He couldn't forget about Fai. The only way to stop all of this was to defeat the Dark Court and rescue Fai.

If the city was swimming in dark magic, then the palace was very nearly drowning in it. For the first few moments, the young man struggled to breathe, coughing several times as he fought to keep pace with his guide. Other Oni in the guise of men had fallen into step around them as they moved onward, closing in around him.

 _Any weapons you might hold could not possibly hurt them,_ Kamui said in response to Kurogane thinking that it was odd that no one had yet tried to strip him of Ginryuu. _What is a human child to them?_

_Then…if Kyle's not scared of me…why the huge escort?_

No one had an answer for him as he was brought into the throne room. The air was very nearly unbreathable here at the heart of the darkness. It wasn't visible, but it was a tangible thing, nonetheless. Kyle was at the center, lounging on the throne with a victorious sneer twisting his face.

"So…you came back after all."

"Couldn't stay away," Kurogane replied, his teeth still gritted.

"You do understand that this is the day you die, don't you?"

"I might surprise you." He had not broken eye contact with Kyle once since entering the room.

"What do you think of my empire, Kurogane-kun?" Kyle asked as he rose from the throne.

"Even if it were an empire…it's not yours," Kurogane spat rather calmly. "I came, just like you asked. Now free Chang Ang and tell me where Fai is. I didn't come here to chat."

Kyle shook his head as he snapped, summoning in two more poorly disguised Oni, dragging something in between them. "I had so hoped we were past this whole messy business. Here's the old man if you really want him that badly."

The old priest had been through hell. Kurogane could see that as the old man was tossed at his feet. His once fine robes had been worn to rags in his time of imprisonment. Where he had been skinny and slightly weathered before, he was now sallow and skeletal. Several wounds crisscrossed the paper dry skin. He looked as if the slightest breeze would shatter him into dust. Kurogane knew, in that moment, that it didn't matter that he had come to bargain for the man's freedom. As far as humans went, the high priest was well and truly ancient. No matter what any of them did, Chang Ang was going to die soon. That didn't mean, however, that Kurogane was going to let him go on Kyle's terms.

"Ku…Kuro-gane…sama?" the old priest whispered in a thin, gravelly voice as Kurogane gently turned him onto his back. He reached a hand up to touch the young man's face, not quite believing what his eyes and ears told him. "I'm – sorry. I don't think…I can stand."

"That's all right. I'll just carry you. I'll get you out of here."

"Foolish boy," Chang Ang coughed. "Don't tell me that you…came back here…to save this dying old man."

"Damn you, you old bastard," the prince murmured with the tiniest of fond smiles, feeling like his old self for the briefest of moments. "If you're dying, then you're doing it _my way_ , not _his_."

"Stupid child," the high priest mumbled back with the same barely there smile. "To throw your life away for a dead man."

Kurogane just shook his head. He was doing that already…or, at least, he may as well have been.

"He's right, you know," Kyle said, still smirking that same infuriating smirk.

"What did you do to him?" Kurogane asked, still managing to remain calm.

"Just tried to persuade him to contact Tomoyo-chan so that we might gain a channel into Faerie. The enchantments that keep us out are very weak right now, after all…no sovereign and all, but that's going to change very soon."

"Yeah, it is…when Yuui's kid is born. _She's_ going to be the ruler of Faerie."

"But _only_ if the baby is born. For the moment, that child is staying where it is and everyone knows it. If that princess doesn't wake up, then Seishiro will be king…and Yuui-chan will _never_ wake up, not without your baby sister." Then, almost as if he'd just thought of something, Kyle's smirk changed from triumphant to just plain evil. "Oh, and of course _Fai-kun_ will _never_ wake…because you're going to die, right here and now, and he'll slip into death in a few short weeks. Well, at least you'll finally be together again."

 _Kurogane, control yourself_ , Doumeki ordered, trying to break in on Kurogane's thoughts.

Kurogane wasn't even conscious of his reaction. The next thing he knew, he was in front of Kyle with Ginryuu buried hilt deep in his chest, his vision red with rage and blood.

If the dark faerie showed any signs of pain, Kurogane didn't see them. After a few moments, he started laughing.

"I'm pretty sure we've played this game before."

"WHERE IS HE?!" Kurogane screamed in rage as he whipped the sword out of Kyle's chest and went in for another attack. "TELL ME WHERE HE IS!"

Kyle easily evaded him, laughing all the while. "But my dear Kurogane-kun, you know perfectly well that he's a prisoner in the Dark Court."

"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!"

"Oh, all right, if you insist. I'll tell you what you want to know."

The very next moment, Kurogane found himself held immobile. For a moment he struggled against his captors, but the barely extant rational part of his mind knew he couldn't fight the Oni. Kyle approached him once more, leaning in very close, right next to his ear.

"The Dark Court is very far from here…in the northern most regions of this world. Its roots go deep into the earth. It is there, deep beneath the ground, at the darkest heart of Queen Yuuko's power, that your sweet prince is lying. There, in a coffin of nightmares, the Darkness feeds on his light, day by day devouring his soul; and do you know what the best part of all this is? You can't enter that place without being utterly consumed by that Darkness. You can certainly _try_ to rescue your Fai-kun, but the truth of the matter is that he belongs to the Darkness, now and forever."

Kurogane's response was completely unintelligible. He simply screamed with primal rage, fighting his hardest against his captors, and still without success.

"Poor little human child, gone mad with his flaming emotions."

Of the words in Kyle's taunt, only one registered in Kurogane's brain…flaming…fire.

_You have weapons._ _**Use** _ _them!_

Soel had just enough time to shield itself before Kurogane's skin caught fire. Flames burst outward, piercing the darkness of the throne room. Kyle had just enough time to shield himself before the fire washed over him, but the Oni surrounding Kurogane were not so lucky. Their demon shrieks filled his ears as they were bathed in flames. Just because it wouldn't kill them didn't mean that it wouldn't hurt.

"Oh, my," Kyle exulted, his eyes alight with wicked plans. "You _have_ grown. Just for this marvelous display of power, I think I'll give you a little gift. I'll let you try to escape. There's only one catch," he added as he moved toward Kurogane once again, reaching into the hood of his cloak and plucking Soel from within. "You can't use this. You didn't really think I was that stupid, did you? If you want to leave here, then you must defeat my body guards."

"KUROGANE!" Soel shouted in a panic as it watched the fallen prince's face. The fire from his body was slowly coming to heel, but if nothing else, the fire in his eyes had grown. There was no question for him of whether or not he would survive. He just _would_. There was no other way events could happen. Soel, though, was terrified for the survival of his sanity. Something wasn't right here.

"I know my little shield won't hold you forever," Kyle said softly to the tiny guardian. "You'll find a way through it eventually, but it doesn't need to hold you for long…just long enough."

"KUROGANE, STOP!" Soel tried again, even though it knew he wouldn't hear.

 _Kurogane-san, don't do it. Something isn't right about this_ , Kakei attempted to cajole him. All of the faeries knew something was wrong, but none of them would attempt to control his actions by force. That would be taking things a step too far.

Kurogane, however, was deaf to all pleas. Ginryuu was drawn and there was already blood on his hands. If the only way to get out was through this swarm of Oni, then Ginryuu would taste their blood.

He lost himself in that dance. He had trained so long and hard with Ginryuu that the movements were as natural as breathing. He didn't flag or give an inch, not even when he was drenched in blood. It was strangely…exhilarating…feeling that he had so much power. Enemies fell before his blade and fire in droves. He _couldn't_ be stopped. Nothing would prevent him from escaping and rescuing Fai.

Not until it was too late _\- far_ too late - did Kurogane realize his mistake.

His enemies actually _fell_ before his onslaught. They were Oni…weren't they? They should have stumbled and then shaken it off, healing easily and resuming the attack. They didn't. The throne room was littered with bodies. Only a few others remained standing besides Kyle, and these were the ones who behaved like normal Oni. The rest…

_Oh, God…what have I done?_

"Those were human soldiers, Kurogane-kun…your own men…and you killed them," Kyle informed him, a triumphant look lighting up his features.

 _Lady and Consort, we were wrong! They weren't just Oni in bad human disguises! They were spelled to read as Oni,_ Subaru suddenly connected the dots, trying desperately to explain away Kurogane's mistake.

_You didn't know. You didn't_ _**know** _ _, Kurogane-sama! It wasn't your fault. Just get out of there now!_

None of the faeries' words registered in his head. He was frozen where he stood…staring at his blade in silent horror. Even through the layers of gore on the sword, he could still see his blood-soaked reflection. It was just like before…when he killed… _Fai!_

_I…I didn't…how could I…I was only…_ _**I** _ _did this…_ _**me!** _ _I betrayed them…_

"KUROGANE!" Soel continued to shout, trying desperately to get through to the young man who seemed to have lost all touch with the world around him.

"Scream all you want," Kyle taunted as the tiny guardian finally burst free of his shield. "He can't hear you. He won't ever be able to hear you again. He belongs to us."

Soel tried its hardest to shut out Kyle's jibes as it flew toward Kurogane. His mental state could be addressed later. The most important thing was getting him and Chang Ang out of this dreadful place. Thankfully, Chang Ang had been steadily dragging himself across the floor from the very moment Kurogane had started to break down. He was reaching him now, just as Soel was activating a wind portal to take them to safety.

One whoosh and a totality of darkness later, Kurogane found himself sitting in the grass just outside of the cottage in Celes Forest. The sky was growing dark overhead and Chang Ang was lying beside him, but these things hardly seemed to register with him… neither did the voices filling the air…calling his name.

"Kurogane-kun!" Queen Sakura's voice cried out as a pair of arms, presumably hers, wrapped themselves around him. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault."

Kurogane pulled away from the queen, seeming neither to see nor hear her. She was also covered in blood from where she'd embraced him. He slowly got to his feet, not really seeing anything around him. No one knew what to make of the empty expression in his eyes. Before any of them could say anything more, he turned and began to walk away into the forest.

"Kurogane, stop! Please, stop!" Souma cried as she hurried after him. Of course, he paid her no mind.

"Go with her, Subaru," Kakei ordered gently. "With his magic, it will take more than just Souma to prevent him from harming himself if the notion should enter his head. Besides, he might need healing. The rest of us will get the priest to a bed."

Subaru nodded, swiftly catching up to Souma and Kurogane. The young ninja was still pleading with her friend, but he looked like he would never hear anything again. He just stared blankly ahead as he moved through the foliage, dragging his bloodied sword behind him, the hilt held in an iron grip.

"Kurogane, why won't you listen? It wasn't your fault. You _didn't know!_ You couldn't have."

"It was just like Kusanagi said," he mumbled numbly. "I lost control. I cut what I didn't mean to cut."

He fell silent after that. None of them kept track of just how far they walked. It wasn't like it mattered with Celes. They could end up anywhere. Kurogane didn't stop until he heard the sound of his feet splashing into the Yume River. For a moment, he just stood still, but then he began to inch into the deeper waters. Souma and Subaru were making to follow him when he came to a stop yet again, the river swirling about him at about waist height.

"K-Kurogane?" Souma tried to call out to him once again. The fallen prince slowly raised his enchanted blade, holding it just beneath the water's surface and watching the layers of blood smoothly wash away from it.

"I…I killed them," he murmured, staring at his reflection in shock. "They're dead. They…won't ever wake up again."

For a moment that could have been eons or mere seconds, Kurogane gazed at the blood that washed from his skin and clothing and flowed away with the river. It seemed like such a long time that the water was clouded with blood.

Then Kurogane threw his head back and gave a cry of such anguish and utter loneliness that it raised the hairs on the backs of both Subaru's and Souma's necks. Then, quite suddenly, he just dropped into the water…just floated on the surface, slowly drifting with the current.

As hands grabbed a hold of him and carried him to the riverbank, Kurogane remembered the first time he'd ever seen Spirit Lake.

Even if it was small, a tiny part of him wished that Fai had not taught him how to swim all those years ago.

XxX

_Fire…burning…everything…always burning. Fire burns in his skin…deeper…at the very core of him. By rights, he should have turned to ashes a long time ago, but he never does. He only continues to burn…and the burning grows worse moment by moment…but something is different now. Something inside tells him that the burning has reached its peak. That something…is clawing, shrieking…fighting with all its might to break free of his body. He knows…and_ _**it** _ _knows…that it will tear him to shreds when it breaks free of him._

_Fai gazes down in fear when he realizes what's happening to him. The center of the burning is his swollen stomach. It is the seed that Seishiro - Darkness - placed inside of him. The child of their union is ready to be born…and its birth will be the ruin of all. The prince of light throws his head back and screams in agony, clutching at the dead earth on which he lies, as his body tears open, literally splitting in two._

" _Hush, Tou-san. You mustn't cry anymore. I'm here now," a deadly, silken voice whispers in his ear as a pair of ice cold arms wrap around his broken form._

" _W-what?" he murmurs, slowly opening his eyes. Not daring to look at the state of his pain-wracked body, he looks instead to the face of the person who now holds him. His eyes bulge in shock when he finds himself gazing into his own face._

" _Who…who are you?"_

" _That hurts, Tou-san. I'm your firstborn son…your child."_

" _But…you're_ _ **me**_ _," he mumbles in confusion. They look alike down to the very last detail. The only difference is that this Fai is as cold as death and he wears a leering expression that Fai himself would have died before using._

" _I'm that, too," his mirror image says with a cruel smile._

" _I don't understand."_

" _You've come too far into the darkness. You're dying. I'm the you that was born to take your place when your light finally goes out. I'm your son, the child of your union with your uncle, son and cousin both to you…but I am also_ _ **you**_ _…the_ _ **true**_ _you. I have the strength to survive here in the dark. In fact, I will thrive. When your Kurogane finally comes for you…_ _ **if**_ _he comes…it will be_ _ **me**_ _he finds in your place."_

" _That…no…you can't…" Fai mumbles uncomprehendingly. Goddess, he's in so much_ _ **pain**_ _. In this very moment, he would_ _ **gladly**_ _die just to be free of it._

" _Well, we can't have that, now can we?" his doppelganger mutters acidly, as if he'd read his thoughts. "You haven't_ _ **earned**_ _your death, Tou-san. I'll see those baby blue eyes shed many more tears and tear hundreds of delicious screams from your pretty white throat before I let you sleep beneath the earth. So, for now, I'll keep you here with me." As he speaks, the other Fai holds a hand over him and the glow of dark magic flows from his hand and into Fai. The blond watches in repulsed fascination as the gaping wound that had been his stomach slowly knits itself back together. Of course, as the body mends, the pain quickly subsides, as well._

" _There, now. Isn't that better?" the other Fai asks in a singsong voice, almost as if speaking to a small child. Fai is about to nod when his other - his_ _ **child -**_ _bends over him and kisses him on the lips - very passionately. Fai feels an unwelcome twinge of desire in his loins in the brief moment before he manages to shove the other young man away._

" _What are you doing?!" he demands furiously._

" _Kissing you…and everything that comes after that…Tou-san," his other says, leering as he eyes him like a piece of meat. The moment those eyes begin to caress his body, Fai could almost swear he feels hands on him, stroking him just the way he likes - though there are several feet in between the two of them._

" _ **Stop it!**_ _" the confused prince shouts, backing even further away. Tears form in his eyes as arousal begins between his legs._

" _As much as I'd_ _ **love**_ _to say that tormenting you is purely for my own amusement, I can't stop wanting you anymore than you can stop wanting me. You feel it even now, don't you…the need to be one…the desperate desire for me to throw you to the ground and ravish you senseless."_

_Fai's retreat comes to a sudden halt. How…how does he_ _**know** _ _?_

" _I know because you and I are the same person. As long as we both exist, we will be driven to unite…to become one. Until one or the other dies, we will both feel an uncontrollable urge to mate with each other in an attempt to become a single person again. Of course…having sex won't do any good…not this deep in the darkness. Here…we are absolutes of darkness and light and we cannot recombine. You'll go right on_ _ **needing**_ _me until the moment of your death…until I decide to_ _ **release**_ _you," he explains, finally catching up to Fai and taking him in his arms once more. He doesn't run this time. When his double kisses him, he kisses back. He wraps his arms around his other, runs desperate fingers through his hair, tears the tunic from his body. The need to be touched…kissed…held…_ _ **taken**_ _…is just too strong. It isn't until he feels his other's hands inside his pants…roughly_ _ **squeezing**_ _that need…that he finds the will to pull himself away, though his body screams out for release._

" _No. No!" he cries, shaking his head as he clutches at himself…as if he could somehow contain this soul-crushing lust. "I don't want this. I don't_ _ **want**_ _to! It's too much."_

_Once again, the other Fai follows his retreat, reaching forward and cupping his cheek in his palm, lovingly caressing the tear-stained skin._

" _The difference between you and me, Fai, is that you're trying to fight the fact that you want me. I'm not ashamed of it. I don't care_ _ **how**_ _dirty I have to get to satisfy this hunger. I don't care if the Lady Herself watches us fuck. I want to get so sinful that no one can_ _ **stand**_ _it. If you_ _ **truly**_ _don't want this…then fight back. You have the power. You have the Hand of Blood now. Use it. Kill me, Tou-san."_

_Fai freezes as the memory of hot blood splashing onto his skin rushes through him. It was so easy to do. Carrying the memory of it, however, is_ _**not** _ _easy._

" _But I…I don't_ _ **want**_ _that power," he cries helplessly. Dear Goddess in heaven, why is he so weak?!_

" _That's what I thought. You won't fight. You won't ever resist. You're a doll for the taking. I can do what I like with you…so get on your knees."_

XxX

" _Yuui," a silky voice calls out to her, practically singing her name. It is a voice both dulcet and dangerous…and somehow familiar to her. It is like a voice she knows had been taken…and twisted into something irredeemably dark…but at the same time, it is still so…_ _ **beautiful**_ _._

_As the scintillating voice continues to sing her name…calling for her…she slowly becomes conscious of herself. She's lying on a bed in a dark room, laid comfortably between layers of silken sheets. Had she been sleeping? Perhaps she can sleep again…in this warm bed…cradled in the arms of this sinfully lovely voice…_

_As thoughts of sleep float through her head, she feels the very subtle shifting of blankets that indicate someone is crawling into the bed with her. So lulled into complacency by the hypnotic voice is she that she does not care. All she wants to hear are the honey-tipped tones of her own name from the lips of whomever it is that possesses this voice._

" _Yuui," the owner of the voice whispers in her ear as arms suddenly wrap around her and pull her close to another warm body. There is nothing but skin between them…warm, soft skin. Yuui smiles languidly as the voice's owner kisses her._

" _Oh, Yuui…I love you so." The golden words slip inside her ears as she is pulled even closer. Her hazy mind doesn't even question it when she feels her breasts press against the flat, muscular chest of a man. She moans softly as the voice's owner…the young man…slips a hand in between their bodies…his tantalizing fingers teasing her flesh just inches above the prize._

" _Mm…touch me," she pleads, moaning a little louder and pressing herself against the hand that is a mere breath away from plunging straight between her legs._

" _Your wish is my command, my sweet princess," the luscious voice penetrates her ears once again…caressing her in ways no voice should be able to. Then she feels it…the plunge…the fingers pushing into her body and a dexterous thumb rubbing at the hot, moist nub between her legs. The already intense feelings of pleasure are so strong they cause her to cry out, wanting more._

" _Oh, my," her partner starts, laughing softly and mockingly - a hint of the danger she remembers from earlier. "You're soaking wet, Yuui. You little slut. I'll have to hurry. We can't have you coming too soon, after all."_

_Yuui giggles coquettishly as the invading fingers rub at her insides, heightening her pleasure and doing their best to block out the sense that something is wrong. Blond hair and pale skin briefly flash in her vision, somewhere above her. She's somehow come to be pinned beneath the young man. When the fingers are withdrawn, she feels the tip of something bigger, harder, and infinitely more dangerous press against her entrance._

" _Please…please…take me!" she moans in desperation. She needs to come. She needs him to be inside her. Something is wrong! Something is horribly wrong…but she can't make herself care enough to stop what she's doing._

" _Your wish, my darling," her lover's honeyed voice sings to her. He presses several heated kisses to her face as he plunges deep inside of her. The feeling is too much. Yuui screams as she climaxes all at once. Golden laughter fills her ears as her body writhes with the force of the orgasm. "You poor baby. You came_ _ **much**_ _too fast. I haven't even had my own play yet. You really are such a little slut."_

" _I'm sorry," she cries softly, clinging weakly to him as the last tremors slowly fade away. He's made her feel so good. All she wants now is to please this honey-voiced young man._

" _It's all right, koibito. I can still finish. I promise you, this won't hurt a bit. You'll like it," he whispers soothingly to her as he sits up on his knees and pulls her with him, settling her comfortably in his lap. As she wraps her arms and legs around him, he lowers his head to her breast, his warm breath ghosting along her tender flesh. For a brief moment, she can't help but think that he looks exactly like someone she knows…but the dark…the heat…the sweat…it is impossible._

_Coherent thought vanishes when he starts to move, bouncing her body up and down on his hips. At the exact same moment, he takes one of her nipples in his mouth and begins to suck, sending an arrow of sensation through her chest. It feels so wonderful that she could almost come again right here and now._

_Quite suddenly, however, the fragments of pleasure in her breast turn to pain. Instead of the sensations of being pleasured, she feels something…being drained out of her…but she still can't break free. The rest of her body still feels so_ _**good** _ _. He looks into her face, straight into her eyes…and she still can't quite recognize his face. A wicked leer spreads across her lover's face and she noticea that a trail of white liquid is dribbling from the corner of his mouth. White…liquid? Milk…was it milk? Her milk? He'd been…breastfeeding? What?_

" _You were wrong, Yuui." His voice is still unbearably beautiful, even though his face has twisted into something sinister. "We_ _ **did**_ _unite. We_ _ **did**_ _make love. Only_ _ **I**_ _can satisfy you…my sweet…beautiful…onee-san."_

_It's that one word that causes the illusion to shatter and serves to jolt Yuui out of her stupor. They are both naked. He is buried deep inside her, about to climax…and she is staring into the face of…_

" _Fai?!" she sobs, tears of horror spilling down her face. "What…what are you doing?"_

" _Making you mine…and mine alone…for eternity," he promises as he presses a claiming kiss to her lips. She is far too shocked to push him away._

" _How…how could you-" her mumblings of confusion and hurt are suddenly silenced when her twin brother seizes her hips and forces himself as deep inside her as he can go, preventing her escape._

" _Oh…Oh, Yuui," he moans softly…mockingly. "_ _ **I'm coming**_ _."_

" _NO! NEVER!" she shrieks, digging her fingers into his chest and tearing herself away from him only a moment before it's too late. As she collapses on the bed, his seed spills on the sheets between them. It is pain beyond pain…tearing away from her twin. She almost feels as if she herself had been torn in two._

" _Poor, poor Yuui," her brother croons as he kneels over her battered body. "Why did you stop it? You know it will happen eventually. It_ _ **must**_ _happen."_

" _Who…are you?" she mumbles weakly._

" _I'm your baby broher," he whispers into her ear as he kisses the sensitive flesh._

" _You're not. No…he would never…do this." Goddess, she is so weak right now. Her entire body aches from the force of the separation. If he chooses to take her right now, she doesn't know if she'll be able to stop him._

_Had they experienced this pain when they were conceived together?_

" _Well…you're_ _ **half**_ _right. I'm Fai…but also_ _ **not**_ _him. I'm the_ _ **true**_ _Fai. My power will be fully realized." As he speaks, Yuui sees a faint flicker of fire in his blue eyes and suddenly knows, beyond doubt, that this is the demon that Kurogane has witnessed in his nightmares - the demon that is slowly taking over her brother._

" _My brother…my_ _ **real**_ _brother…where is he? What did you do to him?" she begs desperately. It's been so long…to suddenly be so close…_

" _ **Do**_ _to him? What I was going to do to you. I made him mine," the image says with a satisfied smirk._

" _Where is he?" she repeats, not wanting to acknowledge that they've failed to save Fai once again._

" _If I were you, I'd get used to the idea of having me around, but I can show you if you_ _ **really**_ _think it will make you feel better." With that, the imposter Fai slowly lifts her up into his arms, making certain she has a good view of the darkness beyond their bed. Then he waves a hand and an image begins to appear._

_For a moment, it's just a vision of Fai…the fake…the copy. She knows it from the satisfied smirk he wears on his face - a twisted expression that doesn't suit her brother's beautiful features in the slightest. Her real brother is the one to appear next…as an indistinct figure crouched directly in front of the false one. Their positions, her brother's movements, and the fake's hands in his hair leave no doubt in her mind as to what Fai was doing to him._

" _That's right. You're nothing," the copy moans as it thrusts harder. "Now take it like the weak little nothing you are!"_

" _Fai, stop! What are you doing?!" Yuui cries out, struggling to get to her brother. Unfortunately, she is still in intense pain and can't escape her captor's grasp._

" _What he was meant to do. He gives other people pleasure. That's the only reason for his existence…and he's good at it," the fake answers with a knowing smirk._

" _That's a lie!" Yuui sobs._

" _But it_ _ **happened**_ _, dear Yuui. You cannot change what happened. I took him. He_ _ **gave**_ _himself to me. He would rather be used like this than use the power inside of him to fight back."_

" _What…what are you talking about?"_

" _Prince Fai…has_ _ **great power**_ _," the fake whispers to her. "He has come into his own Hand here in the darkness. He could be truly beautiful. He could be such a magnificent killer…but he will not use his powers."_

" _He would never…hurt…"_

" _Never say never, my princess. Everyone is capable of the darkest deeds. Everyone has something that would push them over the final edge…one line, that if crossed, makes going back impossible. Fai can never go back. Kurogane can never go back. You yourself will find your one thing here in the dark."_

" _Why is he…so hard to see?" she asks weakly, having no response for the fake's words and beginning to worry over the fading coherency of her little brother's form._

" _He is forgetting. The love that filled him is leaving him. He is going into the darkness from which there is no return. He is fading. He won't last much longer…and you will follow him into that darkness. Here…you will know your true self."_

_Yuui makes no response. No sooner does the false Fai stop speaking than it pulls her body flush against its own and she realizes…_ _**Her stomach is flat!** _ _Inarguably, inescapably, horrifically flat. No baby. No baby!_ _**No baby!** _

" _Where is my baby?" she finally asks, her voice a breathless whisper on the verge of bursting into tears once more._

" _Does it really matter? So long as you are here with me, that child will never be born. Your daughter is gone from you."_

_Yuui shakes her head in denial as tears spill down her face. "That…that's not true. I'll get out of here. I'll save my broher…and I'll get my daughter back!"_

_Her brother's doppelganger laughs as it lays her back down on the bed. "You just keep dreaming, Onee-sama. You are truly beautiful when you struggle. You will make a much more interesting conquest than Fai did. The resistant fire in your heart only makes me stronger…makes me want you more. You'll be mine yet, Princess Yuui."_

_Then, pressing a bruising kiss to her lips, her brother vanishes into the darkness from whence he'd come…his dangerously beautiful voice still lingering in her ears and his passionate touch still clinging to her skin._

XxX

"Arashi, _please!_ Talk to me. Give me some kind of sign you're still alive in there," Sorata begged softly.

Arashi's only response was silence. She had been in a meditative trance for what felt like several days. They had no way of knowing just how long they had been Seishiro's prisoners for and Arashi hadn't been able to keep much food down recently because she'd been getting sick fairly often. He knew what she feared, but there was no way to confirm that fear unless they could discover how long they had been held captive. To that end, Arashi had entered the trance. She didn't know if the power was still in her blood, but she had heard that the fey possessed the ability to speak directly to the minds of other beings. Even if she couldn't speak to another mind, she had at least hoped she might be able to touch one, to find the information she sought _somewhere_.

Sorata didn't know when he'd started to speak to his comatose lover. It was maddening to be trapped here, unable to know how she was faring on her journey, whether or not she was okay.

"Please…come back to me," he murmured beseechingly, placing his hands on hers. He had lost count of the number of times he had chanted this plea. "Arashi…I don't _care_ if the baby's his. You might not even _be_ pregnant. I just want you back. Don't leave me here alone."

Sorata might have sat there in the dark, holding Arashi's hands and pleading softly with her unresponsive form until he went mad had she not jolted awake quite suddenly, collapsing into his arms and hyperventilating.

"Arashi! Arashi, are you all right?! What happened? What did you see?"

"Sorata, Sorata," she murmured over and over again as her breath slowly returned to her. All the while, she clung to him with trembling hands. When she was finally ready to talk, it was only in short, whispered bursts.

"I'm…not really sure…whose minds I touched. It was…all I could do to…stay connected. Terrible things are happening."

"Did…did you find what you were looking for?" Sorata finally managed to ask.

"Two months," she whispered despairingly. "We've been trapped in this cage…for a little more than two months. I haven't bled for _two months!_ " she hissed in anguish.

"Oh…Oh, Arashi," he whispered soothingly as he pulled her body even tighter against his own, fully aware of what this meant.

"What we were afraid of…it's finally happened. I…I'm with child."


	31. Sweet Things

_They sit…staring…just staring. Ever since the princess saw through the prince's little deception, it's all they've done. Seishiro now and then tries to distract her with tempting visions of what's happening in the world beyond, but Tomoyo will not allow herself to look away from him. There is nothing to be gained by it. Trapped as she is, she cannot change what is happening. The best thing she can do right now is try to figure Seishiro out._

" _Why can't I see you?" she finally asks._

_Seishiro's amiable grin grows a little wider. "See me? What do you mean you can't see me? I'm right here, aren't I?"_

" _Of course you're not. This is an illusion, not a dream. I've never been able to see you in my dreams. You've been the bane of my brothers' existence; you've done countless horrible things…and I've never once seen your involvement in the future in my visions. I know my gift has limits, but it isn't_ _ **that**_ _limited. You are such a defining factor. Why are you hidden from my sight?"_

" _Perhaps…it is because I_ _ **have**_ _no future," the Dark Prince suggests neutrally._

" _Everyone has a future. Until the moment the last breath is exhaled, the future can still be changed. It wouldn't explain why I haven't been able to see you all these years."_

" _You misunderstand, Princess. Can you see the future of the Light and the Dark in your dreams? You know that I am the Sakurazukamori. I am an absolute…the embodiment of all that is dark and chaotic. I am invisible to you because I am not a player in this game. I am a force."_

" _And yet you still choose to take form as Prince Seishiro Reed. By your need to exist within a conscious being…the very fact of your nature…some part of you must still have a destiny."_

" _We will see."_

" _They know." Tomoyo suddenly hears a voice from behind her. It's different now, but she still knows the voice. The man who had taken Yuui and given her her child - Fuuma._

_She does not turn to look at him, but waits for him to pass into her line of vision. He moves forward and kneels beside the cross-legged prince._

" _Do they?" Seishiro asks, smiling to himself. "I was beginning to wonder when she'd acknowledge it."_

" _What do you want to do?"_

" _Release them. Give them back to their rabble in the forest. Let_ _ **them**_ _decide what to do."_

" _And-"_

" _A little bit longer yet," Seishiro cuts him off, glancing past him and toward Tomoyo. "We haven't quite reached the point that I need."_

_Fuuma simply nods, rises, and strides away, not even sparing Tomoyo a passing glance as he passes from the illusion._

" _Aren't you going to ask me what that was about?" Seishiro teases._

_Tomoyo shakes her head. "I could…but I know you a little better, I think. If you mean to tell me, then you will." Besides, she has a sinking feeling that she_ _**knows** _ _whom he's talking about anyway._

_Seishiro responds with a nod. "Very good. You're learning, little hime. I think…perhaps…that your time will come soon."_

XxX

Sleep was not a common activity in the little cottage in the glen. Of the occupants still possessing the capacity to choose waking or sleeping, only Souma slept on a semi-regular basis. As such, none of the bedrooms were used very often, so it wasn't difficult to make Watanuki's old bedroom ready for the dying high priest. When Subaru and Souma had returned with a once again catatonic Kurogane, Subaru had done his very best for the old man, but Chang Ang had asked for respite.

"Please," he'd begged softly. "I'll last a bit longer for you, but I'm ready to go now. It's been so long…and I want to rest."

True to his word, he had lived through the night, but now, as the morning sun shone into the little cottage, they all knew it wouldn't be much longer. Sakura had just gone to Faerie to bring Amaterasu back in order to administer Final Release to her priest. Everyone else, save Sai, who had hung back to guard Yuui and Tomoyo, was gathered in the bedroom. The old priest seemed, almost, to be nothing more than a coherent outline beneath the blankets. Whatever Kyle had done to him, it had slowly begun to devour his very essence, leaving only the bare frame of a human being. Already, he had one foot in the realm of death.

"Chang Ang?" Amaterasu murmured softly as Sakura led her into the small room.

"Your Majesty?" he responded, raising his head slightly before quickly collapsing back against the pillows. "Is it you, my empress?"

"I am here."

"Where…where is…Tomoyo-hime? Is she safe?"

The older ruler closed her eyes and swallowed painfully. She'd been allowed to see her daughter before Sakura had led her down - her Tomoyo - lying cold as death…

"She _will_ be," she finally responded. She had to have faith that her daughter would be saved.

Chang Ang nodded as he closed his eyes. Her meaning was clear and he didn't need to know more. He wouldn't be able to apologize for the grief he'd caused her.

"Chang Ang…High Priest of the Lady and Her Consort…you have asked for the rite of Final Release. This will I grant, but there are things I must know first," Amaterasu said formally as she took the ailing man's hand in hers.

"Anything that I can give…Highness," he answered weakly, belying the quiet strength with which he gripped the offered hands.

"I have seen…through Queen Sakura's eyes…the sights that my son beheld when he returned to Shirasagi yesterday. That…that was _not_ the home that we love. That place…was the nightmare from my childhood. Tell me…what has that monster done to our city?" she asked, her voice trembling just slightly.

"It's…as you say. Kyle has brought back…the world of your father…the tyrant, Taishakuten. He tells the people…that the fey are the enemy. He turns them against those with fey blood in their veins…and those unfortunate ones are either driven from the city or killed."

"Just like before," Amaterasu whispered as her face went white in dread. As if the long years had never passed, she could suddenly feel her dying lover in her arms once again.

_Saya…_

"Yes. He keeps his own duplicity concealed. They believe him…to be human…and they believe…that you are still in the castle. He's told them…you are simply weak…from carrying a child. He's…also told them…that the prince and his sister…were spirited away by faeries."

"So that's how he turned them so easily," Souma said softly, half to herself.

"I don't…know what the snake stands to gain…by turning the people against Faerie. Neither do I know…how far his tyranny has spread. It could be contained within Shirasagi…or…it could be…spreading unchecked throughout the empire."

"You can rest easy, old friend. This evil will not be allowed to stand. We'll take back what's ours…and our people will remember that you were brave…and did not bend before his tyranny," Amaterasu reassured him.

"Thank you…Amaterasu. Where…where is…Kurogane-sama?"

"He's here," she answered, allowing her gaze to move toward her son, who was standing beside the open door, only half-seeing everything that was happening in the room. When he gave no sign that he'd heard Chang Ang's request, Souma and Subaru moved in to flank him and gently led him over to the bed. Chang Ang shook his head at the empty expression that adorned the prince's face.

"Foolish boy…it wasn't your fault. Kyle tricked you."

"Nothing any of you can say…can change what I've done," Kurogane replied, his first coherent sentence since Souma and Subaru had brought him back from the river. "All those soldiers ever did…was pledge their loyalty to my mother."

_Kyle knew me well enough to know that I_ _**would** _ _get caught in the trap. I'm no better than the rest of them. That nightmare could come true. I really could…kill Fai. I'm a monster…_

"And that's why…Kyle did it. He knew…you would react this way."

"It doesn't matter why it was done. I still killed my own men," the fallen prince responded calmly.

"I haven't the time…to sit here and explain everything to you. You wouldn't listen to me…anyway," the priest grumbled, giving several hacking coughs before continuing. "You'll listen someday…someday…you'll find your redemption…in the arms of the moon."

"What?" Kurogane asked, suddenly seeming to come into alignment with the world around him and really seeing the dying man before him for the first time. Chang Ang didn't give him an answer, though.

"Amaterasu…it's time now. If you're going…to let me go…then do it."

The queen nodded as she sat down on the bed beside him, drawing his hand up close and pressing it against her heart.

"Chang Ang…you have walked this earth for one hundred years of men. Eighty-four of those years were dedicated to the faithful service of the Crown in the name of the Lord and Lady. My mother exhaled her last breath in giving me my first…and my father was dead to me before I could even know him. You were the closest thing I had to a parent. You taught me so much…and I'll never be able to thank you properly for it. All I can give you is this promise. You are forthwith released from my service…and have my full blessing to go forth and find happiness in your next birth. Go now…and make of dying what you will." With that, she raised his hand to her lips and pressed a tender kiss to the ancient, gnarled skin. The old man sighed in contentment.

"I will die free…That is…all I wanted. Tera…I'll carry your love…to Saya-chan and Ashura-sama."

Briefly, Amaterasu's eyes shone with tears. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Tell…Tomoyo…that I'm sorry," he whispered to Kurogane as his eyelids flickered closed.

Kurogane nodded, though he didn't specifically acknowledge that he would tell her. "She'll know."

Chang Ang looked like he might say something else, but he just continued to draw slow breaths for several more minutes. Then his chest rose…fell…and did not rise again.

Taking a moment to check for the beat of blood in his neck and heart, Amaterasu finally laid the old man's hand down on his chest. Bowing her head, she said only, "Rest well, dear friend." When she looked up once again, all signs of tears were gone from her face. "We'll need to prepare a funeral pyre for him. He was born in Koryo Province and it was his wish that his ashes be scattered about the Lady's sanctuary in Koryo City."

"It will be done, Amaterasu-sama," Kakei said solemnly. "We will need to pass through Koryo Province in order to reach the Dark Court anyway."

 _ **Be aware,**_ the combined voices of Yue and Kero suddenly sounded in everyone's head. _**The Sakurazukamori approaches.**_

"Seishiro?" Subaru whispered, half in fear and half in rage.

_**No, this one was once Lord Fuuma Monou.** _

"He's alive?" Kamui asked, the relief in his voice plain to be heard as he made for the door. The others slowly followed suit, wondering what the Dark Court could possibly want with them now.

 _I will remain with the princesses_ , Sai informed them. _The Sakurazukamori will not have them._

It wasn't that Yue and Kero had simply formed a barrier around the glen…it was that they _were_ the barrier. They had shifted their forms into wild magic…pure energy…the source that the fey had originally taken form from. It was dangerous for anyone to attempt this feat for any lengthy period of time. There was always the danger that one would forget oneself and simply remain in a state of pure magic for eternity. The only ones who had a prayer of retaining their identities in this state for a period of time longer than a few hours were Yue, Kero…and the Sakurazukamori. By that same token, only the Sakurazukamori had a chance of breaking through such a powerful barrier - if it was of the mind to try it.

Fuuma stood at the edge of the glen, just beyond the invisible shield that Kero and Yue had made of themselves. Two cloaked figures were on their knees at his sides.

"Fuuma?" Kamui murmured as Yuui's protectors came to stand before him. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't I even get a hello kiss? You thought I was dead, didn't you?" he teased with a smirk, holding an inviting hand out to his former lover.

Kamui turned away, closing his eyes against the sight. "Fuuma…Sakurazukamori…whoever you are…no more. Don't do this to me."

Fuuma shook his head. "Since this one doesn't seem to be in his right mind just now…is there anyone else willing to do business with me?"

"I'll deal with you," Subaru said as he stepped forward, angry on his brother's behalf. "What is it you want here?"

"I came to deliver some gifts," he said, smiling as he reached down to flip the hoods off of his two captives, revealing the haggard faces of –

"Arashi-sensei!" Souma shouted, making to move forward before she was stopped by Doumeki. The weather sprite halted Kurogane's advance in a similar fashion when the prince recognized Sorata.

"You want them back, don't you?"

"How do we know this isn't a trap?" Subaru asked, trying to keep a cool head.

"Simple. This barrier of yours keeps out evil intent, correct? I'll just shove them at it. If it's not a trick, they'll pass through unharmed; but if harm is meant…then the harm will be turned back upon them."

Before anyone could say anything more, Fuuma lifted both Sorata and Arashi up by their hair and threw their helpless bodies at the shield. When they easily passed through, Watanuki and Sakura were right there to catch them.

"Be careful with her!" Sorata ordered as Sakura helped him to stand.

"Are you hurt?" Watanuki asked the woman in his arms, wondering at the ninja's command.

"No," the kunoichi said softly, not really looking at him as she spoke.

"What is this?" Subaru asked, turning his attention back to Fuuma. The former lord had come closer to the barrier and laid his hands on it, unable to pass through…though he almost seemed to be contemplating trying it. After a moment, he backed off and smiled up at Subaru.

"Oh, I've either just brought you a little bundle of joy…or your own destruction."

"What are you talking about?" Watanuki asked as he helped Arashi to stand on her own.

"That woman there is with child," Fuuma replied, nodding at Arashi. The usually proud kunoichi hung her head in despair, unable to meet the gazes of the others as they turned to look at her. "If we have done our jobs correctly, it is Seishiro's child."

Though Fuuma's words were greeted with a moment of absolute silence, the shock that traveled through the group was no less tangible. Subaru was the one to finally ask, "Why in the _world_ would you hand us the one obstacle to Princess Yuui's ascension?"

"Because that one was sleeping with her as well," Fuuma explained, indicating Sorata, "in the hope that his seed might take root instead. For all you know, this child you so fear is his…and not the child of your enemy. That is why we give them back to you. What safer place for our greatest weapon than in the caring hands of our enemies? None of you would harm this child on the off chance it is Sorata's."

"Wouldn't we?" Kujaku suddenly stepped in. His expression was very much akin to Fuuma's amiable, smiling one. "Why shouldn't we eliminate such a glaring threat to our princess? It is our _duty_ , after all. If we've made a mistake, these two can most certainly have other children." His logic was so cool…calculated…but it somehow lost its effectiveness when applied to the murder of a potentially innocent child.

"Ah…Kujaku…the child even the Dark Court did not want. I'd learned from this mind that King Reed had taken you on as a lapdog, but I'm almost surprised to see you accepting it. You used to be so _fierce_ ," the possessed lord reminisced, not even addressing Kujaku's barely veiled threat.

Kujaku only smiled as the focus of the assemblage shifted to him. "Well…ferocity never got me anywhere. This new guise opens so many doors that would have otherwise been closed. I'll play this hand through to the end, thanks."

"Hmm…I'll leave you to it, then. Just because _you_ see the practical way out doesn't mean your compatriots will. You're outmatched…child of sin." Fuuma left yet another wave of shocked silence behind him when he disappeared. Arashi was the one to finally break it when she fell to her knees before Amaterasu.

"My empress, I'm _so sorry!_ " she cried helplessly. "I would have _died_ rather than betray you and Kurogane-sama, but…he was going to kill _Sorata!_ I couldn't…let him…"

Rather than remain in her dignified position, the Nihon empress slowly lowered herself to her knees before the distraught ninja mistress. Being careful of her own little one, she gently wrapped her arms around Arashi's trembling form - woman to woman…mother to mother.

"You would have been my sister, Arashi Kishu," Amaterasu whispered in her ear, only for her. "You know that I've felt the pain of losing someone I loved so dearly. I would never wish that pain on _anyone_ , let alone my Saya's little sister. It will be the last thing that person does if someone should _ever_ try to blame you for this."

"Majesty?" Sorata began softly as he knelt beside the two of them. "May I?"

Amaterasu nodded, relinquishing Arashi to Sorata's care.

"So what do we do?" Kamui was the one to ask, finally managing to regain his composure.

"The solution is simple, really. If there's even the slightest chance this child is Seishiro's, we should remove it from the picture. It's a threat…nothing more," Kujaku said coldly.

"This baby didn't choose its father," Amaterasu responded firmly. "You can't kill it for something that isn't its fault."

"Isn't there some sort of spell you can use to determine if the baby has fey blood or not?" Souma asked in exasperation.

"Such spells exist," Kakei started, "but they will be of little use in Arashi's situation. She has fey blood herself. No matter who fathered the child, it will have some measure of fey blood. So early in a pregnancy, any such spell could only tell us whether or not a child has fey blood. Just how much of that blood is fey and how much is human could only be determined much later…about four months in at best."

"If the child _is_ Seishiro's…why couldn't we just keep it with us?" Sakura queried. "If having an heir is what makes him king, why do we need to surrender it to him?"

"I don't think you understand how this works, Sakura-sama," Kakei continued. "When it comes to selecting a new sovereign, the only voice in the matter is Faerie itself. If this child is somehow born before Yuui-hime's is, then Seishiro just _is_ king. No ifs, ands, or buts…no choice. He is king…and if he so chooses, then the lives of the princess, her consort, and her daughter are all forfeit."

This grabbed the attention of both rulers. Neither of them thought it right to kill the child Arashi carried…but could they make such a stand at the expense of their _own_ daughters? Even so…what if the child wasn't Seishiro's at all…and they murdered it? At the present moment, nearly everyone there was of the same mind.

_If we do this…just how are we different from them?_

Amaterasu was the one to finally break the tense, questioning silence. "The final decision…will rest with Arashi-chan. I will not ask her to destroy her baby."

"Why her?" Souma finally asked aloud as she watched Sorata care for her fallen sensei. "Out of all the people…in this goddamn world…why did he choose _her?_ "

"It's because she's part fey," Sorata answered her, cradling Arashi close.

"What do you mean? What's that to do with anything?" Watanuki asked him.

"He said…that when he got her with his child…she would become a symbol to the half fey of Nihon…that Kyle would drive them from their homes and the Dark Court would welcome them with open arms. When they see that the mother of his child is just like them…he believes they will flock to his service."

"That's it," Subaru breathed in shock. "That's why Kyle's turning the people of Nihon against the half fey…to trick them into seeking asylum from Seishiro."

"But…what would the Dark Court want with an army of half fey? More than half of them probably won't even have come into a Hand yet," Kamui mused.

"A shield, perhaps?" Kujaku suggested callously. "Unlike Faerie, the Dark Court has no rules. They know that servants of the light won't attack defenseless mortals."

"That's it," Kakei said softly. "That's exactly it. It can't be anything else."

"All of those people…so much depends on it," Subaru mused despairingly. "Can we really…risk…allowing the child to be born?"

"Would it kill you to stop talking about her like she's not here?" Sorata asked heatedly, glaring at the debating group.

"Sorata-san…can you tell us what the…odds are, exactly?" Amaterasu asked him.

"That _monster_ …took her…so many times," the ninja warrior muttered angrily. "But…every time he did…I was with her…right after…just so there might be some chance…some prayer…that any child she had might not be his. The odds are exactly fifty fifty…that the baby's mine…or _his_. I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but is there a place where I can take her to rest? She hasn't been sleeping well and she doesn't eat nearly enough to support both of them."

"Of course," Amaterasu said softly. "Watanuki-san?"

The nature sprite swiftly bobbed his head and indicated that Sorata should follow him into the house. The ninja nodded, lifted Arashi into his arms and carried her in behind Watanuki. Amaterasu followed after them.

"Souma-chan?" the young Kunoichi vaguely head Queen Sakura's voice calling out to her. "Are you all right?"

She wasn't…and she certainly didn't imagine she looked like she was. It had broken something in her to see Arashi in such a state; she'd felt it snapping upon seeing her sensei handled like she was little more than a broken doll. She'd been worried for Arashi's safety ever since hearing news of her disappearance…but she also felt guilty because there had been times when other matters had pushed fear for Arashi to the back of her mind. She was relieved and destroyed in a single moment.

"I…no…I…" she could barely manage to mumble. Was it not bad enough that she had to love Tomoyo without any prayer of respite? Unrequited love seemed so _normal_ now…so different from the hell she was currently living. As if the world had sought to remind her that her unspoken love for her childhood friend was _not_ the worst pain she could experience, she had lost that love and all of her best friends in nearly one fell swoop. Fai, Yuui, and Tomoyo were all gone and Kurogane was no better than gone, and he was slipping further every minute. So many had died, and many more still suffered. The world was already crumbling around her, and now her own sensei was being used to destroy the only love she'd ever known in her life. It had been too much when Yuui went. Now…

"No," she finally answered, her voice ringing strong and clear for that single moment before she fled into the forest.

"Souma-chan!" Sakura cried out after the girl, ready to give chase…until she found herself held back by Kurogane and Subaru. "Let me go! She'll get hurt!" Sakura insisted.

"You can't…help her now," Subaru tried to explain. "You aren't what she needs."

"Kurogane-kun? She's your friend! Why won't you go after her?" Sakura asked, trying to reason with the half-mad prince. He only shook his head, sharing a look with Subaru. Whatever place his soul had become trapped in, he understood that he could not reach Souma from that place. She deserved better than he could give her right now. She deserved to have her sacrifice rewarded. Of those who remained, only Subaru could give her what she needed. Not a parent…and not a friend.

Subaru understood the meaning in Kurogane's eyes…even if the prince himself didn't fully grasp it. He had come to know it within himself. He had gotten to know the girl much better over the past two months and come to see that she was much like himself…an injured soul who couldn't be with the one she loved.

Subaru was the only one she might listen to right now.

XxX

It was well after nightfall by the time Subaru managed to locate Souma. The kunoichi was curled up at the base of a sturdy tree along the bank of the Yume River. The salty tracks of tears on her face were long dried. He sat beside her, and for a long while, they said nothing.

"Why couldn't we find Kurogane?" she finally asked when she was certain her voice would not fail her. "How did you find me so easily?"

"Because you wanted to be found," he replied simply, placing a hand on her shoulder. "He did not. This forest knows the both of you and accepts you. If you'd truly wanted to remain hidden, Celes would have made it so."

"Subaru-san," she started after a moment, "what's it like…making love?"

Subaru was thrown by the abruptness of the question. ""You mean…you've never…you're still-"

Souma nodded. "I've never really wanted to. There isn't…anyone…but sometimes I…wonder. I've seen it cause pain and suffering…the things that have happened to Fai-kun and Yuui-chan…and now Arashi-sensei, too…but I've…also seen it bring joy and healing," she recounted softly, remembering seeing Kurogane after the first time he'd lain with Fai. He'd seemed…in bliss…vindicated…transcendent, even; and yet…that self same act had caused both Yuui and Fai to cry out in pain and anguish. It was sacred…sinful…so powerful, this thing.

"What is it?"

Subaru deliberated a long while before saying anything. "I don't…know how I _could_ explain something like that. I've only ever been with Seishiro, and he was…"

"Your soul mate?" Souma finished for him. "I don't need a soul mate, but…sometimes I really wish I could experience…just _once_ …"

"I'm not her, you know?" Subaru finally cut in. It was the only way he could think to say it. They both knew what the other one wanted, but neither of them could say it. It wasn't _wrong_ …but it wasn't quite right, either. The others would pretend not to know about it…pretend they didn't see it. Some of them might not even notice. Whatever happened, it didn't truly matter to them. They were just two lonely hearts who needed someone…someone to share the pain with.

"I'm about as far from him as you could get," she responded with a grateful smile, her eyes shining with unshed tears once again.

"Are you sure you want this?" he asked as he lay down beside her, reaching forward a tentative hand to trace her lips with. "I'll be gentle, but if you're still a virgin…then it _is_ going to hurt some."

"I _do_ want this. Please…just once," she murmured, kissing his delicate fingertips. "You don't ever have to look at me again. The others don't have to know. I just…want to _know_ …just once-"

Subaru easily silenced her with a kiss. While it was true that he'd never _been_ with a woman, he'd certainly been alive long enough to learn how their bodies worked. He would have to make her ready for him before he took her.

Souma was a quiet lover, and Subaru knew that only Seishiro could make him cry out. He also knew they were both grateful that neither of them would glow. Alone in the silent darkness, they didn't have to hear or see. They could just feel - feel and pretend.

XxX

_In all of the years she's lived, Yuui can never remember feeling quite this cold. This isn't just a winter cold. It is a cold of death - of stone and ice and graves._

_The princess finds herself in a dark, stone room. Glancing around, she finds no doors. The only way in or out is through a barred window, and the cell's only other occupant is clinging to the bars, too short to look through the window otherwise. It is a little boy, dressed in nothing but a threadbare shift. His hair grows in tangled waves down his back, and it's probably a beautiful shade of blond underneath the layers of grime. How she even knows he is a boy, she can't possibly say. The child is skinny beyond malnourished and, like his hair, the rest of him is covered in grime. What has happened to this poor little child?_

" _Hello?"_

_Upon hearing her voice, the boy yelps and releases his hold on the bars, crashing to the floor. He quickly scrambles back against the wall, pressing himself as far back against the stone as his wasted body will go, trembling in fear. He stares at her with blue eyes as wide and unblinking as some nocturnal creature._

" _Who…who are you?" he asks, his voice hoarse with disuse. "Are you…the angel?"_

" _No, I…I'm Yuui," she says, her voice breaking slightly at the state the child is in. "What angel am I meant to be?"_

" _The Angel of Death," he answers, his voice carrying the resignation of one who has lived for a hundred years._

" _Who are you?" the princess asks, tears filling her eyes at the thought that such a young child believes an angel of death has come for him._

" _I'm Fai."_

" _What?" she whispers in shock. "You…you_ _ **can't**_ _be Fai. You're not…" She can't say more._

" _Well…you can't be Yuui," he responds with a touch of petulance. "Yuui's below."_

" _But I_ _ **am**_ _Yuui…and you're Fai…and Yuui, too," she says softly as realization washes over her. She doesn't know how…but she and this child are the same. They share the same soul. Different existences…yet he is her and she is him. "Why would I be the Angel of Death?"_

" _Because I…I think I'm about to die."_

" _Why would you say something like that?" Yuui asks him, a single tear escaping her eye._

" _The other one…he said that if…if I wanted Yuui to live…then I'd have to die. So I told him that was okay. I_ _ **want**_ _Yuui to live. I want him to be free."_

_Yuui has to fight hard to keep herself from crying in front of him. She has no idea what's going on in the world around her, but right now…she's connected with this child. She feels for this little boy…who is also somehow herself._

_Moving very slowly, so as not to frighten him, she walks toward him and kneels before him, holding out her arms so that he can come to her. For a moment, he only stares at her, uncertain. However, he eventually allows himself to fall into the circle of her embrace. She does her very best to pass some of her own warmth to him; he is so cold - cold like he's never really known warmth. Briefly, she hears the sound of tears. He's frightened. Of course he's frightened._

" _It's all right, little one. Everything's going to be all right," she murmurs soothingly, hugging him tight as she rocks him and strokes his grimy hair._

_However, the very next moment, she hears the sound of the cell walls shattering, and the child is torn from her arms - hurled away to the unfeeling ground far below._

" _FAII!" she screams, feeling her own body broken along with his. As the vision shatters around her, she hears horrified screams of anguish and denial, echoing from far away._

_**My brother…he's in pain…so much pain…terrible pain. There has to be something I can do!** _

XxX

No one really said anything when Souma and Subaru returned the next morning, though the scent that clung to them was as plain as day to most of the cottage's inhabitants. Among the fey, there was no shame in the act itself. It was simply a need that demanded fulfillment from time to time. The only thing wrong with the situation was the lack of true feeling between the two participants. Would it become awkward between them? Would they remain friends? Would they…continue to seek solace in one another? Could they somehow…settle…for each other? There was no way to know.

The only one who even deigned to comment on their return was Kakei.

"Well, at least _someone_ decided it was all right to be found."

His very own words were the things that caused his movements to halt and his eyes to widen in revelation.

"Found…found…of course…of _course!_ Why didn't I see it before? Goddess forgive me for not thinking of it sooner. Sakura-sama!" he called, heading for the stairs.

"What's going on?" Subaru called, quickly following after him. Anyone else who was downstairs at the time also followed, wondering the same thing as Subaru.

Sakura, Amaterasu, and Sai were up in the twins' room with the two princesses, and Kurogane was sitting on Fai's bed as usual, brooding.

"Sakura-sama, I need for you to make a trip into Faerie. It's vitally important," the ancient spirit said urgently.

"I'll do whatever you ask," the queen started, slightly confused, "but why is this so important?"

"There might be a way to get Tomoyo-hime back."

"How?" Amaterasu and Kurogane asked together. The others began to titter softly among themselves. It didn't need saying. If they could get Tomoyo back…then they could get Yuui back.

"Of course. I'll go at once," Sakura responded, moving over to the mirror in order to make the crossing.

"How can you get her back?" Souma continued to insist along with Kurogane and Amaterasu.

"It isn't me; it's my husband, Saiga…his Hand of Power. He has the Hand of Seeking. If he seeks for something that's lost, he will usually find it."

"But how can a man who wears a blindfold all the time find anything?" Kurogane asked irritably.

"It's why he wears the blindfold. Regular vision interferes with his power. He works better when he can't actually see."

"If he can find Tomoyo-chan…why couldn't he have just found Fai-kun and Yuui-chan from the start?" Souma queried.

"Theirs is a much more deeply laid enchantment. It would take more power than even he has to break through it. Tomoyo-hime's enchantment isn't as deeply laid, though. At least…I don't _think_ it is," he continued to explain as he searched for his husband's mind with his own.

"You don't _think?_ " Kurogane clarified.

"If the Dark Court was planning to take the princess, they would have done it much sooner. Her dream-seeing abilities were known to them. They could have taken her any time she entered dreams…but they didn't. It would have been the perfect way to lure Yuui-hime into the sleep of death, but they didn't take her until _after_ Yuui-hime had succumbed. Therefore, it could have only been a last minute defense to prevent Tomoyo-hime from rescuing her. If I'm right about that, then Saiga ought to be able to seek her mind…wherever it may be."

"Then…do what you have to," Amaterasu finally said, her gaze drifting toward the curtained bed where her daughter lay. "I want her back."

_Saiga? Do you hear me?_

_I hear you, cupcake. Tell me you've got something for me to work with. The other lords are getting really restless over here._

_No news, but there_ _**is** _ _something that you can do. Go to Yuui's chambers. Sakura should be there by now. She'll bring you through to this side. I believe…if you use your power…you might be able to find Tomoyo._

_You…really think it's all right to try something like that? I've never tried to search dreams. Should we risk getting their hopes up for nothing?_

_The humans are flagging, my love. We all are. From where I'm standing, this is the only option. Either we find the Nihon princess…or all is lost._

_And when_ _**you** _ _say something like that, I_ _**know** _ _we're in trouble. I'll give it a try._

_Thank you._

It wasn't long at all before the mirror was shimmering and Sakura was materializing in the room with Saiga, Yukito, and Chi in tow.

"I know you told us to remain in Faerie, Kakei-sama," Yukito began before anyone else could say anything. "But I thought…in the hope that Tomoyo-hime can be found…and Yuui-chan woken up…we thought we might be of some help when her labor continues. We left the children with Chitose-san and we can go right back once things have settled here…only please let us remain for this."

Kakei just nodded. At this point, he would take any help that anyone was willing to give. Something had to happen and it had to happen soon.

"What do you want me to do?" Saiga asked as Kakei led him over to the bed where the princesses lay.

"Just meditate," Kakei explained as he set his husband down on the bed cross-legged. "Like you would any other time you use your power. Reach out. Let the hidden speak to you. I'm almost certain you can find Tomoyo-hime's mind and bring it back to us. She wants to come back. All she needs is a route. You can give her that route." With that, the ancient faerie pressed a brief, loving kiss to his husband's lips and withdrew, leaving him alone to work.

 _Please let this work_ was the single desperate prayer in everyone's heart as Saiga's magic began to fill the room.

XxX

" _What can I do? What can I do? What can I do?!" she asks herself over and over again._

_More and more often Yuui finds herself awake in her nightmares. She knows just where she is and what is happening to her. Perhaps it's because she had known what was happening to her upon entering? Whatever the reason, it now makes her wonder what Fai is experiencing. They'd known nothing of their curse when he'd been taken. What is he feeling now? Is he losing his mind? Does he think…that he's dead? Dead and in hell…as he'd told Kurogane? Sometimes she can feel him…trapped…afraid…suffocating. She can hear him screaming…and feel him burning. She knows she is only experiencing a fraction of what Kurogane and her brother have suffered over the last months, and now she's trapped in a place where she can't even offer comfort._

_Why has Tomoyo not come for her yet? Is something preventing her? Is she in danger? Did the kiss…not work? No! That_ _**can't** _ _be it! Something is holding Tomoyo back. She_ _**knows** _ _it!_

_But…what can it be? What could keep Tomoyo from coming to her?_

" _You know she'll come to you when she can…just as Kurogane-kun will go to Fai-kun when he can," a voice suddenly whispers in her ear. "No matter how long she has to struggle, she'll come. All you need to do is wait for her."_

" _You're dead," Yuui whispers achingly as she turns to face Lady Kotori Monou. "What are you doing here?"_

" _Even the dying dream," she responds serenely. "This is the dream at the moment of my death."_

" _But…you died two months ago."_

" _You should know that time means very little in dreams," she says with a smile._

" _Oh, Kotori-san!" Yuui finally allows herself to sob as she falls into the faerie's embrace. "Was it my fault? Clow-sama? Fai? Syaoran-san? Himawari? What happened to Fuuma-san and Kamui-san? Did you die…because of me?"_

" _I've always known how I was going to die," Kotori explains soothingly as she strokes her hair "It was what I wanted…my decision…no one else's…and maybe…because it was_ _ **me**_ _…Kamui and my brother will not have to die. But what happened to us certainly wasn't your fault. Either Fuuma or Kamui would have become the inheritor of the Sakurazukamori's will no matter what anyone said or did. Yuuko was always going to kill Clow. By trying to dodge her fate, she brought it on them. Your father knew the risks of going into battle. Every soldier does. It was the same with Himawari. She knew what the risks were when she took on the task of being your guardian. She wasn't trying to be a hero. She knew that you would be sad…but she did what she thought was right. Nothing was ever your fault, dear Yuui-chan. You only have the misfortune to be an inheritor of the blood of Clow Reed. That line is a heavy thing. He paid a high price to lay his father's tortured soul to rest."_

" _And Fai…my brother?"_

" _The two of you made your choice back then. You didn't know what was going to come of it. How could you have? There's no point in assigning blame in any of this."_

" _What do you mean we couldn't have known? Of_ _ **course**_ _we could have! I could have seen it in my dreams!" the distraught princess protests vehemently._

" _It isn't a perfect art, Yuui-chan. We dreamseers see what we will, and nothing else. You should be grateful you can't see every avenue of possibility, as I could. That is the route that leads to madness."_

" _But what good is this power if I can't even use it to save the people I love?!"_

" _You don't think your Tomoyo asks herself that question every morning? You don't think_ _ **I**_ _did when I was much younger? You_ _ **have**_ _this power. No amount of doubting it is going to make it otherwise."_

" _But…what can I do to help?"_

" _You can dream with me for a moment."_

_Yuui's about to ask Kotori what she means, but when she looks up to ask her, the meaning becomes clear. Rather than the dark void of her mind, the two of them are standing in a bedchamber. Several windows reveal the light of early morning, the warm light revealing a scene of utmost tenderness._

_A much younger Sakura is lying on a large bed. A pale, silken sheet covers her body from the waist down, but above that she is naked, her swollen breasts bared to the two infants cradled against her stomach. The twin children suckle greedily, their mother's body giving them the love and sustenance they need._

_Fai…and Yuui…brother and sister…prince and princess…_

" _Kaa-san…Otouto…" she whispers, no longer certain if her tears are from joy or sadness._

_The young queen gazes adoringly down at her babies as they nurse, looking as if she might burst into tears of joy at any moment. It is plain to be seen that every moment is a miracle for her…when one baby kicks out a pudgy leg…when one of them grips the skin of her breast a little tighter in a tiny fist, telling her just how much the child needs her. For one wild moment, Yuui thinks she can almost remember. She_ _**wants** _ _to remember…being so close to the mother who bore her…so close to her brother once more…_

_**You'll be in my heart.** _

_**Yes, you'll be in my heart.** _

_**From this day on,** _

_**Now and forever more.** _

_**You'll be in my heart** _

_**No matter what they say.** _

_**You'll be here in my heart** _

_**Always.** _

" _That song…came from her," Yuui murmurs, almost in disbelief, as she listens to Sakura sing. Himawari had sung that same song to her and Fai ever since they were very small. Sakura must have given it to her to sing to them…so that some part of her might still remain with them._

_**Oh…Kaa-san…** _

" _You can become a woman to make her proud," Kotori answers her initial question as the dream fades. "You can live a life that will give meaning to the sacrifices Sakura, Himawari, Syaoran, and Clow have made. Become the queen you were born to be. Love Tomoyo with all your heart. Raise your daughter in love. Just…be happy. That was all any of us ever wanted for the two of you. You've already paid so much for our mistakes. Just live. That's how you can help," she says, softly beginning to sing as she allows Yuui to cry into her chest._

_**Lightning crashes, a new mother cries.** _

_**Her placenta falls to the floor.** _

_**The angel opens her eyes.** _

_**The confusion sets in** _

_**Before the doctor can even close the door.** _

_**Lightning crashes, an old mother dies.** _

_**Her intentions fall to the floor.** _

_**The angel closes her eyes.** _

_**The confusion that was hers** _

_**Belongs now to the baby down the hall.** _

_**Oh, now feel it, comin' back again,** _

_**Like a roll of thunder chasing the wind,** _

_**Forces pullin' from the center of the earth again.** _

_**I can feel it.** _

XxX

_**Tomoyo-hime…please forgive me…** _

_Tomoyo blinks, breaking her staring contest with Seishiro. For a moment, she could have sworn that she'd heard Chang Ang's voice._

" _Something wrong, Princess?" the Dark Prince asks, another smile lighting his face. She doesn't even dignify him with an answer. A more interesting question would be is something_ _ **not**_ _wrong._

_**Princess?! Princess Tomoyo?! Where are you? Can you hear me?** _

_This one truly gets the princess to start. This voice is loud and unmistakable in her head. It's Saiga…Kakei's husband…the one who wears the blindfold._

_**I…Saiga-san? Is that you?** _

_**Tomoyo?** _

_With that, the young woman feels a strong hand grip her own. Turning away from Seishiro and gazing behind her, she sees him - the blindfolded faerie. He looks haggard and drained, but it's still_ _**him** _ _._

" _How…how did you-"_

" _That's just my power, Hime," he responds as he drops to his knees beside her, his breathing ragged._

" _Heh, took you long enough," Seishiro notes languidly, drawing their attention to him. He gives Saiga a knowing leer. "Your little prince is broken, isn't he?"_

" _What? What are you talking about?" Tomoyo demands, suddenly fearful. "What is he talking about?!" she asks Saiga._

_The only acknowledgment Saiga makes of her outburst is to grip her hand a little tighter. "Let her go," he orders calmly._

" _Mm…all right."_

_Were Saiga's eyes visible, he might be blinking in confusion. "That…that's it? You're just…giving her to me?"_

" _Of course," he responds, slowly getting to his feet and coming toward them. "There's no reason to keep her here any longer. It's been long enough."_

" _Then why even keep me here at all? Wasn't it to keep me from Yuui?" Tomoyo asks as she and Saiga also climb to their feet._

" _That was an extremely nice perk, but no. It wasn't the reason. I've enjoyed our talks, Tomoyo-chan. I'll be seeing you again before too long." Saying so, he takes her chin in his hand and presses a brief but intense kiss to her lips. Before she can pull away, he then presses his mouth against her ear. "But until then, give_ _ **Subaru**_ _my love."_

 _When Seishiro releases her and the illusion shatters around them, Tomoyo suddenly feels as if she can breathe again, not even having realized she'd stopped._ She opened her eyes and the first thing she felt was a warm hand holding hers. She glanced down to the foot of the bed and saw Saiga sitting there, clutching her hand tightly in his. Even outside of the illusion, he looked exhausted, but he still managed to crack a small smirk for her.

"Finally found you."

Tomoyo only had enough time to see Kakei throw himself at his husband before she was swimming in embraces of her own.

"Oh, Tomoyo-chan!" Souma cried as she pressed a kiss to her cheek. "We were so worried about you!"

"It's all right, Souma-chan. I'm fine," she said softly as she patted Souma's back, still somewhat bewildered. It took her a moment longer to identify the second person who held her, as he didn't speak. Her brother's embrace was…tentative at best. Somehow, he'd managed to get even worse in the time she'd been gone. "Nii-sama? Nii-sama, what's wrong? What happened?"

Kurogane didn't respond. For several long minutes, he just held her. Then he whispered to her, "I'm sorry," before releasing her and backing away. There was much unsaid with him - much that _needed_ saying. She could feel it. Whatever it was, it was _poisoning_ him. She knew they would have to talk.

The next embrace came from her mother. As Tomoyo hugged back, Amaterasu began to explain things to her. "You've been gone about a week. Things…things have only been getting worse. Saiga-san was gone an entire day looking for you. Syaoran-Ou and Himawari-san both died that day…and Chang Ang died yesterday."

"So it _was_ him that I heard," she murmured, quietly accepting the old priest's passing. When her mother finally released her, Tomoyo felt something soft push against her hand. She glanced down to see Larg nudging her.

"Tomoyo will wake Yuui up now?" the tiny creature asked her, its face infinitely sad.

Taking a deep breath, Tomoyo finally turned to her right, seeing what she'd known she would see ever since waking. Yuui lay beside her, pale as ice and still as death. Even though she knew she was meant to fix it, tears still pricked in her eyes to see her love like this. Slowly, she got to her knees beside Yuui and took one cold hand in hers, pressing a tender kiss to the skin.

"You've been waiting. You've been in pain," she whispered sadly, only for Yuui. "I'm sorry I couldn't come to you sooner."

Though terror that her kiss would not be enough still swirled in her heart, the fear that something else would come and take Yuui away from her again was even stronger, and it compelled her forward through her fear. She bent forward over Yuui and pressed a loving kiss to her frozen lips.

For a long moment, the room was dead silent, and Tomoyo could practically hear the hammer of her heartbeat pounding in her ears. But then…the hand she held gripped hers in return, and just as Tomoyo had done, Yuui drew a deep breath upon waking, exhaling it as the color returned to her face. Her blue eyes fluttered open and slowly adjusted to take in the sight of Tomoyo above her. "Tomoyo? Is that you?" she called softly.

Tomoyo couldn't manage to stop the few tears that escaped as she threw her arms around Yuui and buried her face in her chest. "You came back! You came back!" she cried over and over again.

Yuui hugged her back weakly. "This…this is real," she murmured, still not quite getting her head around it. However, Tomoyo released her just in time to see her eyes widen in anguish as memory rushed through her. "What have I done?" she whispered in shock, self-loathing coloring her words as tears pricked at her eyes. Syaoran…and Himawari…were both dead…because of her.

"No," Tomoyo whispered back, taking her in her arms and helping her to sit up. "Don't blame yourself. It wasn't anyone's fault."

"But I…Syaoran…Tou-san…I could have been faster…healed him-"

"No, Yuui-hime," Kakei interrupted from his place at the end of the bed with Saiga. "There wasn't anything you could have done. An ordinary blade to the stomach would have killed him. He was run through with Assassin's Hand. A human couldn't even survive a tiny nick from that blade. There is _no one_ who can heal an injury done to a mortal with Assassin's Hand."

Yuui heard his words, but she knew she would never truly be able to accept them. As far as she was concerned, her hands were stained with Himawari and Syaoran's blood - and she would never be free of it.

Unfortunately, the reunion was cut short when a cry of pain split the air. Yuui went limp in Tomoyo's arms as a contraction seized her body, wracking her with pain. No one really needed to hear it when Kakei announced, "The baby's coming."

The elder faerie quickly snapped into action. "Sakura-sama, I need you to take Yuui-sama and Tomoyo-hime to the Labyrinth. Subaru-kun and Yukito-kun will go with you. When you arrive there, Subaru will create another mirror in order to allow you a way back through."

"Couldn't Soel and Larg take care of teleporting in this world? We're not traveling dimensions," Souma noted as Tomoyo and Saiga helped Yuui to her feet.

"No one can teleport into or out of the Sacred Labyrinth. Its presence cannot be felt in the mind when one is outside of it. In order to reach a place, one must be able to sense it. If you can't feel where you're going, you could wind up trapped in limbo…as energy. Clow gave the Mokona special abilities, but even they are bound by this law. It seems that only Sakura-sama is not. She needs only a mirror. The battle outside of the entrance to the Labyrinth is still going on and I'd been hoping that Sakura-sama's new Hand would also apply to it. However, if it _does_ work, she'll need another mirror in order to get back."

"I'm ready," Sakura announced, already in position before the mirror. "But I…I've never been to the Labyrinth. I don't know what it looks like."

Watanuki quickly stepped forward and placed his hand on the mirror, summoning up an image of the Labyrinth, specifically the Sacred Circle. No one noticed it, but Kurogane started slightly at the sight of the place where he'd first lain with Fai.

"I'll go with you now, as well. Once Subaru-kun's got the mirror ready, you'll need to take a messenger through to Faerie. You'll be able to come back to Yuui-sama once it's done," he assured her before she could protest having to leave Yuui, "but you're the only one who can do this. The other lords need to know."

Sakura nodded her understanding, holding out her arms for her passengers to grab hold of. Yuui took her right hand and Tomoyo placed her hand on her forearm just above Yuui's. Subaru placed a hand on her right shoulder and Yukito her left. Kakei placed his hand on her upper left arm, channeling some of his own power into her to make certain she would have enough energy to make the trip with so many passengers. Once everyone was ready, the queen focused her power on the place reflected in the mirror, willing herself across the distance. Then she placed her left hand on the glass, and passed right through. This time, she only swooned slightly upon arriving at the destination. Yukito supported her as Kakei picked Yuui up and carried her into the magic circle. Subaru quickly went about the task of conjuring up another mirror. Tomoyo stood at the edge of the circle, ready to help if she was needed.

Kakei laid Yuui down in the circle, unceremoniously parting her legs and lifting her slip for her when another contraction seized her body. No one protested the treatment. They all knew that every moment counted now. Quickly examining her progress, Kakei's eyes opened wide in surprise.

"It's no wonder you're hurting, Yuui-sama. I suppose your body's trying to make up for lost time. You're at eight centimeters."

Yukito's head snapped up at that. "What?! There's no way she could have progressed so far that fast!" Looking down at Sakura, she nodded to him.

"I'm fine. Go to her. She needs you."

Yukito quickly moved into the circle to have a look at Yuui. Of course, he found that Kakei spoke nothing but the truth.

"Don't underestimate a fey child," was his response.

"But…what will it do to _her?_ " Yukito asked nervously.

"We don't know that," Kakei responded quietly. "It…may be too much for her body."

"Why can't you use spells again?"

"This is how Yuui-sama proves her worth to her people. If she cannot bear this child, then she is unfit to be queen."

"But…what if she can't take it?" Yukito asked, his gaze shifting nervously from Tomoyo to Sakura.

"Whether the princess dies in childbirth…or this child is somehow not born, the result is the same. If she fails to produce an heir, and Seishiro succeeds…he will kill her, and it will be well within his rights. There is no other moment but this one."

"Don't say that," Tomoyo finally broke in, coming into the circle and kneeling beside Yuui's head. "She's _not_ going to die. Neither of them will," she insisted, gently lifting up Yuui's head and cradling it in her lap, stroking her hair and being careful not to jostle her too much. "How are you feeling, Yuui?"

"It…it _hurts_ , Tomoyo," she moaned weakly. "It feels like I'm tearing open."

"You'll be all right," Tomoyo reassured her. "You're strong. You can do this."

Yuui was no longer quite as certain. At first, the pain had been a tolerable, gradual thing, but now, after the sudden spring to full dilation, her body already felt ravaged. Already feeling her daughter begin her decent through the birth canal, Yuui remembered Sakura's promise that she would beg for death before it was over…remembered stories she'd heard of the women who'd died giving birth to their children. Did she really have the strength for this? Would she last long enough to see her little girl's sweet face?

Sakura was about to step in herself, but it was that moment that Subaru chose to inform her that the mirror was ready.

"Please, don't-" she started to protest.

"Don't argue, Sakura-sama," Kakei shot right back. "We need you to do this. No one else can."

Finally nodding, Sakura quickly stepped into the circle, knelt beside Tomoyo and Yuui, and gave her daughter a reassuring kiss on the forehead. "I'm coming right back. I promise." Then she was gone.

The process didn't get any easier. In human births, the baby typically took several hours to negotiate the passage out of the womb, blocked as it was by bone, muscle, and the like, but her baby wasn't working around those obstacles. She wasn't fragile like a human baby. She was breaking right through them…and Yuui could feel every painful snap. Had she been anyone else, Kakei and Subaru could have done _something_ to slow the process, but there was nothing they could do to ease her pain. They had to let it happen.

As her labor continued, Yuui vaguely heard other voices somewhere above her…voices that hadn't been there before: Watanuki…Doumeki…Chi…Souma…Kamui…Sai… Kujaku…was that Kurogane? So many…and they all passed in and out of her limited awareness. She heard Sakura return. The only things that remained constant in the sea of pain were Tomoyo at her head and Kakei at her feet.

 _Fai…_ she found herself thinking at one point. _Fai should be here…and Himawari…and Syaoran…and Fuuma…and Kotori. They should all be here._

As the pain-filled minutes wore on, things just seemed to get more and more surreal. Yuui was no longer certain if she was hearing what people were saying…or what they were thinking.

_These damn fools…we've got to do something…she's dying…it's killing her…there's nothing we can do…maybe if he can just save the baby…if he says anything like that again, I swear I'll kill him…you're strong, Yuui, so very strong. You can do this…if she dies, he'll never forgive me…_

_Please, don't take her away from me._

Yuui looked up at Tomoyo. She _knew_ she hadn't said that aloud. Was Tomoyo afraid?

"The baby's crowning, Tomoyo-hime. Come and see," Kakei's voice came to her from somewhere below.

"Hold her, Sakura-sama," Tomoyo requested, not wanting to leave Yuui unsupported. Yuui was vaguely aware of the shift, but she was a bit more preoccupied with the pain between her legs. It wouldn't stop…never stopped…never let up even a little bit. It only got worse.

"I see her, Yuui!" she heard Tomoyo cry out in exultation. "She's almost here. You can do this. Just a little bit more."

In coaxing her wasted body to push just a little bit more, Yuui was struck by another wave of pain. She sobbed in agony, tears running down her face as her body trembled with pain. "No more! No more!" she cried pitifully. "I can't take it! I just want to die! _Let me die!_ "

"No, Yuui! No!" Tomoyo insisted vehemently, squeezing her hand tightly in hers. "Don't give up now! You're so close. You've almost got a daughter."

"You mustn't die now, Yuui-chan," Sakura's voice came down to her from overhead. "You promised me you wouldn't. You _have_ to live."

Yuui tried to look up at Sakura, but when she finally managed to turn her gaze, it wasn't Sakura she was looking at. It was Kotori.

"Did…did I die already?"

Kotori shook her head, smiling encouragingly. She didn't see her lips move, but she thought she could hear her song in her head.

_Lightning crashes, a new mother cries._

_This moment she's been waiting for._

_The angel opens her eyes,_

_Pale blue-colored eyes._

_Presents the circle,_

_Puts the glory out to hide, hide._

_Oh, now feel it comin' back again,_

_Like a roll of thunder chasing the wind._

_Forces pullin' from the center of the earth again._

_I can feel it. I can feel it._

Quite suddenly, she _did_ feel it. Her senses were brought crashing back to painful clarity as her body gave one last push. She screamed out her agony one last time, her body giving one final tear and a fountain of scarlet blood, bringing her daughter in its wake.

Yuui collapsed against Sakura, barely breathing as her child's shrill cries filled her ears. She couldn't quite make her body move, but that was all right. At last, at last…her daughter…after months of heartache, she was finally here. But…would she be able to see her?

"Subaru, you've got to do something! Do it now! She's dying! She's bleeding to death!" she heard Tomoyo crying.

_Don't…don't cry, Tomoyo._

"Don't die, baby," she heard Sakura crying, as well. "You _can't_ die now."

"Where…where is…my daughter? My baby?" she asked them weakly. They'd taken her away and she wanted her back. "Let me hold her. Let me hold her just once."

"Don't talk like that," Subaru told her tensely. A moment later, she felt the flare of his power rush through her body, its warmth bringing healing in its wake. For a moment, she just lay still, savoring the fact of the air in her lungs and the absence of the pain from the last few hours. However, it didn't take long for her to start asking again. With her child gone from her, she felt the absence keenly, and her breasts burned, aching to give suck to her baby.

"Where is she?" she kept asking when no one answered. "I want to see her. I want my baby."

"Be patient, you," Tomoyo scolded her as she approached with a neatly wrapped bundle in her arms. "You were close to gone a moment ago. Give the rest of us some time to recover. We had to clean her first."

"Is that her?" Yuui asked impatiently, trying to see inside the small nest of blankets.

Tomoyo smiled weakly, holding out the bundle to her. "Yuui…meet your new daughter."

Yuui could hardly breathe as she took the tiny bundle in her arms. Looking inside, she saw a tiny, scrunched up face with tiny sapphire eyes squinting delicately up at her. She'd calmed down upon being diapered and wrapped in a blanket. Now she was making small burbling noises, smacking her tiny pink lips and revealing her toothless gums. Really, she just couldn't be more precious if she tried. Once again, Yuui felt tears pricking at her eyes; only this time, they were tears of joy.

"My little girl. My little girl," she cried softly. "My little Kohaku."

"Her name is Kohaku?" Kakei asked softly. Tomoyo nodded, shooing him away.

"Send word to Faerie," Kakei said to the image of Saiga in the mirror that led back the cottage. "Yuui-hime is all right. Kohaku-hime is born." Once that was done, Kakei turned back to the new mother and her child, dropping to one knee and bowing his head. "An heir is born. Hail Yuui, Queen of all Faerie."

Slowly, everyone else followed suit, dropping to one knee and bowing their heads. Murmurs of 'Hail Yuui' echoed throughout the chamber. Yuui, Tomoyo, and Sakura heard none of it. They were all too captivated by the way Kohaku opened and closed her little mouth.

"Maybe you ought to feed her," Sakura suggested with a smile, still supporting Yuui from behind.

"Yes. Yes," Yuui responded, slowly snapping herself out of her enchantment. Somewhere in the middle of it all, her slip had been removed, so her breasts were already bared. She held Kohaku near one nipple, hesitating. "So…I just…"

"Yes, just let her suckle. She knows what to do."

Yuui drew Kohaku's head up to her right nipple, offering it to her. The little girl immediately latched on, taking the nipple in her mouth and sucking hungrily. Leaning down a little, she pressed a kiss to the baby's head, tickled by the small wisps of hair already growing there. Everything about her was just so very soft. Yuui knew she would never be able to have enough of looking.

"Tomoyo," Yuui whispered, glancing up at her fiancé. "She's really here. Our Kohaku…our daughter."

Tomoyo smiled as she watched Yuui with Kohaku. She realized that she was no longer the only girl in Yuui's life, but she was perfectly content with that. Kohaku was her daughter as well. They were all a family, and here…now…it felt as if at least part of their suffering had been vindicated. Kohaku was alive and well and Yuui had been rescued from Yuuko's curse.

However, Fai still wasn't free, and Tomoyo couldn't help but wonder how long the enemy would leave them to this moment of respite. Out of all of them, Kohaku was now the one who posed the greatest threat to their plans. Newborn or no, they would come for her. They would come at her hard and fast, and snuff out her barely begun life if they ever got the chance.


	32. But If I Know You

For all her reputation of mood swings and insanity, it was not often that Queen Yuuko Reed was truly enraged. Certainly, Clow made her angry, but she only allowed that anger to fester because it kept her from feeling the pain he caused her. While he was alive, she'd hated him because he wouldn't let her save him. Now that it was over and done with, that anger was the only thing that kept her from feeling the pain of missing him. She couldn't let go of her life because she couldn't let go of that smoldering hate long enough to realize that she could. Sometimes she knew she'd killed her husband…other times she knew only that he was dead…not how it had happened. Other times still…more and more often recently…she would wake thinking she still slept beside him…and that their baby son would soon rouse her with cries to be fed.

They were sweet moments, but the moments of true awakening were becoming all the harder to bear. She was becoming more and more aware that the day would come when she just would not wake from the delusion…and she would be alone…trapped forever within her own head. She had created the perfect weapon to free herself with…but that weapon had no compassion, no _care_ at all to free her from the cage of her madness…and whenever she remembered what she'd done to her baby boy to forge that weapon, she would crash for days. She knew what he was - of _course_ she did - but she could hardly bear to remember that it was she, herself, who had done it to him anymore. Reality had always been difficult for her to grasp, but now…now the only way for her to even lightly grip her tenuous hold was to focus on putting her child on the throne…a child that didn't exist anymore…who had died centuries ago…a child who was now jeopardizing her plans. And so…she was enraged.

"How could you do it?" she demanded of him once again, the sound of her palm slapping hard across his face echoing in the airy darkness of her throne room. "How could you let that little bitch go free? A princess is born! Now the little Fluorite slut will be _queen!_ "

"I grew tired of her. It was time for Tomoyo to go," he responded without the slightest sign of pain.

"Do you realize what you've done?"

Seishiro only laughed. "Honestly, Mother, what did you think was going to happen here?"

"How _dare_ you-" Before the enraged queen could even finish, she felt a pair of impossibly strong arms wrap around her and pin her own arms snugly against her torso. At the same time, she felt her body pressed against a thickly muscled chest. She didn't need to look to know that it was Fuuma who held her.

"Just what do you think I want?"

"I couldn't guess," she responded calmly, only partially aware that she was surrounded on all sides by the Sakurazukamori.

"I am meant to be the agent of chaos…I ought not want anything for anyone, but there is still so much hate left in this body over what was done to its original inhabitant, it seems to guide my actions. If there is anything left of your child, it is that hate."

"What will you do to me?" she asked, calm as ever. "Will you kill me?" Her son's hatred stung, of course, but it was a comfort to know that at least one person saw fit to punish her for her sins. All Clow ever did was forgive her.

"Heh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" he murmured, reaching forward and taking a lock of her hair in his hand, feeling the softness of the dark strands as he let them slip through his fingers. "That's what you want…but you should know by now that I'm not that kind. My Subaru will suffer greatly long before he dies…so will it be with you. You think you've suffered, Queen Yuuko Reed? You have suffered nothing. You will feel everything that he has felt and more," he said, giving her a lascivious smile. Then, taking her chin in his hand and forcing her head back against Fuuma's neck, he pressed a rather violent kiss to her lips.

"You would defile your queen?" she asked the both of them when Seishiro finally released her, her lips already bruising from the force of his kiss.

"What's there left to defile?" Fuuma whispered in her ear as he slid an arm up to her neck, threatening to cut off the flow of air. "There's no one who can help you anyway. Everyone's off fighting your war."

"Play your little games, Mother, but let's not delude ourselves anymore. Don't imagine, for even one minute, that you're in control. I'm doing things my way now, and if that includes you…so be it," he whispered dangerously as he pressed another bruising kiss to her neck.

Yuuko laughed bitterly as her son bit down on her white skin. "Seishiro…my child…whatever you are…you make the mistake of thinking you can hurt me. You can only hurt people if they are afraid of pain."

Seishiro returned her laugh, licking away the pinpricks of blood he'd drawn. "Oh, but I _can_ hurt you, Mother. You will feel pain by my hand. Look at me."

"No," the queen responded softly, though she felt a sudden spark of fear in her chest.

"Look into my _eye_ , Mother. It's been so long since you've looked at me."

She didn't say anything at all this time. She only looked away, off to the side, down, _anywhere_ would do so long as she did not have to look into that eye!

" _Look at me_ ," he ordered harshly, forcing her face back up. She couldn't help it. Her gaze went directly to his.

There was nothing there…nothing…nothing at all…not even the hate he spoke of. The single grey eye that remained in his dark, cold, beautiful face was empty of everything. He didn't _care_ ; he _couldn't_.

"Do you see it, Yuuko?" Fuuma whispered in her ear.

It was like she was seeing him for the first time since the sacrifice. The change was forever burned into her mind - and he could never be her little boy again.

"Your son is dead," he said firmly. "Your son is dead…and you killed him."

She didn't collapse when they released her. A lesser woman would have fallen, but she remained upright. It was only for a moment after they'd gone - barely the length of a heartbeat - but for that moment, her face looked infinitely sad. She knew what he was - of _course_ she did - she'd just never allowed herself to see it.

_My baby…my baby…_

XxX

_My baby…my baby…my sweet little baby girl…_

For the past twenty-four hours, Yuui had barely been able to keep her eyes off her newborn daughter. She had counted all of the tiny fingers and toes on her little hands and feet. She had stroked the peach fuzzy softness of her golden hair. When Kohaku was awake, she gazed deeply into her baby blue eyes, wondering when they would blossom into the emerald green Kotori had promised.

The others had tried to convince her to rest, but she didn't dare. She didn't want Kohaku out of her sight for even a minute. So many others had disappeared already. She wanted Kohaku where she could see her. Her argument to her companions was that she had slept for so long already that one or two days surely wouldn't make a difference.

Sometimes sadness intruded on her little cocoon of bliss. Kohaku was, after all, wrapped in the blanket Himawari had made for her, a deep blue quilt with tiny stars and moons sewn onto it. However, no sooner had the guilt and sadness over her foster mother's death entered her head than thoughts of her little girl wormed their way back in…her joy of her…and her fear for her safety. The tiny girl was just as fragile as she was precious…and Seishiro was still out there with Assassin's Hand and his Hand of True Death. Sometimes she could almost swear she heard his voice, at which she would clutch Kohaku just a little bit more tightly against her breast.

_There is more than one way to kill a child, my dear Yuui-chan. Come, give her to me and I'll show you just how easy it is._

No! No! She _wouldn't_ let that happen! She wouldn't let Seishiro take Kohaku from her as he'd taken Fai. She would _die_ before the foul creature laid hands on her baby!

_Don't worry, my little one. I'll protect you. I won't ever let him touch you. Nothing will harm you so long as I'm still breathing._

"Yuui," the princess suddenly heard her lover's voice beside her. "You really ought to get some rest. There are still things to do."

"But…Kohaku…" Yuui tried to protest.

"Kohaku will be fine. She's sleeping now. She's full, warm, and safe. We need to work to keep it that way. If it will make you feel better, I can hold her while you sleep."

"But I-"

"Yuui, you haven't been crowned yet. Kohaku won't be truly safe until your position is secure, and even then…well…Kakei-san told me the coronation process can be very trying, and it will happen in the morning. I want you to have some rest before then. Nothing will happen…and even if something _does,_ we will _all_ protect her with our lives. By the Goddess, I swear it," she said gently, reaching forward and taking one of Kohaku's tiny hands in hers. In her sleep, the baby's small fingers curled tightly around Tomoyo's much larger one. Yuui smiled tenderly at this, finally relenting to her fiancé's wish.

"All right," she said, her heart breaking a little bit as she allowed Tomoyo to take Kohaku from her. "You-you'll wake me if…if she needs me?"

"Of course," Tomoyo reassured her, coaxing the exhausted mother to rest her head on her lap. "We won't even leave your side. We'll stay right here, and we'll still be here when you wake."

Yuui was still reluctant, especially when Kohaku shifted and whined softly in her sleep, but eventually settled when the newborn settled down in Tomoyo's arms herself. Before laying her head down on Tomoyo's lap, she pressed a tender kiss to their daughter's forehead. "I love you, my Kohaku…and I love _you_ , my koibito," she said softly once she was able to look up into Tomoyo's eyes again. Tomoyo smiled down at her.

"I love you both…so much," Tomoyo returned, her eyes shining brightly as she watched Yuui drift off into a much needed sleep - a sleep of soft dreams and warm embraces, not poison and darkness.

They hadn't yet moved Yuui and Kohaku from the sacred circle, all of them wanting them to have some rest after their ordeal. Yuui had borne more than any mother had a right to expect to survive, and while Kohaku was not a human child, birth was still a traumatic experience. They both needed all the support they could give them. So, milling about the space, keeping in contact with the outside world, and preparing the way for Yuui's coronation, they would all steal occasional glances at the young woman they all cared about, and the tiny, helpless girl so many of them could barely make sense of.

After Yuui had drifted off, the first of the companions to actually approach Tomoyo was Kamui. While he was enraptured by the small life, he came with not a small amount of trepidation.

"She…she's…can I-" he tried to ask.

"You want to see her?" Tomoyo asked, holding the sleeping baby a little closer to the sprite. Kamui shrank back a little.

"Only to see. I don't think I ought to touch her," he said softly, glancing down at the scars that marred his arms, just barely visible at his wrists, the rest concealed by the long sleeves of his tunic. "It's just…Kohaku-hime is Fuuma's daughter. I know that…he would want to be here. _I_ want to be here for him."

Tomoyo nodded. She thought she understood. Kamui felt he needed to bear witness for his absent lover at the birth of his daughter - no matter how strange the entire situation was.

For what felt like a long while, Kamui knelt beside the princess, staring at the tiny girl in her arms. He found himself thinking that almost nothing in the world had ever been more precious. There was, after all, a part of this infant that had come from Fuuma. Also, as the captain gazed on the perfection of the tiny creature, he found himself remembering _Subaru_ when he was this small, this helpless. Hesitantly, he reached out a hand, mirroring the gesture he'd seen the cursed Himawari use with the twins…tracing his fingers along the line of her face…just above her skin.

"Are you _sure_ you don't want to hold her?" Tomoyo asked soothingly, seeing the different aches converge in the elder Shiro's eyes. "After all, Kohaku is…well…because you're with Fuuma-san…you're a parent to her, too…in some way."

Kamui withdrew his hand as if bitten by a snake, shaking his head ruefully. "If that's so…then I had better do the responsible thing…and keep harm as far away from her as possible. There's still the possibility Seishiro could use Subaru and I to harm Yuui-sama and Kohaku-hime. Besides…we've all seen what happens to children I'm supposed to protect."

"That's not fair, Nii-san," Subaru suddenly interrupted, having been listening in on their conversation. "What happened to me wasn't your fault."

"Let's not do this," Tomoyo interrupted softly before Kamui could say anything more. "What's done is done. Assigning blame won't change any of it. Let's just…rest for a little while…and be grateful Yuui's all right…and Kohaku is finally here with us."

"Yes…of course. You're right," Subaru finally agreed, gazing down at the sleeping baby girl. It was amazing how transfixed they all still were by her mere presence. "She really is beautiful," he murmured, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I'm sure Fuuma will be very proud."

"Yes," Kamui agreed as he stood. Then he bowed his head down to Tomoyo. "Thank you, Tomoyo-hime," he said softly before he and his brother disappeared to take care of other planning tasks. Neither Shiro felt quite worthy enough to be in the presence of the little angel.

"How are they?" Sakura asked quietly, approaching the small family in the void left by the two brothers.

"Sleeping," the princess responded with a smile. "They were both exhausted. Yuui just didn't want to admit it. Did you get Yukito-san and Chi-san back to Faerie safely?"

"Yes," the queen replied, settling herself on the ground next to Tomoyo. "Freya-chan was missing her mother. Kakei-san says they might be able to return to Valeria soon."

"That's…good news," Tomoyo said slowly, intently watching Sakura's pensive countenance.

"Yes. I'll probably accompany them. Ransho-san is…keeping Syaoran's body preserved with magic. I imagine they'll…want to hold a funeral before too long…"

"Of course," Tomoyo said with a sympathetic nod. Giving a few gentle hums, Sakura reached over to stroke Kohaku's downy blonde hair.

"I really wish he could've seen Kohaku-chan. She's so wonderful…and I'm sure you and Yuui will raise her properly."

"But he _can_ see her, Sakura-sama. Part of him is still with you…and with Yuui. He'll be with his granddaughter, too."

"Yes…yes, you're right," Sakura said shakily, brushing away tears that hadn't quite managed to fall. She then reached over to brush a few strands of hair from Yuui's face and press a gentle kiss to her forehead. "See she gets plenty of rest?" she requested.

"Absolutely," the princess reassured her, shifting Kohaku into one arm so she could rest a hand on Yuui's shoulder. Sakura smiled in relief, standing up and going back to pretending to being busy, trying her hardest not to think about the test her child would soon undergo.

"I'm waiting," Tomoyo announced to the seemingly deserted entrance to the circular chamber. Most everyone had been in and out of the sacred area to see how Yuui and Kohaku were doing a time or two by now. There were still two faces she knew were lingering just out of her sight beyond the entrance.

Souma finally gave in and peeked her head into the chamber. For the longest time, she just stood, staring uncertainly at the three of them. Tomoyo sighed. "Now the other one."

He took longer than Souma to materialize, but Kurogane did eventually appear beside Souma, not quite looking at any of them.

"How is she? Yuui?" Souma managed to ask. Tomoyo gave her an encouraging smile, giving her full permission to enter the chamber, which she did. Kurogane took several long moments to follow her lead.

"She's all right. They're both just fine. "

"Kohaku?" Souma asked with a shy smile as she knelt beside Tomoyo.

"Yes," she replied, her smile dimming slightly when she noticed Kurogane wouldn't enter the magic circle. He came as far as the barrier, then sat down cross-legged just beyond it. Sometimes, he would look at them, but mostly he would stare at the line separating them.

"Kurogane?" she began softly. "What happened while we were asleep? Where did my big brother go? Where is he?"

"He's dead," the fallen prince replied simply, shattering a piece of his baby sister's heart with his stoicism. "He's dead unless he can rescue Fai…and even then…" _…how can we go back…to the way things were before? How can I look him in the eye…how can I make love to him…knowing what I've done…that I could just as easily do it to him…that – that I can't marry him…like I promised? It'll_ _ **kill**_ _him!_

When Kurogane wouldn't even look at her after that declaration, Tomoyo turned to Souma for answers. "What happened? Has it really only been a week? He wasn't this bad before."

"Kyle lured him back to Shirasagi, promising him information. He knows how to get inside the Dark Court now, but…he was tricked into killing his own men in order to escape."

"Oh," the princess murmured in shocked understanding. Her brother was nothing if not loyal. To be forced to do _that_ to someone who had made an oath to him…would destroy him. She needn't have witnessed his slow spiral into self-destruction. The path it had ravaged through him was written into every aspect of his being. She wanted to go to him and comfort him, but not only had she promised not to leave Yuui's side, she also knew she could no longer give the comfort he needed. Only the sunshine of Fai's smile and the warmth of his embrace could hope to give him true comfort and redemption anymore.

"Kurogane…would you like to hold your niece?" she asked softly, hoping to coax him into the circle. Kurogane just shook his head, staring resolutely at the dark lines in the stone floor. Kohaku represented many things for him. She was the hope of their continued existence and the start of their quest for Fai. She was the symbol of the one joy he could never share with Fai…and the one the world required of him in order to be with his prince. However, chief among all these things, Kohaku was innocent. She was new and untainted, untouched by the darkness and pain in the world. She was everything that was good - everything he was not. Once, a long time ago, he had made a vow to protect his innocent baby sister. He had made the same vow with Fai, but he knew he couldn't keep them anymore. He had become far too steeped in the darkness he'd allowed to grow within himself to ever again touch anything so pure and beautiful. He could not, in good conscience, take another innocent under his protection when he was the very thing they needed protecting from. He _would not allow_ Yuui and Tomoyo's precious child to be touched by the darkness inside him.

Besides that, none of them seemed to realize just how much of his control he needed in order to hold himself together in this room. This holy place, where he and Fai had first made love - to be here without him, _knowing_ his fate, was pain to Kurogane - a nearly unendurable ache. He honestly wasn't certain how long he could remain here without completely falling apart.

"Nii-sama…please?" Tomoyo murmured, not quite looking at him. "I need you now."

"I _can't_ ," he hissed in abject despair, tightening his hold on himself in order to keep it together. Unfortunately, the sharpness of his voice woke Kohaku from her slumber and she began to whimper, crying for her mother. Kurogane looked stricken at what he'd caused to happen.

Yuui awoke almost the instant Kohaku began to cry, shooting up from Tomoyo's lap and looking around urgently for her daughter. Tomoyo reached out her hand to place it on Yuui's shoulder once more, trying to calm her. Once Yuui felt the touch, she turned to see Kohaku in Tomoyo's arms and visibly relaxed. "What's wrong, baby?" she asked as she gently took her from Tomoyo.

"Nothing. Her Uncle Kurogane just startled her a little," the younger princess responded with a smile. Before Yuui could say anything more, Kakei came sweeping into the chamber, flanked by Doumeki and Watanuki.

"Majesty, all is in readiness," Kakei announced. "You must come now."

XxX

" _I am at the beginning as I am at the end."_

The voices echoed softly in the cavern all around her. Though it had only been a few minutes, it felt like she'd been walking for hours - deep into the bowels of the earth.

" _I am the sacred circle,"_

Everything had happened so fast. They had all returned to Faerie and she, Tomoyo, and Kohaku had all been ritualistically bathed and purified, then led to the viewing pool behind the throne room. Once there, a doorway that had never been there before was revealed to them. A winding, sloping corridor that led deep beneath the sithen was the route from that doorway. Kakei had explained that this path was only revealed during the coronation ceremony.

" _spinner of the web of space and time."_

Kakei was leading the way down through the corridor, with Yuui, Tomoyo, and Kohaku directly behind him, and everyone else following behind. Everyone but the new royal family was dressed in a vibrant shade of blue. Yuui, Tomoyo, and Kohaku wore nothing at all. Yuui's still short hair just brushed her shoulders and Tomoyo's dark hair hung unbound to her waist. Kohaku was cradled securely against her mother's bare chest, dozing peacefully.

" _I am the Cosmic "And":"_

They were so deep beneath the ground, it seemed like it should have been dark, but an ethereal blue light lit the air from deep within. As they moved ever downward, the procession chanted the words inscribed around the magic circle in the Sacred Labyrinth. Those who didn't know the words slowly picked them up.

" _life and death, order and chaos, eternal and finite."_

The two princesses were followed by their two mothers, each holding a branch of apple blossoms in their hands. The flower had already been declared as sacred to Yuui throughout the kingdom. Kurogane and Souma came behind them with Soel and Larg. Kurogane, of course, had Fai's rose tucked behind his ear, and Souma had a white rose tucked behind hers to represent all who _should_ have been present at the ceremony, but were not. Doumeki and Watanuki came next, with Watanuki carrying two cloaks and Himawari's quilt and Doumeki carrying Yuui's bow and arrows and a small, sheathed dagger. Kamui and Subaru followed behind the two guardians, Kamui carrying a large goblet full of wine and Subaru carrying a fresh loaf of bread. The other faerie lords who could be present came last of all, and all together, they chanted the sacred words, their voices thrumming as one in the deep sanctuary of the earth.

" _I am Earth and all things of it."_

Upon coming to the end of the cavernous corridor, Yuui found they had entered into an even larger space. A natural pool filled this chamber, and at its farthest end, an opening could be seen in the earthen wall, leading yet somewhere else. Yue and Kero already stood on either side of this opening, the moon advocate waist-deep in the water and Kero nearly fully submerged, only his head held above the water. Once Kakei reached the very edge of the pool, he knelt at its shore and the chanting ceased, everyone but Yuui and Tomoyo falling to their knees.

"My Lady of the Earth and my Lord of the Sky, we bring before you a princess who would be a queen and they who would be her family and council," Kakei intoned authoritatively. "Your advocates have judged her worthy and she has defeated those adversaries who were deemed worthy. She brings you proof in the form of her essence given flesh. We give the princess, Yuui, the princess, Tomoyo, and the princess, Kohaku back to their true parents. It is given only to my Lady and Lord to make a sovereign out of a princess."

When he'd finished speaking, Kakei got to his feet and moved to the side, indicating that Yuui and Tomoyo should enter the water.

"Go to Them, Your Majesties. They are waiting."

"What's in there?" Yuui dared to ask in barely a whisper. Kakei had explained most of the ceremony to her, but this was one part she wasn't sure of. What exactly was meant to happen in communing with the God and the Goddess?

"I don't know," the ancient faerie said reassuringly. "No one knows that. What's inside is only for the royal family. It's not for our eyes."

When Yuui glanced toward Tomoyo, her dark-haired lover gave her a reassuring smile and took her free hand in hers. That was all the blonde princess needed. She clutched Kohaku tightly against her breast in one arm and she and Tomoyo walked into the water together.

Yuui was surprised to discover that the pool was warm. It wasn't overly hot, either, just a pleasant temperature a few degrees warmer than body heat. Though, of course, the closer they came to Kero and Yue, the deeper the water got. Even though she'd been reassured that this whole ceremony would be perfectly safe, she couldn't help feeling a little paranoid and holding Kohaku just a little bit tighter when the water reached above her belly button. Thankfully, the pool didn't get any higher than that by the time they'd reached the two advocates. "My Lady," the two said in unison. Yue bowed for her and Kero inclined his head as best he could. "You may enter into Their presence."

Nodding to steel her courage, Yuui led the way through the narrow opening into a small spherical chamber a great deal like the one in the Sacred Labyrinth. A rough set of stone stairs led up from the pool and onto a raised platform that neither of them could quite see. The chamber was lit from within by the same blue light. Neither of them really noticed it, but the opening had sealed itself after they'd come through. They were alone now, just the three princesses - and their deities.

Neither of them said anything. They just came to a silent consensus to walk up the stairs, and found that this place was indeed very much like the Sacred Labyrinth. The walls were adorned with images of faeries and a magic circle was drawn into the stone floor with a line of text inscribed around it. Yuui couldn't make it out, but she was fairly certain it was the same chant that appeared in the Sacred Labyrinth. There were only two real differences here. A pedestal stood against the far wall of the small chamber, looking like it could be an altar, but bare of any kind of offering. The other difference was the Sacred Labyrinth was usually lit with a warm, golden light. This chamber's lighting was colder, feeling almost like it was asleep - waiting for just the right moment.

The two princesses exchanged another silent glance. They both knew the tales of the Labyrinth. If they were to become rulers here, to be recognized as a mated pair, they would need to consummate their union before the God and Goddess.

Moving together, they skirted the magic circle and carried Kohaku to the pedestal. If they were meant to unite here beneath the earth, then this pedestal could really only serve one purpose.

Kohaku woke up when her mother laid her down. For a few moments, she wriggled around on the flat surface and Yuui feared she would fall, but the fear seemed silly the very next instant. They were with the Lord and Lady. No harm could come to her baby here. Though…she still felt a few misgivings…considering who the last baby to lay on this pedestal must have been. Before returning to the task at hand, she leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to her daughter's forehead. Kohaku burbled sweetly for her in return. The queen-to-be smiled warmly before turning away.

Yuui and Tomoyo entered the circle together, both feeling how much more powerful it was the moment they crossed its boundaries. Uncertain for only a moment, Yuui turned to face Tomoyo and took her other hand in hers, holding both hands up to her lips to kiss them. Then she held them against her bare breast…over her heart.

"Tomoyo…is this what you want? To be with me…forever?"

The dark-haired princess smiled wryly, an odd expression for her face. "You're really asking me that _now?_ _Here?_ There's no going back from this place, Yuui."

"But…this is really…forever. At least, something like it. If you choose to stay here with me…and I become queen…you'll live the lifespan of a faerie woman here, maybe thousands of years. Are you sure you want to be tied to me like that? I'm not exactly a safe bet," the blonde said, smiling sadly.

"Yuui…my Yuui," Tomoyo began, slowly lowering the two of them to their knees. "I already knew that. Do you think I would be here now if I didn't understand everything truly being with you meant? I've _always_ wanted to be tied to you like that. From now on…I am _your_ consort…your queen. Your home is my home."

Yuui could feel tears forming in her eyes as she pulled Tomoyo into her arms. She didn't need to say anything else. She simply pressed her lips to Tomoyo's in order to begin it. As they lay down in the circle and knew each other once again, the very air seemed to shimmer with the strength of their combined power. Here, in this most sacred of places, even Tomoyo's mortal skin glowed a pale lavender color, harmonizing with Yuui's moonlight as they reached the height of their passion. Then, as they fell from the heights, they each exhaled the other's name, sealing their bond with a gentle kiss.

Unfortunately, their moment was brought to a crashing halt by Kohaku's cries. Yuui snapped up to see a cloaked figure approaching the pedestal where her daughter lay.

"No! Wait!" she shouted, moving to rescue her daughter and finding herself blocked by a magic shield. "Kohaku!"

"It's all right," a voice that was at once familiar and not murmured in her ear as the stranger picked up her child. Kohaku wailed loudly for her mother.

"No! No! My baby! Give her back!" she cried, pounding her fists against the invisible field.

"Yuui-" Tomoyo started to interrupt, but she wasn't really sure what to say.

"It's all right, Yuui. I promise."

Only when the figure removed its hood and Yuui felt a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders did the situation even _begin_ to seem less confusing. The person under the cloak was-

"Fai?" she whispered uncertainly. Her brother nuzzled Kohaku and gave the confused princess a smile, shaking his head. Then he indicated she ought to look to her left. Only slightly comforted, Yuui did so, and found that she was in the embrace of her brother-in-law.

It didn't take long for Kohaku to calm down upon seeing a face so very like her mother's. The stranger with Fai's face smiled, giving the baby a kiss on her plump cheek.

"What…what's going on?"

"Well, we're correct in thinking these are the two people you would have chosen to be Kohaku's godparents, yes?" the man holding her asked.

"We are who you need us to be," Fai-who-wasn't explained.

"You…looked different before," Tomoyo murmured, addressing Fai, whom she and Yuui both now knew to be the Goddess. "When you took Yuui…your eyes looked so lifeless."

"This isn't the real Fai's body. It's only a form created through magic. Only Yuui can be seen in her eyes. When I was present instead of her, there was nothing to be seen. Because this isn't really Fai I'm speaking through, I can control this form as I wish."

"Why did you come?" Yuui dared to ask, not quite certain how she was feeling about all of this.

"We come to acknowledge," the Kurogane-who-wasn't answered.

"To acknowledge the birth of your child, and her birthright as a princess of three lands," the Goddess continued.

"To recognize your marriage to Tomoyo before us and, as a bonded pair, her status as your royal consort."

"And of course, we come to acknowledge that you, Princess Yuui Fluorite Reed, are now _Queen_ Yuui Fluorite Reed, sovereign of all Faerie."

"Why me?" Yuui finally asked, gazing up at the Goddess in exhaustion. "Why did you choose _me?_ "

"We didn't, Yuui. We no more chose you for this role than you chose it for yourself. This is simply what you were born to," the Goddess explained.

"Heh…isn't this the part where you talk to me about destiny?"

"Why should we?" Kurogane-who-wasn't asked her. "This decision was yours. No one forced you to come here. You could just as easily walk away if you wanted to."

"Except that you _don't_ want to…do you," the Lady finished as She carried Kohaku inside the circle.

Yuui shook her head, sighing softly. "Not anymore. I _thought_ I wanted to, but…well…I've come _this_ far already…and if it _hadn't_ been for this role I was born to…I suppose I wouldn't have my little girl."

"No. Perhaps you would have had someone else someday…but you would have never had Kohaku. She is the product of _this_ strand of fate."

"I wouldn't trade her for anything," Yuui said, smiling warmly at her baby…but then she remembered something more and turned her gaze to the mirror image of her twin. "F-Fuuma…san…told me…that Fai and I…that we'll…share flesh…m-mate."

With an odd look on his/Her face, the disguised deity knelt on Yuui's other side, swept her from the God's arms and, holding Kohaku in between their two bodies, pressed his/Her lips passionately against hers.

It was a moment that well and truly took her breath away. The princess felt raging desire in her nether regions…but at the same time felt that her skull was splitting open with pain. Though she remained silent, she could hear herself screaming in ecstasy and agony. One hand wanted to reach down and somehow relieve the aching _need_ between her legs, but the other just as desperately wished for a dagger to plunge into her head in order to stop the pain forever. Just when Yuui thought she might either die from the pain of her headache or come harder than she'd ever come in her life, the Lady released her from the heated embrace. Kohaku gave a few small cries of discomfort as Tomoyo rushed to Yuui's side, pulling her from between the two deities. The Goddess held her gaze, telling her without words that she'd experienced only a fraction of what it was to be with a god.

"Does that satisfy the future you've been told about? That qualifies as sharing flesh."

"But not as mating," Yuui murmured, clinging tightly to Tomoyo in order to keep from losing herself…as she almost had the night she'd nearly lost Kohaku. "He said…that we're _demons_ …and that when we…do _that_ …the world will fall into ruin…that we'll destroy everyone we love. How could something like _that_ be a queen…or a mother?"

"How indeed? From here, only _you_ can decide what the future will be. What, exactly, makes his version of the future any better than yours or Tomoyo's? You've both seen days beyond this war."

"But our sight isn't absolute. There are things we _should_ have seen coming…and things that can _never_ happen…not now…"

"Then why should you live your life as if you have no choice but to walk the path he set down for you? How do you know it was really Fuuma?"

"I…I…"

"You were in Yuuko's power at that time. For all you know, it was a plot by her to exert her control over you. It would _certainly_ be a bad thing for the forces of Darkness if you and your brother were to join forces…so she masks it as some sort of demonic consummation to prevent it from happening. Even if it _was_ Fuuma who spoke to you, you can't forget that he serves your enemies now."

"But…he said we're…not right…evil… _unlucky_..."

"While there _is_ some truth to the fact that Clow Reed's bloodline is an unhappy one, only _you_ can decide how that applies to you. Do _you_ think you're unlucky?" the Lady asked her, resting a comforting hand on her knee.

Yuui smiled ruefully. "Well…anyone who's ever loved me or Fai does seem to be paying for it."

"Yuui-" Tomoyo started, not wanting to hear such things from her love.

"No, Tomoyo. No. I don't want to hear it. You _have_ suffered. Kyle's tried to rape you more than once…you could have lost your life so many times before today. Himawari…Clow…Kotori…Syaoran…they're _all dead_. Kurogane's losing his mind. You're suffering. You're _all_ suffering…because of us."

"You're giving yourself too much credit, Yuui Fluorite Reed," Tomoyo said primly. "That's just what they _want_ you to think. You'd do the same for any of us. We're only doing what anyone would do," she insisted. "If something bad happens, then so be it. Let's do what we can now…while we can still do it."

Regarding her consort for a long moment, Yuui finally swallowed hard and nodded. There were people who needed her _now_. Her experiences in the dark had no relevance. Certainly, she would have to face the demons her enemies had left implanted in her psyche, but she couldn't let them defeat her here at the threshold. They still had too far to go to fail now. Tomoyo had vowed to always be by her side and Kohaku was with them now. She would get her brothers back and their little family was surrounded by their friends. They would come out of this yet!

"What do we need to do?" she asked, looking up at the Goddess once more. The two deities rose silently to Their feet, holding Kohaku between Them.

"Rise," the God commanded firmly. As the two young women complied, their surroundings began to change. Instead of a cave deep beneath the earth, they found themselves standing _on_ the surface of Spirit Lake. For a moment, they both registered slight shock, but it soon passed. The sun was rising and there was a gentle breeze rippling the surface of the water. It was a good day to be at the bridge between worlds.

"Princess Yuui Fluorite Reed, princess of Valeria and of Faerie," the Goddess began, raising a hand. "You have been tested against foes of the body, mind, spirit, and heart, and have proved yourself strong and faithful through all adversity."

"Therefore, we grant you the wearing of this crown in the hope you will use its power to do right by they who depend on you," the God continued, raising His own arm. In the power-charged space between Their two hands a crown of flowers began to appear…a crown woven of apple blossoms and blue roses. Once the crown had fully formed, it drifted forward and settled itself securely on Yuui's head. Instead of feeling a weight, as she'd half-expected, she felt a strange airiness - as if she could just float away at any given moment. It took a great deal of her focus to remain anchored in the moment.

"We name thee Queen Yuui Fluorite Reed, sovereign of all Faerie," the Goddess pronounced, taking the young queen's hand in Hers. Then the God took Tomoyo's hand and They placed them together. "And now, because you have declared your love and consummated it in our sight, we acknowledge Princess Tomoyo of Nihon as your wife and queen consort…and as proof of your love for her and your right to rule, you have brought us this child, whom we acknowledge as Princess Kohaku Fluorite Reed, a princess of Faerie, Valeria, _and_ of Nihon."

"I bestow upon you the gift of strength," the God said to the little girl, pressing His lips to her forehead.

"I bestow upon you the gift of beauty," the Goddess continued, gently kissing her eyes.

"I bestow upon you the gift of wisdom," the Lord said, dropping a kiss on her nose.

"I bestow upon you the gift of love," the Lady finished, pressing a brief kiss to Kohaku's rosebud lips. At the end of the blessing, the baby girl cooed loudly, waving her tiny hands in the air. All four of them smiled softly as the two deities handed her back to her mothers. Drawing even closer together, the two queens held her snugly between them.

"Now, Queen Yuui, go forth into the day with your family. Love them, guard them, and rule well."

"I will," the new queen said firmly, but no sooner had she spoken than Spirit Lake vanished from around them, the Lord and Lady with it, leaving the two queens standing in the pool just below the sacred circle once more.

For a few moments, they were all silent, but then the two rulers looked into each other's eyes, smiled joyfully, and shared a tender kiss.

"Ready to go back?" Yuui asked Tomoyo.

Tomoyo nodded, leaning down to kiss Kohaku's forehead before allowing Yuui to take her in both arms. The passage back to the other side had opened once more.

"We…we're _married_ now," Yuui said softly, beginning to lead the way out of the chamber.

Tomoyo shook her head as she fell into step beside Yuui. "Were we ever really _not?_ "

Yuui giggled quietly. "I suppose you're right."

Once they were out, the passage through the cave wall sealed itself shut once again, perhaps not to open for yet another innumerable stretch of time. Kero and Yue were still waiting for them, bowing as best they could in the water.

"Hail, Queen Yuui," they said together as they rose.

"The realm of Faerie is yours to command now," Yue said.

"We will follow where you lead," Kero finished.

Yuui nodded in response. Tomoyo continued to walk beside her and the two guardians fell into step behind her as she led the way back to the shore where everyone else waited. Kakei met her gaze expectantly as the group emerged from the water. She gave him a small nod as well and he moved to his knees before her. Once again, everyone else followed suit.

"Hail, Queen Yuui," he declared his allegiance in a clear, strong voice. All of the others quickly echoed him. Once they had all risen to their feet, Doumeki and Watanuki came forward. Watanuki went first to Tomoyo and wrapped a deep purple cloak around her. He then placed a blue cloak around Yuui's shoulders and held out Himawari's quilt for her to wrap Kohaku in. Once they were all decently clothed, Doumeki came to them and helped Yuui get her bow and arrows around her shoulder. Then he took the dagger he still held and presented it to Tomoyo.

"Majesties," Kakei continued. "With these weapons, you will defend each other, your daughter, your families, and your people. And now," he addressed the group at large, "you lords who would swear your loyalty and your lives to Queen Yuui, come forward and share the bond of food and drink with her."

With that, the remaining seven lords came forward and gathered around the newly anointed royal family. Subaru approached Yuui and broke off a piece from the loaf, handing it to her. Going around the group, he broke pieces of bread for Tomoyo, Kakei, Clef, Tenou, Karura, Tarta, Eagle, and Sai. Then he broke two more for the absent Rasetsu and Ransho and kept the last piece for himself. Kakei took the goblet of wine from Kamui and held it up.

"Sharing a meal ties the bonds between the ruler and the ruled. If we can eat together without fear, then we can trust one another always to be faithful to each other, to Faerie, and to its sovereign. Lords of Faerie, as your word is your bond, the sharing of this meal constitutes a bond to Queen Yuui. Do you all swear to honor this bond, to govern your clans in the queen's name, and to honor, council, and defend her as she has need of you?"

As one, the clan masters raised their hunks of bread and said with one voice, "We swear it."

"Then seal your oaths," the eldest lord commanded before biting into his piece of bread, quickly consuming it. As he took a sip from the goblet, the others all ate their own pieces of bread. Then the goblet was passed around the circle. Each master raised the goblet to Yuui and drank. Finally, the nearly empty chalice came to Tomoyo, who drank and passed it on to her wife. Yuui raised the goblet to the group and drank the last swallow of wine from it. Lowering the empty vessel, she slowly looked around the circle, meeting each clan master's gaze.

"I don't know what I can say to all of you now," she began softly, the formalities having ended with the sealing of the oath. "Only that…I'll do what I can."

Acknowledging this pledge with nods, the circle broke, each master going to join their own entourage. No one could leave the cavern until Yuui decided to lead the way back to the surface…and she still had some things to say.

"Could you take her?" Yuui asked Tomoyo before she could begin to move back toward Kurogane, Souma, and their mothers. The younger queen nodded, smiling as she took the softly wriggling baby girl in her arms. She understood what Yuui wanted.

Once Tomoyo had gone back to their family, Yuui headed toward the lord she knew to be Eagle Kunogi - Himawari's father. He had come to the ceremony with a dark-haired faerie she'd never seen before and they were currently standing off on their own little area of shore, talking softly. Yuui easily recognized the emotion in the way the other faerie held the Kunogi lord's hand. When they noticed her approaching, they both lowered their heads in deference.

"My Queen," they said together.

"We haven't been…formally introduced," she said, not really sure how to begin.

"And yet I feel as if I know you, Highness," he said, giving her a reassuring smile. "Himawari spoke very fondly of you and your brother."

Yuui let out a sharp burst of bitter laughter at this, hoping to keep the tears she already felt at bay. Why should Himawari have been fond of _them?_ They had destroyed her life, after all. "Yes, I…I'm very sorry…for your loss. We kept her from you for eighteen years and…and now-"

"You never kept my daughter from me, Majesty. She remained with you because she wanted to…and she gave her life for you because she chose to…because she loved you. Her death was not your fault."

"But I – I didn't-"

"You don't need to apologize," he interrupted, easily seeing the anguish in her eyes. "I can see how much you love her…and how much you'll miss her. I'm just glad to know that Himawari was loved."

Yuui nodded, smiling as a few tears slid down her face. "Yes, she was dear to us…and she always will be."

"She would be proud of you, My Queen."

"Thank you…Lord Kunogi," she said, managing a weak smile as she wiped the salt water from her cheeks, composing her face before going in search of the other issue weighing on her conscience.

Karura hadn't brought anyone to the ceremony. She stood alone at the very edge of the pool, staring off across the water, purposely not looking at anyone. Yuui wasn't sure if it was just wishful thinking, but something seemed different about the white-haired Garuda master.

"I heard what happened that day," she said, not turning to acknowledge Yuui's approach. "You've bled for Faerie. Maybe you aren't so weak…Highness."

Feeling like she'd collapse in relief, Yuui managed to maintain her composure when Karura finally turned to face her, lowering her head slightly.

"Glad as I am to have your approval, Karura-san, it isn't what I came for. I wanted to tell you…that I saw what happened to your little sister…when I was trapped…and I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I understand."

Karura regarded the young queen with wide eyes. She'd heard Yuui was a dreamseer, but she hadn't known she could see the past. However, she finally sighed and let her curiosity go. "Yes, I believe you do now. I will serve you, Queen Yuui. You can help me see Karyou's death avenged."

Upon hearing the storm sprite's vow renewed, Yuui's gaze shifted sadly from side to side. "I…I can't help but wonder, Karura-san…if this is what Karyoubinga-san would want for her sister."

Rather than going blank, as Yuui had half-expected her face to do, it shifted into a tiny look of sadness. "I _know_ it isn't…but I'm weak, and I _cannot_ let it go."

_I have nothing else. If I don't seek her killer…I will remember the moment the light left her eyes…and I'll be of no further use to you._

Yuui blinked in confusion for a moment. Had Karura really just…opened her mind to her?

_Then…what happens when Yuuko's dead?_

Again, Karura sighed, placing a hand on Yuui's shoulder and holding her gaze intently.

"Take care of them, Yuui-sama. You never know how precious they are…until you lose them."

Hearing the sadness and utter loneliness in the clan master's voice, Yuui suddenly felt fearful, quickly turning to try and catch sight of Tomoyo and not breathing again until she found her, smiling adoringly as she rocked Kohaku.

"E-excuse me?" she pleaded, exchanging a brief glance with Karura. The storm spirit only nodded, releasing her.

Yuui hurried over to Tomoyo, embracing her from behind and leaning her head forward to drop a kiss on her cheek. "It's all right," she said, glancing down at their nearly asleep little girl. "We can go now."

She gave no cue. When she, Tomoyo, and the rest of their family began to make their exit, everyone else fell into step behind them, following Yuui's lead back to the surface.

XxX

" _Imouto…"_

_Sakura spins around, seeing nothing but darkness. Who called to her?_

" _Imouto…"_

" _Wh-who's there?" she calls into the blackness. "Touya?" No…it_ _ **can't**_ _be him. This foreboding…this_ _ **cold**_ _she feels…can't be her brother._

" _My dear, sweet baby sister…look at me."_

_This time, when the queen turns about, her eyes fall on the dark faerie with the single grey eye._

" _Seishiro," she whispers in dread. The Dark Prince laughs softly at seeing her barely concealed fear._

" _It's been so many years since I first laid eyes on you, Imouto. You've turned out beautifully."_

" _Stop it," she hisses at him, giving a very rare glare. "You are_ _ **not**_ _my brother…not in any way imaginable."_

" _No, Sakura-chan…in_ _ **every**_ _way imaginable. After all, if you think about it…I was your brother_ _ **first**_ _. I was alive long before your precious Touya. Why won't you embrace me, Imouto? Our father would have wanted us to be friends. He loathed violence."_

_Sakura shakes her head vehemently. "I am_ _**not** _ _your sister."_

" _I could have killed you, you know. When you were a baby? I held you in my arms soon after you were born and I could have crushed you," he says to her, drawing slowly closer._

" _You're a liar. He…wouldn't have let you touch me. Even then…if you could have done it, you_ _ **would**_ _have!"_

" _If that's so, why do you look uncertain? I won't have an uncertain little girl calling me a liar. I've_ _ **never**_ _lied," he insists dangerously, continuing to advance on her. Her meek attempt at retreat isn't making anything better._

" _How can you even_ _ **say**_ _that? You've lied about everything! You've broken poor Subaru-san's heart with everything you've done. You made a bid for Faerie's throne when you swore you didn't want it. There's nothing in you but lies!"_

" _That isn't true. I haven't lied; I just…haven't said all," he explains with an odd little smile. "If I had lied, I never would have been seen as worthy by the moon's advocate. A faerie who breaks his word is less than the lowliest insect."_

" _But…_ _ **are**_ _you a faerie?" the queen dares to ask. "They've told me about you…that you're…the Sakurazukamori."_

_Seishiro says nothing. He simply lunges the final distance toward her and seizes her wrist. Before Sakura even has a chance to struggle, the scene changes before her eyes. Instead of being trapped in a dark void with Seishiro, she finds herself in a tower room in her own castle in Cephiro. The décor is slightly different, but she still knows her own home._

_It is night beyond the room. An exhausted-looking brunette woman is sleeping in a rocking chair next to a cradle. Sakura hears a few very soft baby cries from the cradle, but her apprehension about actually looking into it is overshadowed by the figure laid out on the four-poster bed at the other end of the room._

_The exquisite blue coverlet that would have normally covered the bed has been thrown off to the side and the sheets that remain are all violently stained with blood. The ravaged figure on those sheets is also covered in her fair share of blood, but she's still been laid out with a great deal of ceremony, her arms crossed in the pose of the dead._

_Sakura knows whom it is she is approaching as she moves stiffly across the room - of_ _**course** _ _she knows. She's dressed in a simple brown slip and her auburn, waist-length hair is fanned out to frame her drained body. Her face is exhausted and hollowed, but it still contains an odd element of peace - of_ _**finally** _ _being at rest. The queen doesn't recognize her face, not really, but she likes to imagine she can see some of her own features in it. Even though she's never really seen her before, the queen knows this is her mother she's seeing - the mother she'd murdered with her own birth…Nadeshiko._

_Hesitantly, Sakura reaches a hand forward to touch a strand of the woman's still-luscious hair._

_**Kaa-san…my kaa-san…** _

_Suddenly hearing a whisper of movement behind her, Sakura turns. No human would have been able to hear the sound Prince Seishiro makes as he appears in the room and approaches the cradle. It certainly doesn't disturb the woman sleeping in the rocking chair: the former high priestess, Karen – Yukito's mother and the woman who had carried the secret of her birth to the grave. Sakura certainly doesn't blame her for sleeping. It must have been exhausting seeing her born and knowing she could do nothing to save her mother._

_Seishiro smiles as he reaches into the cradle and lifts a baby girl from the downy bedding. Even though Sakura_ _**knows** _ _this child is none other than herself as a baby, she can still hardly get her mind around the sight of_ _**Seishiro** _ _rocking her and cooing to her._

" _You know…I could kill you right now," he says to the half-awake little girl, placing a hand over her tiny, fluttering heart. "I could smother you quite easily…but I'm not going to. I always wanted a baby sister."_

_Just then, little Sakura begins to cry softly, in turn causing Karen to stir in her sleep. Moving quickly, Seishiro places a kiss on his little sister's forehead and lays her back in her cradle before vanishing into the night. The moment he's gone, Karen jolts awake, moving in to comfort the crying child._

" _It's a lie," Sakura says stolidly as the illusion dissolves around her and she finds herself facing her unwanted sibling once again. "You have the power of illusion. They told me. You could make anything you want seem true."_

" _That's true," he says, amiable as ever, "but why should I? Why should I lie to you?"_

_Sakura shakes her head. "To give me despair? To gain my trust? I don't know."_

_The Dark Prince gives an almost genuine-sounding laugh at this. "I should hope we're long past me trying to gain your trust, dear little sister."_

" _I told you to stop calling me that!"_

" _Whether or not I call you my sister doesn't make it any less true. We all share the same royal blood: our father, you, me…your children…and your grandchild. It makes us family…but it damns us, as well."_

" _What do you mean?"_

_For a moment, Seishiro's face looks almost sad. "You will see. You and I won't escape it. The others may yet."_

" _I don't understand what you're talking about." Sakura just finds herself growing more confused by the minute._

" _You don't need to know, little queen. There's nothing you can do to change it. Just let me ask you one thing. You have the power to cross that which cannot be crossed, save through Spirit Lake. You are a gateway into Faerie. What would happen if you should fall into_ _ **our**_ _hands?"_

"Oh, God."

XxX

" _Kurogane? How could you do such a thing?"_

_He knows he's guilty; the whole_ _**world** _ _knows he's guilty. Why does_ _**he** _ _have to know it, too?_

_Fai's staring at him, his blue eyes wide with disbelief and sorrow. Just staring…no help to offer, no comfort…no redemption. Only staring…accusing, almost._

" _I don't know," he mumbles. "I – I didn't_ _ **know**_ _. I didn't_ _ **mean**_ _to."_

" _But you still did it, Kurogane. You still slaughtered innocent men."_

" _They weren't innocent!" he tries to defend himself. "They were serving the enemy!"_

" _They didn't know that. They were under a spell."_

" _They're traitors!"_

" _You say that…but I know you feel their deaths. You'll carry them with you until you yourself die. If it helps you sleep at night, you can keep telling yourself you killed traitors, but you know it isn't true."_

" _I_ _ **know**_ _that. Nothing helps me sleep anymore, Fai. Only you can do that," he admits desperately, reaching out and taking Fai's hands in his. "I just…don't want you to leave me because of this. I_ _ **need**_ _you."_

" _Maybe…I shouldn't help you sleep. Maybe we should just die together," Fai says, not looking at him. "We're both…wrong, Kurogane."_

_Kurogane shakes his head. "That doesn't mean we can't exist. We can just…go away, somewhere far away where we can't hurt anyone anymore. I don't care about anyone else anymore. I just want to be with you. Everything else is too fucked up now."_

" _Kurogane, Kurogane…" Fai chides him softly. "The only place you and I can be together anymore is death."_

" _Don't call me that," Kurogane mutters angrily, crushing Fai against his chest in an effort to silence his awful words. The blond struggles briefly, but when the fallen prince finally presses his face directly against his chest to stop his airflow, his struggles cease. He leans gratefully into the embrace and Kurogane holds him there until he feels his body go slack. Then he lowers them both to the floor, gently cradling the body in his arms. After a bit, tears begin to fall onto Fai's cold face._

_It's all wrong. There's nowhere they can run to anymore. It is this…or nothing._

" _Then I guess it's nothing," Fai's voice suddenly speaks up. Kurogane opens his eyes and looks down to find his lover awake and breathing once again._

" _I…I…Fai-"_

" _Oh, stop. This isn't going to get us anywhere. I'm not the Fai you knew. You and I together…we killed him."_

" _What…are you talking about?" the confused young man asks, slowly extricating himself from the resurrected corpse._

" _I'm the true Fai. Over the past few months, I've grown to take his place. You destroyed what was left of him," he explains with a devious smile._

" _But I – you…he_ _ **asked**_ _me to."_

" _You didn't believe in him enough, so you destroyed him. Heh, I like you, Kurogane. You're not like_ _ **him**_ _._ _ **You**_ _aren't afraid to kill to get what you want. We'll make quite a powerful couple, you and I. Together we could bring Faerie itself to its knees."_

" _And…what makes you think we're a couple?" Kurogane asks, finally managing to gather some of his wits to strike back._

" _You saw to that yourself when you destroyed my weaker half._ _ **I'm**_ _the Fai you really want. Strong, impenetrable, and unbreakable: you'd never have to worry about me."_

" _But you're not him," the ninja says firmly as he draws his sword._

" _Except I am. Whatever you choose to see in this scenario, I will always be a part of Prince Fai Fluorite. You can't destroy me and you can_ _ **never**_ _escape me."_

" _I can damn well try!" he counters, raising Ginryuu for a killing strike._

"Damn it!" he shouted as he shot awake. The transitions between waking and dreaming were no longer so confusing for Kurogane. He knew what he'd experienced. Once again, he had watched Fai die - he had killed him. Fai was dying; wherever he was, he was dying, and Kurogane lost a little bit more of himself every time he felt it. It was too much. He couldn't stand it anymore.

"Another bad dream?" Yuui asked as she carried a softly sniffling Kohaku into his room. Tomoyo followed silently behind them.

"Yeah. I woke her, didn't I?" he asked, feeling slightly guilty.

"Yes, but it doesn't really matter. She has such an erratic sleep schedule anyway," she explained as she sat down on his bed.

"I can't handle it anymore, Yuui."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't stand it. I can't stand having to feel him die a little more night after night. He's suffering. We have everything we need. We need to save him. We need to go… _right now_."

Yuui regarded him for what felt like a long moment to him, gently rocking her infant all the while in an attempt to calm her. The young queen had adopted a policy of never leaving the two-day-old baby unattended. So far, she had remained in Yuui's arms or in her sight with Tomoyo, but everyone knew that Kohaku was _never_ , under any circumstances, to be left alone.

Finally, she nodded. "You're right. I said we'd go once she was born. I suppose I'm just…still trying to take it all in."

On a rational level, he didn't blame her. All in one day, she found herself responsible for not just the life of a helpless child and a wife, his very own sister, but also the lives of hundreds of subjects she'd never even met. However, Fai was suffering _now_ and needed his help _now_. He'd been hearing him scream for the past two months and he simply couldn't bear it anymore. The irrational side that wanted to dash off without any preparation was winning.

"Could you…at least wait until tomorrow?" Sakura's voice was suddenly heard asking. The three young nobles looked up to see their two mothers standing in the doorway, accompanied by Souma. "I've spoken with Touya. Syaoran's funeral is tomorrow. Once that's done…then you can go and rescue my son."

"Of course," Yuui responded, rising from the bed with the now quiet Kohaku. After all, it was _her_ fault her father was dead. The least she could do was see him laid to rest. "We need to wake anyone who isn't already awake. I want us ready to leave by morning."

Before anyone could respond to her order, a new voice broke into the conversation.

"Everyone's awake already, Your Ma…Yuui…sama," Watanuki started to announce upon entering the chamber, awkwardly amending his level of address when he saw the glare the young mother was giving him. "But someone else wishes to speak with you. I told her to wait until morning, but she was insistent."

"Who?"

"Master Hisui Guru, My Queen," the wind spirit supplied, suddenly seeming to appear behind the nature spirit.

"Hisui-san?" Yuui said softly, keeping her surprise well hidden. "While it's good to see you on your feet…what is it you've come to _me_ for?"

Hisui moved briskly into the room, coming to kneel before Yuui without hesitation. "Majesty, I understand you've probably already chosen your companions for this mission you're about to embark on, but I…I wish to be considered for this task. I want to help."

Yuui considered the wind general for several long moments before asking, "Why the change of mind?"

"Because this might be the only chance of discovering a way to save Kokuyo. If you could be rescued…and Prince Fai can be rescued…then there _must_ be a way to save him."

 _What do you think?_ Yuui turned her thoughts directly to Tomoyo without actually looking at her.

_I think we can use all the help we can get. Our enemies are strong. If she wants to help, then let her._

_But can we trust her mental state? She's nearly been in a coma_ _**with** _ _Kokuyo-san this past year. This is…very sudden._

_But isn't it a good sign that she's finally woken herself up? She's just like Kurogane._

_I'm not even sure I trust_ _**his** _ _mental state for this. If he does something stupid and gets himself killed, they_ _**both** _ _die._

_He wouldn't risk Fai like that and you_ _**know** _ _it._

_No, in his right mind, he wouldn't, but you and I both know he_ _**isn't** _ _in his right mind. I'm worried…but it would kill him not to be involved in this._

_Is Hisui-san so different? Besides, didn't you promise her father you would do everything in your power to help them?_

Yuui nodded slowly, then reached out her free hand to help Hisui to her feet. She wasn't going to issue commands to people on their knees before her like some kind of deity. She wanted to do her best to treat with everyone on an equal level.

"I'll allow you to accompany us on this quest so long as you promise to keep your head on straight."

For a moment, Hisui raised an eyebrow in confusion, but finally shrugged, bowing her head to Yuui in deference.

"You have my word, Your Highness."


	33. Awaken to Love's First Kiss

Yuui had never been inside a crypt before. Growing up away from civilization as she had, she really had no concept of a graveyard, a crypt, or anything of the like. Her first real experience of a civilization had been Faerie, and the fey had no graveyards. Upon dying, a faerie's body simply faded away, returning to the magic energies from whence it had come. Only humans buried the dead…and more and more often, the young queen found herself uncertain of which one she really was.

The Valerian royal crypt lay beneath the shrine of the Goddess. As in Nihon, it was a structure just separate from the palace grounds. The stone building, constructed in the old Valerian style, wasn't particularly large, containing only the central courtyard where an image of the Lady was kept, and a few other rooms for the education of priests and priestesses. The true scope of the complex was hidden beneath the earth.

No one was really certain how far beneath the ground the crypt extended. The first queen of Valeria was interred in the layer just beneath the Goddess' statue and the levels only went down from there, down through the earth and down through the years. With each new ruler that came to power, a new layer was dug into the crypt. The previous rulers, King Fujitaka and Queen Nadeshiko, lay enshrined in the layer just above their heads. The layer the small crowd occupied now was still empty…waiting for its new occupant.

Syaoran really might have been asleep. Through Ransho's power, he hadn't decayed in the slightest over the past week. His body was laid out in a white marble sarcophagus big enough to contain two people. Yuui had only recently learned that the second place was for Sakura, whenever there should be need of it…and considering her lineage, who knew if there ever _would_ be? The tomb had originally been built when Touya ascended to the throne, but had been inherited by Syaoran and Sakura when they took over.

Yuui shuddered, holding Kohaku even closer against her chest, even though the baby girl was already secured in a sling. It helped her to go through the history she'd learned in her head; it helped her not to break down as she stared at her father's dead face. She could still hardly get her mind around it…after growing up essentially father-less, she had known her true father all of two months, and already she was watching him being entombed beneath the earth. The thing she had yearned for her entire life had been here in Valeria all along and she hadn't known it until it was nearly too late. This brave, strong, wise, loving man had been her father…

… _and he died for me. He'll never meet Fai or Kohaku. We'll never be able to ease the suffering he endured in our name. What can…I possibly do to repay such sacrifices?_

The new queen shrugged off her thoughts, knowing they were taking her to a place she didn't want to go. Instead, she focused on Watanuki and Sakura, who were both using their magic to lift the heavy marble lid of the sarcophagus into place over Syaoran's body. As the carved white slab settled into place with a soft grating sound, Yuui couldn't help but notice the silent tears streaming down the older queen's pale face.

_Oh, Goddess, what have I done? What have I_ _**done** _ **_?_ **

Again, Yuui attempted to shrug off her hysterical thoughts, glancing away from her mother…anywhere would do so long as she didn't have to see that stricken face. She looked around at the small group. Yukito, Touya, and Eriol stood nearest to the tomb. Amaterasu, Kurogane, and Souma were present, as well, not only as visiting royalty, but now as members of Yuui's family. Tomoyo stood beside her, clasping her hand tightly in her own, with the two Mokona perched on her shoulders. Also present were Ransho, Doumeki, Kamui, and Subaru, the latter three all somehow members of their odd little extended family. Ransho was present as a representative of the faeries who had fought alongside Syaoran and been his close allies. Every single mourner carried a white rose.

Once the sarcophagus had been sealed, Yukito stepped forward and said a few words in a language she didn't understand. Old Gallian, she'd been told, the original language of the Valerians. At the end of his prayer, the high priest began to speak normally again. There would be no grand speeches here. All of that had already happened above ground, in the service for the citizens of Cephiro. Here, anything they said was just words between them and a loved one they had lost.

"Syaoran…you were always such a determined boy…but you never had any pretensions to power. Things just fell as they did because…you were so very in love with Sakura. You were the best king we could have asked for when Touya stepped down. You will be missed." As the graying priest finished, he gently dropped his rose on top of the sarcophagus and bowed his head in respect before standing back and allowing Touya forward.

"You were a brat, Bozu…but my little sister loved you and that's…well, that's not nothing. You did good," the former king said, shaking his head sadly as he dropped his rose next to Yukito's. "Goodbye."

Eriol didn't say much when it was his turn. He stood contemplating the stone tomb for several long moments before speaking. "Goodbye, Uncle. I know you were sad, but…maybe you can rest now." Then the boy laid his rose down with the others and rejoined his parents.

Amaterasu was next to approach, beginning without any real preamble. "I know it was all just a happy accident for you, Syaoran-san, but…perhaps that's what was needed. You were strong…worthy. You made a difference here. Farewell." Another rose fell to join the others and the empress stepped back to allow Souma forward.

The young kunoichi said nothing when she laid her rose with the others. She wasn't really certain why she was being permitted down here…except maybe to act as support for her friends. Perhaps the best they could do now was to stick together as a family?

Kurogane was the last of the Nihon group. Rather than stand and speak, though, he knelt beside the tomb in silence for a long while before speaking.

"I hated you. For the longest time, I hated you. I hated you because I thought your daughter was taking me away from the one I really wanted to be with…but…now I know…that he _exists_ because of you. You gave me…the only thing really worth having. If I could…I'd ask your permission for his hand."

Yuui knew it hurt everyone who knew the prince to hear him talk this way. It was like he hardly cared to maintain the hard shell he so carefully kept around his heart. It was a sign of his respect, though - that he would feel the need to ask permission for something. It was a mark of the true depth of what he felt for Fai.

The moment Kurogane had laid his rose on the sarcophagus, he reached for the rose tucked behind his ear, cradling the red bloom against his heart as he rejoined Souma and his mother. Yuui could almost see the harried progression of thought on his face. The white rose was ice…silence, loss, and death. The red rose was heat…passion, love, and life.

Kamui and Subaru approached together, both silently laying their roses on the stone lid. Neither had known the king well, but they were both tied to Yuui now, Kamui through Kohaku and Subaru through kindred magic and lordship under her rule. They both knew what an honor it was to be asked to this last rite.

Doumeki was also silent as he moved to stand beside the tomb. Rather than drop his rose with the others, he broke the blossom from the stem and crushed it in his hand, slowly scattering the petals over the lid.

"You were strong…to give them up as you did and to suffer their absence. Your children are both loving, strong, and wise…and they came from you. You left something here, King of Valeria."

Watanuki stepped forward after Doumeki had moved back. He held his rose close for several moments before laying it down, but when he did, he kept his hand on the lid.

"I felt guilty, Syaoran-sama. You know that? So many times…I felt guilty for feeling like I was really a father to them when you were here all this time, missing them and wishing for them."

 _But you were,_ Yuui wanted to cry. _You_ _ **were**_ _a father to me…and to Fai. You are_ _ **all**_ _our fathers!_

"I know you never would have said that we stole your babies from you…but we did. I know we did. We all knew it. Well…now we give them back," the nature sprite finished softly, turning his gaze back to Yuui. The young queen wanted to break down and cry when she saw the pain on his face because she knew it was a reaction to the hurt in her own eyes. Why did there have to be such a rift between the members of her own family? Did _she_ have no say in who her family was?

Ransho came next, kneeling beside the tomb as Kurogane had done and wearing a sad smile as he spoke. "You humans…do not face death as we do. You live each moment knowing you will inevitably die, but we…we choose the moment of our death. We don't live expecting to die. I think…that one human who would face death…is worth a thousand fey. You were such a man, Syaoran-Ou. Rest well…until you wake to a new birth." Upon finishing, Ransho raised his rose to his forehead in a last salute before laying it next to the growing pile of flowers.

Yuui was next to step forward; she and Tomoyo came together, the younger sovereign moving forward to offer her rose first.

"What can I say, Syaoran-sama? You gave me my Yuui…my wife. What can I do but promise I'll protect her for you? I will; I swear it…my life for hers."

"And mine for hers," Yuui interrupted, not wanting to hear that line of vows from her wife of one day. "For what kind of daughter to you would I be if I just let her make that sacrifice for me. I want to make for her the family you and my mother could never have. Both my mothers, you, and my other fathers." She couldn't see it, but Yuui was certain she felt her mother's and her guardians' surprise - maybe even heard her mother gasp.

"You and my mother never had the chance to know us growing up…and our guardians could never truly get close to us for fear everything we had together was a lie…unfair to us and to you. I think I understand that now. No one could ever be truly happy. I'm sorry we could never hold each other close as a family…like we promised…but things will be different this time. I'll make it so. Your granddaughter is a child of both worlds…and she'll know it. There won't be any secrets anymore. From now on, we'll all be together as one family. You're no less my father than Kimihiro Watanuki and Shizuka Doumeki are…and Himawari Kunogi is no less my mother than Sakura Fluorite is," she declared, slowly turning to face her remaining parents. Doumeki was mostly his usual stoic self, save for the tiny upward twist of the corner of his mouth. Watanuki's face was wet with silent tears, and Sakura was openly crying.

Being careful of Kohaku, Sakura moved forward and pulled Yuui into her arms, stroking her hair and kissing her face. "Oh, Yuui, Yuui. My baby!"

Yuui met Sakura's eyes with a tired smile when they finally separated, nodding. Yes, she was ready. She was ready for Sakura to be her mother.

"I wasn't ready before," she said to the dead king, though she still faced her mother. As the tears she'd been holding back began to fall, she turned to face the tomb one last time. "I wasn't ready to be your daughter when I found out the truth, but I'm ready now…and you aren't here to see it." As she dropped her rose with the others, Yuui let a few painful sobs escape her mouth, easing a small portion of the ache in her chest, but then she swallowed hard, keeping the rest of the hurt back. Her own grief was for later, when she was alone with Tomoyo and Kohaku was really asleep. Her brief outburst had stirred the little girl to tears of panic and she was crying for comfort now.

"Goodbye," she whispered to her father as she held her daughter closer, rocking her and starting to hum gently. With that done, she allowed Tomoyo to lead her back to their former place, leaving Sakura alone before the sarcophagus.

The queen stood for several moments, her shoulders shaking with barely repressed sobs. Finally, though, she shook her head and wiped her face, all signs of her breakdown vanishing as she deliberately tucked her rose behind her ear.

"Let…let's return to the surface. There's much to do. I'll…speak to him later."

No one questioned it. Normally, the crypt would have been sealed at the end of the rite, but no one dared question Sakura's right to say her last goodbye to her husband in private.

XxX

"So…what, exactly, is the plan?" Kujaku asked once all the players were present in the castle throne room. Supplies had been made ready for the group, all contained within the two small Mokona. Now all that remained was for a plan of attack to be laid out and final goodbyes to be said. At the center of this gathering were those who would attempt the quest, having all changed into darker, less noticeable traveling clothes: Kurogane and Souma, Yuui, Tomoyo, and little Kohaku, as well as Soel and Larg, Watanuki and Doumeki, Subaru and Kamui, Kujaku, their guide through the dark realm, and Hisui and Sai. Also gathered in the throne room were what remained of the Valerian royal family, along with Chi and Freya, Amaterasu and Chitose, Kero and Yue, Kakei, the three fey generals, Ransho, Touki, and Ryuuki, along with Hisui's stand-in, Kazahaya, as well as Sorata and Arashi, who would accompany the group part of the way on their quest.

"I started to figure it out when we made our assault against Shirasagi," Yuui began to explain, gesturing to a large map of the two nations that was laid out on a table for all of them to see. "The area we were teleporting through then was small, but we jumped fast enough to keep the enemy confused. What I think might work this time is for us to teleport to several places all across the map. Instead of having to worry about how _fast_ we teleport, we'll focus on how _far_ we teleport. The enemy knows where we are now, but if we keep on the move for at least a week, I figure they won't be able to see where we're coming from. The element of surprise is really the only weapon we have against them and we should use it. Thoughts?" she requested, throwing the plan to the group at large for consideration.

"This…just might work," Kakei said slowly as he surveyed the map. "Have you planned on any of the jumps you'll make?"

Yuui shook her head. "I'm only really familiar with Celes and parts of Shirasagi and I know I can only teleport to places I'm familiar with. I thought it might also be wise to let different members of the group choose our location…in case my mental defenses are compromised. I know they're still imperfect."

"Yes, that _is_ a good plan," Kamui conceded. "Do you at least know where we'll be going first?"

"I do. We'll meet up with the Nihon resistance fighters. I've been keeping in contact with Rasetsu-san and Kusanagi-san and they tell me that the resistance is massing in the south of Nihon…in Piffle City. Kyle's influence hasn't spread that far. That's as far as Sorata-san and Arashi-san will travel with us. They wish to rejoin their companions," Yuui explained.

"Even after I begged her to stay here," Sorata said somewhat angrily, glaring sideways at Arashi.

"I am a kunoichi. My place is in battle, fighting for my lord," the pregnant warrior responded coldly, not acknowledging her lover's anger or worry. Sorata just shook his head, still grumbling to himself. He could never win with Arashi…but it wasn't as if he hadn't already known that anyway.

"Ryuuki-san? If you would, I'd also like you to lead the Fire Guard to Piffle City. Now that the siege around Cephiro has broken, I don't doubt that the Dark Court will turn its gaze to the Nihon resistance fighters, and they're less than helpless against the Oni. The only reason they've lasted as long as they have is because our enemies have placed their focus on Valeria. We can't let them stand alone anymore. Will you help them, Ryuuki-san?"

"As Your Majesty commands," the red-haired general acquiesced, nodding his agreement.

"Also, on the subject of Valeria, Ransho-san…would it be possible to erect a barrier around the entire country?"

"Yes, Highness, it would be. However, in order for it to be a viable barrier, rather than just an alarm bell for intruders, the task would take many faeries devoting their energies purely to that task."

"Could we devote the Earth Guard to the task then?"

"If that is your wish, My Queen, I will see it done."

"Thank you."

"And what is your wish for the Wind Guard, Majesty?" Kazahaya asked nervously, though feeling that now would be a good time to address the subject.

Yuui smiled sadly at the question. "Much as I would love to have an army behind me when we enter the Dark Court, as I understand it, we can no more directly attack them than they us. For now, I'd like the Wind Guard to back the Water Guard in their defense of Celes. I know the Oni are still thick there near the entrance to the Labyrinth."

"It shall be done, Majesty."

"Thank you, as well, Kazahaya-san. Kakei-sama?"

"Highness?"

"You will reign over Faerie in my absence. As _I_ find you a worthy substitute, Faerie must acknowledge my decision, correct?"

"That is true, Yuui-sama," Kakei said encouragingly.

"Is this clear?" Yuui very specifically asked Kero and Yue, the only ones really at liberty to say whether or not the choice was adequate.

"Understood," the two advocates acknowledged together.

"It's a well-laid plan," Amaterasu interjected, a hand resting subconsciously on her swelling belly. "But this is only for the very near future…rescuing Prince Fai. Do you have any plans after that…for driving the dark faeries from Nihon?"

"All I'm concerned with right now is rescuing my brother," Yuui admitted rather stolidly. "I don't have anything more long term than that."

"I see," the fallen empress said solemnly. Yuui couldn't help but wonder just how much better Amaterasu would like the plan if she knew that more than half of it had come from her son. Yuui had come up with the idea of teleporting from place to place in order to throw the enemy off the scent, but most of the tactical plans had been advised to her by Kurogane when she'd consulted with him and Souma last night. He, however, had warned her to present the ideas as her own so that she might be able to start building herself more of a power base. Kurogane himself had said nothing thus far, only stared intently at the map as Yuui outlined the plans. Only he, Souma, Tomoyo, and Yuui herself were privy to what was planned for the final stages of the mission.

"And just what do you plan on doing once we've _reached_ the Dark Court?" Kujaku asked shrewdly.

"As I said before, I won't run the risk of anyone's mental defenses being compromised. That part I'll keep to myself until the day we attack is closer."

"But Yuui-" Watanuki started to interrupt, but fell silent when he saw the half-pleading look in his surrogate daughter's eyes. It was _her_ decision, _her_ brother. If she was to be queen, truly, then she had to handle this now.

"Are there any more questions?" Yuui asked after Watanuki had fallen silent. Subaru thought to ask if there was any plan for what to do if they should have trouble with the Sakurazukamori, but the question seemed foolish even as it was forming in his mind. What was there _to_ do in that situation but meet that obstacle as it came to them? Otherwise, the only question came from Chi.

"Pardon my boldness, Majesty, but…you will find Hideki, like you said? You'll tell him Chi loves him?" the young woman asked nervously, cradling her own daughter against her chest.

Yuui nodded, giving Chi a comforting smile. "I'll tell him, Chi-san. I promise I will." She made no mention of whether or not she'd actually find him, only the charge of carrying a wife's love to her husband.

"If that's everything, then we leave for Piffle City in ten minutes," the young queen declared, standing from the table in silent acknowledgment of the fact that their meeting was adjourned. The fey withdrew into their own little knot. It was really only the humans who had goodbyes to say, after all.

"I'd ask you to promise me not to do anything stupid, but I'm not entirely certain you're capable of making such a promise right now," Amaterasu said candidly to her son, standing on tiptoe to give him a hug. The young man gave his mother a bitter smile. Even after everything that had happened, she was still able to see to the heart of him.

"I won't die…I can't, not yet. You don't have to worry about that."

The Nihon empress gave her children a rare smile. "Well, at least I got that out of you. We'll work through the rest as we come to it."

Tomoyo shared a look with their mother when they had their own goodbye embraces. Somehow, she knew she was referring to the situation between Kurogane and Fai. As per Yuui's wishes, no one who had been in the room that day had revealed anything about the potion given to her by the other Yuuko. She didn't want their enemies somehow finding out about it and they were also both afraid the fragile hope would destroy Kurogane. It would take careful planning in order to be able to implement this plan while avoiding breaking either of their fragile brothers.

Yuui, meanwhile, was letting Sakura say goodbye to her granddaughter. The elder queen was rocking the baby girl and cooing softly to her.

"Are you sure you won't leave Kohaku-chan with us?" Yukito asked for the umpteenth time. "This will be very dangerous."

"I'm sure. She's…so little. Kohaku needs me right now," the younger queen said quietly as she watched her mother with her daughter. "I'll protect her; and if I can't…I don't deserve to be her mother, much less a queen. Nothing will happen to her."

"Don't let anything happen to yourself either," Sakura admonished.

"I won't."

Sakura's expression suddenly turned very grave. "Do I have your word on that, Yuui Fluorite Reed, as a queen and a faerie?"

Yuui met her gaze unwaveringly. "You have my word as a queen…as a mother, and as a sister."

Sakura nodded in acceptance as she passed Kohaku back to her. "You'll bring him back?"

"I won't come back without him."

Finally allowing her queenly demeanor to slip, Sakura pulled her daughter and granddaughter into her arms.

"I'm so proud of you. I love you both…so much," she whispered to her.

"I love you, too…Kaa-san," Yuui whispered back, smiling warmly at her mother as they separated. "I promise we'll all come back."

Sakura answered her daughter's smile with a smile of her own, her eyes growing moist once again.

Tearing her gaze away from Sakura, Yuui briefly glanced around at the other groups before finally announcing, "It's time."

Taking no more than a few moments, the groups recombined into those who were staying, and those who were going. Those going gathered into a circle, with Subaru and Kamui, as the only ones who had both seen Piffle City and could teleport, performing the group transfer.

The spell didn't take all that long either. Having experienced it once before, Sakura understood how a group teleport worked. They all joined hands, with a very firm warning _not_ to break the circle, and the Shiro brothers began to send magic through their joined hands. Then a small gale of wind passed through the throne room, light flared briefly around the circle, and they were gone. Sakura hadn't broken eye contact with Yuui once.

"Don't worry," Yukito said to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be all right."

"Yes," the queen responded with a smile. "I'm sure it'll be all right."

"Are you going to join us for lunch today?" Eriol asked.

"I don't think so, Eri-kun. I'll see you at dinner. I…I'm going to see Syaoran now," she said, her gaze turning to Yukito at the end. The high priest nodded his understanding.

"Nii-sama, would you be able to see Ransho-san about those defenses Yuui wanted? I believe you know the most about our own forces at the moment."

"Sure. I'll see to it. You go talk to the runt," her older brother said, his face looking wryly sympathetic. Sakura then gathered her brother's family in her arms for another hug.

"Thank you all so much. I appreciated…having you with me today. I'll see you tonight," she said softly before releasing the three and heading out of the room. Touya and Yukito looked at each other oddly after she'd gone, but they eventually managed to shrug it off in order to go about their business.

Sakura, meanwhile, walked very slowly through the halls of her castle, her home, taking in as many details as she possibly could on her way down to the shrine. Had the rugs always been this rich shade of blue? Had the stones always exuded this faintly musky scent? She had lived in this place her whole life. How much of it had she never really taken the time to notice before?

As she walked, she sang - an old Valerian prayer for mothers that she now addressed to her deceased husband.

_I pray you will be my eyes_

_And watch her where she goes,_

_And help her to be wise._

_Help me to let go._

_Every mother's prayer,_

_Every child knows._

_Lead her to a place,_

_Guide her with your grace,_

_To a place where she'll be safe._

The air felt distinctly warmer as she walked into the light of the afternoon sun. Her people milled about her, rebuilding their lives after the horrors of the siege. A few even called out to her and she acknowledged them with a nod and a sad smile. They were good people - strong people.

The shrine was quickly coming up to meet her. She didn't know when she'd ever felt this torn between two extremes. Her heart was heavy with longing and regret…but she was light on her feet. Something in her almost felt giddy. Had the sun always felt this warm and comforting on her shoulders?

_I pray she finds your light_

_And holds it in her heart._

_As darkness falls each night,_

_Remind her where you are._

_Every mother's prayer,_

_Every child knows._

_Need to find a place,_

_Guide her to a place._

_Give her faith so she'll be safe._

The queen hardly felt the time or the distance as she descended, level after level, into the crypt. There was little to look at now, but she still found herself looking at the entrances to each level…even at the bare earth and stone structures that kept the crypt from collapsing in on itself. Her eyes simply couldn't have enough of looking, her ears enough of hearing, her nose enough of smelling. All the tiny things were suddenly everything, filling her sight to a degree beyond imagining.

_Lead her to a place,_

_Guide her with your grace_

_To a place where she'll be safe._

Sakura felt only a tiny twinge of uncertainty when she came at last to the lowest level of the crypt. The scent of roses still hung faintly in the air, not yet killed by the dank scent of long hidden earth. The scent gave her courage and she moved forward, bringing her magic to bear on the marble lid of the sarcophagus. She moved it all on her own this time. It was a simple matter of desperately needing to see her husband's face once more.

"Our granddaughter is beautiful, Syaoran…so beautiful. I can't believe you didn't stay to see her. Well…I'll tell you all about her. I'll lie with you tonight, Syaoran. I won't sleep alone ever again," she told him as she climbed into the open casket, taking up her place beside him. As she lay down, she couldn't help but wonder if, maybe, the two of them would be the last to be buried in the crypt. With her son on track to marry Kurogane, he would probably be buried in Nihon with him when he passed. Yuui, if she even left remains behind when her time came, would almost certainly be interred in Faerie. Would use of the crypt end with her and her husband…with its ancient corridors eventually being forgotten by later generations? No…these were not thoughts for a moment like this. Such morbid thoughts would not be her last.

If there were any other way, she would never do what she was about to do. If she could someday look forward to a natural death, she would wait it out patiently, living somewhat contentedly with her family. However, there was no such event in her future. This life without Syaoran by her side could potentially last until time simply collapsed in on itself. Even then, she might have been able to bear it for the sake of her children, but Seishiro had cinched the decision for her. She couldn't allow herself to be used as a tool against her babies. She wouldn't let her power fall into _their_ hands. In order to protect everyone she loved, she would put herself beyond the reach of their enemies - go to a place far beyond their power to recall her…into death itself.

Watanuki had said it was as simple as not wanting to be alive anymore. That was the hard part. Part of her _did_ still want to live…the part that wanted to meet Fai, to see Kohaku grow up, to watch Yuui become a great queen. However, in order for these events not to be jeopardized, she knew she had to remove herself from the picture. She had to make the part that wanted to be with Syaoran again stronger.

"I don't want to fade away when I die," she murmured, not really sure whom she was talking to. "I want to leave a body behind…to rest with Syaoran forever. I want to sleep by his side always."

After making this last desperate plea, Sakura removed her emerald wedding ring and placed it on the lip of the open sarcophagus. It would serve as a last message. Then she leaned over and gave Syaoran one last kiss, remembering the feel of him in her arms. She knew him so well…and he her. What was she without him?

"I'm ready now. Syaoran…Syaoran, wait…"

XxX

Yukito knew why he felt a sense of foreboding as he descended through the layers of the crypt; he just didn't want to acknowledge his fear. Sakura had been so strange after Yuui and the others had left…and no one had seen her since then. She hadn't come to dinner, either. That was when they'd started to worry. Touya was currently searching the castle.

"Sakura?" he called out gently when he finally reached the lowest level, hoping desperately to find her beside the tomb, having simply lost track of the time - not yet ready to leave her husband to his rest. Instead, a fearful chill swept through his being upon finding the sarcophagus open and the small, earthen chamber seemingly deserted. Cold sweat broke out all over his body as he slowly moved toward the gaping casket.

_Sakura…please…tell me you didn't…you couldn't have…please. Oh,_ _**please** _ **_!_ **

He couldn't rightly say he was surprised when he finally beheld the two of them lying together in the tomb, but his heart did skip several beats, and no sooner had he had the chance to comprehend what he was seeing than a ring left on the lip of the open casket began to glow and an image of Sakura's face appeared before him.

"Please…whoever finds this ring…could you give it to my children. It is my last gift to them. I'm only sorry I can't do better."

Then she was gone - gone forever.

With trembling hands, the high priest picked up the emerald ring, holding it close to his heart. Sakura had worn this ring everyday for twenty-three years, and now…

Falling to his knees, Yukito let several strangled sobs escape his throat. Sakura and Syaoran - they had lost them _both!_

_Oh, Goddess…oh, Goddess! How'll I ever tell Touya? His baby sister…_

"H-how could you do it, Sakura?" he cried, pounding a fist against the earth. He wasn't certain how long he knelt there on the ground, purging the pain of this sudden loss and trying to incorporate it into his reality, but when he finally managed to pull himself to his feet and look down at the sleeping couple once again, he almost thought he could see the queen smiling.

At least, wherever they were…they were together…and happy. Perhaps he could still be grateful for that.

XxX

The jump from Valeria had taken the travelers straight to the outer walls of Piffle City. It had taken the fey in their group several hours to make absolutely certain there were no traps laying in wait for them, so it was night by the time they actually entered the city. Their entrance was greeted by a group of seven: Lord Rasetsu, Kusanagi Shiyu and the newly made Yuzuriha Shiyu, Souma's father, Lord Kakyo, and three others Yuui had never met before. One was a taller man with dark hair and stubble on his chin who had the look of someone running purely on adrenaline. The second was a younger woman with light brown her that fell far past her waist. The last was a young man slightly older than Kurogane with short blond hair and a deadly serious expression.

"Welcome to Piffle City, My Prince," the stubble-faced man greeted Kurogane. Yuui felt a moment of disconcerting worry when her friend didn't snap at the man for calling him prince, not really sure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. However, she was soon drawn from the thought when the man turned his attention to her. "And welcome to Yuui-sama, queen of all Faerie, and to her consort, My Lady Tomoyo."

"Thank you, Ichiro-san. While you seem to know my wife, I don't believe she's had the pleasure. Yuui, this is Ichiro Mihara, lord of Piffle Province," Tomoyo introduced.

"Under better circumstances, I imagine it would be a pleasure to meet you," Yuui responded honestly. Ichiro gave her a wry smile as he took the hand that wasn't holding Kohaku and kissed it.

"I understand you, Majesty. These are dark days. We must gather to us those we can trust. As such, I hope you will make the acquaintance of my other two guests in that spirit. May I present Lady Miyuki, master of Gohou Province, and Lord Nataku Toujou, master of Tenkai Province."

Yuui bowed her head at the neck in acknowledgment of the two leaders as they bowed low before her. "How do the two of you find yourselves in Piffle Province?" she asked them. "I understand Lord Kakyo is master of Yomogi Province and was in the capital at the time of the coup, but you?"

"The two of us only arrived here yesterday," Miyuki began to explain.

"I doubt you'll have heard of this, My Prince, but Lord Imonoyama is dead," Nataku continued, addressing Kurogane with the news.

"What?" Tomoyo whispered in shock.

"Kyle killed him when he refused to submit to his rule. No one's really known what's been happening inside Shirasagi these past months, save for those of us here with Lord Rasetsu and the resistance army. Now that the scum's attempting to spread beyond his power base, the nation's finally starting to figure it out. Though…I don't know how much of an increase we'll see in the resistance now that he's started killing off dissenters," Ichiro mused sadly.

"What's happened to Nokoru?" Tomoyo asked. There had once been talk of an engagement between her and the young Imonoyama, and even though it had fallen through, she'd still maintained a good friendship with him.

"His father sent him into hiding before openly declaring his defiance. He's currently in exile with Lord Mong Ryong in Koryo Province. I've received word that Lady Suzuran of Kuroba Province has taken refuge there, as well. Apart from Piffle City, nowhere else in all Nihon is better fortified against the Dark Court than Koryo City."

"How is that?" Yuui continued to question as the group was led through the city streets to the lord's residence. Tomoyo and Kurogane had given her a crash course in the provinces of Nihon and their respective rulers, but she didn't know much beyond names at this point.

"Koryo Province boarders the Shirahime Mountains…where the Dark Court is hidden. Mong Ryong has been repelling attacks by dark faeries for many years. He and his forebears have maintained a good relationship with their half fey citizens and call upon their aid in times of need. And of course, we are well-protected here with the help of just _one_ full-blooded faerie," Ichiro went on, giving Rasetsu a thankful grin. "We have all maintained a loose contact these past months and when word of Imonoyama's death reached me, I requested that any lords not under the protection of either myself or Mong Ryong seek that protection immediately. We must remain united if we mean to survive this war."

"Well, you won't be alone against our enemies anymore," Yuui assured the Piffle lord. "The Fire Guard will be fighting alongside the Nihon resistance for as long as there's need."

Yuui and Tomoyo continued to confer with the lords all the way to Ichiro's small castle. As they talked, Kusanagi fell into step with Kurogane. The two men walked silently together for what felt like a painfully long time. After all, Kusanagi hadn't seen the prince since just before Kyle's takeover and the changes in him since then were nearly unfathomable.

"Kurogane-sama…what's happened?" the warrior finally managed to ask. The fallen prince gave a bitter bark of a laugh at the question.

"What's happened? Where have _you_ been the past two months?"

"To _you_ ," Kusanagi needled. "I've never seen you like this before. It's like…you're a completely different man."

"To me?" the young man repeated, his eyes growing wistful for a bare moment. He'd lost everything he'd ever been. Every purpose that had ever fueled his life had been taken from him, but how did he explain to the closest thing he had to a father that he _was_ a different man? Kusanagi had a right to understand if anyone did; he just didn't know how to tell him. He could hardly conceive of it himself. He was finally forced to admit, "I don't know…what happened to me. I…might be dead. I don't know."

"Kurogane-" the older ninja began in a half-harsh, half-concerned tone, but was almost instantly cut short by his new wife. Yuzuriha knew her husband was worried for his surrogate son's safety, but she could also see that they wouldn't get any answers from the prince himself. They would have to seek them elsewhere. Besides, whether or not they had actually managed to get Kurogane to open up, any conversation they might have had would have soon been interrupted by Kohaku's sudden wails for attention. The entire entourage actually stopped their trek to the meeting hall in order to give Yuui a chance to calm her daughter.

For a good five minutes, the baby girl yowled inconsolably, with no one really able to discern the cause of her distress, as it was neither hunger nor a need to be changed. Whatever the cause, Tomoyo and Yuui eventually managed to calm the tiny princess down and rock her into a fitful sleep.

"I'm sorry, Ichiro-san. I do want to hear more, but I don't think my little one will go a step farther. Arashi-san?"

For a moment, the kunoichi didn't respond. She was so unused to being addressed at all, let alone by Yuui, that it took her several moments to realize she was even being spoken to.

"Yes, Your Highness?" she responded swiftly upon realizing she'd been called.

"Would you please mind Kohaku for me? A war council probably isn't the best place for her right now."

Arashi stared at the new queen oddly for a few moments. "M-me…Yuui-sama?"

"Yes," the young woman replied, holding her gaze with a very specific intent that Arashi couldn't quite identify. "Can you do that?"

"I…yes, I suppose."

"Good. Wait for us here?" she requested, slowly passing the fitfully slumbering baby to Arashi, showing her how she ought to position her arms through her own example.

Arashi nodded, carefully taking the little girl in her arms and holding her somewhat awkwardly against her chest.

"If it's all the same to the rest of you, I'll stay with her," Sorata said. Yuui didn't know it, but he was apparently being shamelessly bold by stating this fact rather than asking for permission. Yuui just nodded, though.

"Do that. I'd actually prefer it," Yuui said before the rest of the group headed away down the corridor.

As if she could sense her mother leaving her, Kohaku began to whimper almost immediately. Arashi looked up to call after Yuui, but stopped when she saw the stiffened set of the girl's shoulders as she walked away. This was more than just a simple request for a babysitter. It was a test for all of them.

"You know, she can tell you're nervous," Sorata said gently as he slipped his arms around her waist. "That's why she's uncomfortable. You've got to relax."

Arashi shook her head, attempting to will the stiffness out of her body. "How do you know so much about babies?" She felt him shrug from his place behind her.

"I'm just good with kids, I guess. I like them and they like me."

"Maybe _you_ should hold her then?" Arashi suggested, her nerves fraying a little more when Kohaku gave a small cry in her sleep.

"No. Yuui-sama asked _you_ to do it."

"A-all right," she capitulated, swallowing hard before attempting to go into something of a meditative state. Humming tunelessly, she slowly began to rock the child, swaying back and forth. Sensing her intent, her lover easily moved with her. After a time, Kohaku calmed, settling down for a deep, peaceful sleep in the kunoichi's arms.

Arashi eventually began to lose track of the time standing there in Sorata's embrace with the little baby in her arms. For how awkward it had been at first, it felt strangely warm now. She could almost imagine this was _their_ child, and there was no danger or intrigue or anything - that they were just a regular family. When she opened her eyes to look down at the slumbering baby, she suddenly felt the weight of her own child heavy in her womb. As her gaze traced the soft, plump lines of Kohaku's small face, she began to wonder what _her_ baby might look like.

"Sorata?" she began softly as she shifted a hand to stroke Kohaku's tuft of blonde fuzz. "I…I don't want to kill my baby. I want it to be born. I…I _want_ it."

Sorata tightened his grip on her as slightly as he was able without setting her off, sensing the small note of hysteria in her voice. "All right. All right. That's fine. It's okay."

"I don't- I don't want them to kill it. They can't-"

"Arashi, why is this so important all of a sudden?" he interrupted her, turning her in his arms so he could look her in the eyes.

"It's _your_ baby. I _know_ it is," she explained, still trying to stay in control of her self. "I don't know if they understand that or not."

Sorata's face went a shade darker at this. "How can you know that? How can you _possibly_ know a thing like that? I want it to be ours just as much as you do, but it-"

"I _know_ ," she interrupted right back. "I _just know_. I can't let them hurt it."

"Okay, okay. It's okay. I understand," he soothed, being careful of the two babies cradled between them as he wrapped his arms around her. "It's gonna be all right."

Arashi said nothing more. She simply rested her head against his chest and allowed him to hold her while Kohaku slept on, blissfully unaware of the world around her.

XxX

"What's wrong with him?" Kusanagi asked the two queens, wasting no time with subtleties. The night was already half over, after all. The war council hadn't lasted very long, but between that and dinner, Yuui's guardians had insisted that Rasetsu give his oaths of loyalty to her before any further interaction took place. After dinner, they had all been shown to guest quarters, but not five minutes after Yuui and Tomoyo had been left to theirs, Kusanagi had appeared, desperately wanting to speak with them. Both girls looked infinitely saddened by the question.

"You'll have heard about his relationship with Fai during your time here, I assume?" Tomoyo asked, rocking Kohaku in her arms in order to give Yuui a small rest.

The older warrior nodded, also looking sad. "He told me…years ago…that he was a lover of men. I thought he might have a secret lover somewhere, but I never dreamed it was anything like this."

"Those two mean the world to each other. Kurogane was crushed by what happened to Fai. He hardly sleeps anymore; when he does, he dreams of the cage of nightmares Fai's trapped in. You probably noticed he doesn't eat much. He trains intensely…both his battle skills and his growing magic…runs himself ragged. He's nearly killed himself more than once; whether or not it was intentional, we're not really sure. Being without Fai…and knowing what's happening to him…it's driving him insane…killing him," Yuui explained, trying hard to keep herself together in the face of the shock and pain she could see reflected in Kusanagi's eyes.

"It isn't just that, either," Tomoyo continued. "It's worse now."

"Worse?" the ninja master half-choked on the word. "How can it be worse?"

"Not even a week ago, Kyle lured him back into Shirasagi under the pretense he'd tell him how to get inside the Dark Court if he turned himself in. He has the information now, but…Kyle tricked him into killing his own men in order to escape. I know he doesn't _want_ to regret it…but that guilt's eating at his conscience, too."

Kusanagi shook his head as he slowly absorbed everything. Kurogane, the boy he'd helped raise from birth, the eager, clever boy who was so certain of the difference between right and wrong, had become a man almost overnight…a man suffering for his love and punishing himself for what he perceived as his sins. The worst of it was Kusanagi couldn't see any way of helping him.

"Isn't there anything we can do…to _save_ him?"

Both queens shook their heads. "We can't help Kurogane now," Yuui said.

"Only Fai can save him. Only _he_ can pull him back," Tomoyo finished.

"And…if you can't rescue Fai-sama?"

Normally, Yuui would have lashed out at such a question, but it had only one answer now.

"Then Kurogane will break…shatter beyond anyone's ability to help him."

XxX

The last thing Souma had been expecting to see upon being led to her temporary quarters was her father. That was, however, just who was waiting there for her when she was let into the chamber.

"Oh, Lord Kuzuki. Is there something I can do for you?" the serving woman accompanying her asked him.

"Yes. You can leave me alone with my daughter. We need to talk."

Souma winced when the woman complied with only a nod of her head. She would have almost rather faced Fuuma or Seishiro than Kakyo.

"What are you doing here?" she finally asked after what could have been hours of silent, stubborn staring.

"I need to talk to you," he said. Maybe she was imagining it, but his voice didn't seem to carry his usual angry tone. It seemed almost…afraid.

"What could you _possibly_ have to say to me? You've made it perfectly plain what you think of me these past eighteen years. What more is there to say?"

"It…it isn't like that," he began hesitantly. Souma's first instinct when he began to move slowly toward her was to run. Her earliest memories of him held only pain and the response had been conditioned into her from that time. _Run or he'll hurt you!_ However, the instincts born of her training under Arashi were present as well. She mustn't run from her fears; she must face them and conquer them. Through these two conflicting drives, she managed to stay in the room when he finally stood before her, but she couldn't quite help taking a step back when he reached a hand forward to caress her cheek. "You're so much like your mother."

"So I've heard," she shuddered, trying hard to fight against the scared child in her. "You _do_ know what people think, don't you?" she flung at him. It was the one thing that might hurt him.

"Of _course_ I know what they think. I'm not deaf. I hear what they say and I _know_ what they think I am, but you know it isn't true and I know it isn't true." Court gossip claimed that Kakyo had never recovered from Hokuto's death…that his mind was diseased and he couldn't tell the difference between his dead wife and their daughter…that Souma had lost her virginity to her father. It was ridiculous, of course. Kakyo had never loved her enough to hug her, let alone make love to her. He was guilty of child abuse, certainly, but never incest. The insinuation, however, was the one thing that could still shake him.

"What if I told you you _had_ done it?" Souma asked spitefully. Kakyo's hand stiffened instantly at her words.

"What…what are you talking about?"

"You don't remember? You don't remember that time you got drunk when I was ten? I do. You came screaming into my bedroom. Sonomi was trying to teach me to embroider and you screamed at her to leave. When she was gone, you dragged me to your chambers and tore my clothes off."

"That…that never happened. I couldn't have…I…I didn't…" he struggled to get out, taking a step back from her. It was the first time she could remember ever seeing him scared. She liked it.

"But you _did!_ " she snarled. "You took me to your bed…and you raped me. You raped a little girl! Your own daughter! You should just be thankful I wasn't old enough to get pregnant." It was a complete lie, but Souma couldn't seem to stop herself. The fear in her father's eyes was like a drug. All her life, he'd clung to the conviction that he wasn't this monster everyone thought he was, and now…to be told that he really _was_ …

"Oh, Souma…darling…my baby. I…I didn't… _do_ that. How could I…my own daughter…my little girl…" he murmured as he took several more steps back, finally stumbling and falling to his knees. "Did I…did I really…only ten? I…I really…kn-knew you?"

Souma smiled bitterly as she knelt in front of her father and seized him in her arms. "What? You really don't remember how I _felt_ , Tou-san? You don't remember _this?_ " With that, she pressed her lips harshly against his and ground her body even harsher against his. Kakyo actually screamed at the contact, pulling himself weakly away from her and curling in on himself, emptying the contents of his stomach on the wooden floor. Souma almost wanted to vomit herself, but managed to hold it back.

"Hokuto! Hokuto, I'm sorry!" he cried out weakly. "I promised you I wouldn't let anything happen to her!"

Seeing this weeping mess her father had become didn't inspire one ounce of pity in the kunoichi. It actually only served to anger her.

"What sort of promise did you make to my mother? Not let anything happen to me? The only thing I ever got from you was pain!"

"Oh…oh, my baby" he whimpered as he gazed up into her smoldering eyes. "What have I done to you?"

"You didn't rape me, if that's what you're wondering," she said, finally deciding to release him from the horror of the crime he'd never committed. "But do you really think what you _did_ do to me was so much better?"

The tears in Kakyo's eyes were now half in relief and half in guilt. "Souma, I'm sorry," he cried as he pulled her down into his arms. "I'm so sorry."

Souma allowed herself to be pulled to the ground, allowed her father to hold her, but she wasn't ready to soften yet. "Do you honestly think that's enough? Do you expect me to just fall in line like your precious little bird? Sorry isn't going to make up for any of it."

"I know. I know it's not enough. I just…want you to understand. What I did…I did to protect you."

"No!" she shouted, pulling herself away from her father. "Don't give me that. You expect me to believe that making me miserable was supposed to protect me?"

"You don't understand-" he tried to start again as he pulled himself into a sitting position.

"No, Tou-san, I _do_ understand. I understand you missed Kaa-san and you took it out on me because she died giving birth to me. I know what it's like not to be able to have the one you love. I can understand that…I could even forgive you for it…but please…don't try to pretend it was anything else. Protect me? No. There wasn't anything noble in your treatment of me. We should just…let it go…leave it all in the past where it belongs," she said, the anger finally draining out of her voice. She was only just starting to really hear herself. Who was it these angry words were coming from? Was it really her? How could it be? She wasn't like this.

Kakyo nodded in agreement. "You still don't understand. I don't know if anyone ever will. I just…wanted you to know…that I _do_ love you. I always did. I just didn't know _how_ to protect you."

Souma said nothing when Kakyo leaned over and kissed her forehead. She didn't even look up when he stood and left. She remained seated, staring listlessly at the floor. She wasn't certain just how long she'd been sitting there when she heard a different set of footsteps entering the room.

"Are you all right?" she heard Subaru asking her. Then he was kneeling in front of her, lifting her face up by the chin to see if she was hurt.

"Fine," she mumbled, not really looking at him. The Shiro lord shook his head.

"No, you're not. Not really," he said as he lifted her into his arms and carried her to her futon, gently setting her down.

"You're lucky you didn't know your father, Subaru-san," she said dully as he conjured her a goblet of water.

"Well, considering he was once lord of the Oni, you're probably right," he said, offering her a wry smile as he held the goblet out to her. The smile she returned was sad. She took the offered goblet, contemplating it for several long moments before putting it aside. She then reached forward to take his hand in hers. She didn't need to say anything. It was painfully obvious what she wanted.

"Are you sure?" he asked her once again. She nodded, reaching another hand forward to rest on his inner thigh.

"I…want to forget. I just want to forget about all of it."

"What…did he do to you?"

Souma shook her head, slowly sliding her hand up his thigh to fondle him. "It isn't what he did to _me;_ it's more what _I_ did. I don't want to be me right now. I just want to feel."

Subaru shuddered briefly before taking her hands in his and kissing them, easily taking control of the situation. "As you wish," he murmured soothingly, moving his hands to her shoulders and gently laying her beneath him on the futon.

It wasn't any easier. She was so young. Compared with him, she was a baby. Ultimately, he found he couldn't look at her face as he pleasured her, so he used his power to smother the candlelight in the room. They both made soft moaning sounds as they gave each other pleasure, but Subaru could feel it on his own face and on hers. They were both crying. He felt guilty, but…like her, he just wanted to feel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter is "The Prayer" from Quest for Camelot.


	34. Riding Out of the Dawn

When Kurogane first heard the shouting, he thought he was dreaming, which was strange because he wasn't asleep, only meditating. Had he fallen asleep again?

_No…no…it's real. An attack?_

Instantly, he was on his feet, grabbing Ginryuu before rushing out of his quarters. At first, there were no signs anything was wrong, but as he raced closer to the castle entrance, he began to hear shouts again.

"What's happening?" he shouted at the guards upon reaching the sealed gate.

"We're under attack," one reported tensely.

"The Fire Guard hasn't had a chance to erect barriers yet. They're in the city," another said, sounding more worried than his compatriot.

"Open the gate," he ordered.

"But Your Highness-"

"Open the gate right now!" he demanded.

"Don't go out there, Kurogane," a firm voice suddenly commanded from somewhere behind him. Kurogane turned and saw Doumeki, Watanuki, and Kamui heading for the gate. It was Doumeki who had spoken.

"But we've got to _do_ something."

"The best thing for us to do is leave Piffle. Ryuuki can take care of things here. We have our own mission."

"You…expect me to just _leave_ them?"

"That's exactly what I expect. I won't have you risk Fai like this."

"I won't abandon them," he declared as he drew Ginryuu. He'd already disappointed his people enough in his quest to save Fai. He wasn't going to do it tonight.

"Don't try it," Doumeki ordered, his eyes narrowing in an uncharacteristic display of anger. He could clearly see what Kurogane intended to do if the gate wouldn't open for him. "It's too dangerous. You'll hurt yourself."

Kurogane didn't care. He _had_ to do it. He'd never done it before, but it was hardly five feet away and he could clearly visualize the spot. So, just as Ryuuki had taught him, he gathered magic to him, creating a shield around his form before forcing his body through the teleport spell.

"Idiot!" Doumeki snarled as Kurogane vanished. The prince could very well wind up buried underground.

Kurogane's first instinct upon rematerializing was to collapse and vomit up the little food in his stomach, but he managed to remain on his feet. He'd ended up just where he wanted to be: right outside the front castle gate. Taking hardly a second to savor his triumph, he sprinted away down the main street, toward the fighting. The others would be on him in mere moments.

The first things he noticed were the fires. The Oni had set fire to many of the buildings and the members of the Fire Guard seemed to be too engaged with their enemies to do anything about it. The citizens were trying to organize into water brigades, but there was very little they could do against enchanted flames. Perhaps, Kurogane found himself thinking, if he could _create_ fire, then he could also…

Again, he focused his energy, concentrating it on the living flames surrounding him. Then he began to draw the flames to him, calling their power to join with his own. Slowly but surely, he absorbed all of the flame in his reach.

When one of the enemy warriors noticed this, he turned to find the source and his eyes instantly found Kurogane. Shocked, the prince found he knew the warrior. It was Koryu, the leader of the Oni. Upon recognizing him, Koryu's face split into a devious grin and Kurogane suddenly found the dark faerie standing before him.

"Well, if it isn't the little prince. I didn't know you could do a trick like that."

"I've been practicing," Kurogane responded, trying to sound nonchalant, even though all he wanted to do was collapse. Quenching the fires had drained his reserves rather than added to them. In an attempt to seem more of a threat, he brandished Ginryuu in front of him. "You want to see what else I can do?"

"Indeed, I do," Koryu said with relish, brandishing his own weapon and springing at Kurogane before another word could be wasted.

The faerie lord was, of course, inhumanly fast, but to his own amazement, Kurogane found he could follow his movements. It wasn't so much that he could see them; it was more that he could sense the blows as they happened and keep time with them, blocking each one and sending out a few of his own. When Koryu realized they were evenly matched, he gave another grin.

"My, but you _have_ been working hard. Not a lot of mortals possess the stamina to reach this level. By rights, you should have dropped dead long before now."

Kurogane shuddered at the insinuation. He had come very close to that line many times before now. Only here in this moment did he realize how dangerously close he still was to it. Pushing himself a little closer to the line in order to press his advantage, he found himself a hairsbreadth faster than Koryu for a few moments.

Those few moments were all he needed. Moving like lightning, he brought Ginryuu down on Koryu's exposed sword wrist, severing the hand. Koryu gave a brief shout of pain as his hand and sword went flying away. The hand soon regenerated itself, but by the time it had, Kurogane literally had Koryu pinned to a wall, Ginryuu jammed through his stomach and buried in the wall behind him. The dark faerie laughed, sending up a few small streams of blood.

"Very good, little prince, you might…just-" For some reason, Koryu's words slowly came to a halt.

"What?" Kurogane demanded.

"Oh, Kurogane," Koryu began almost reverently. "No one told me you had a Heart." As he spoke, he slowly reached out a hand toward Kurogane's chest. When the prince realized he was reaching for his sun pendant, he angrily batted the hand away.

"Why does that matter?"

Koryu outright laughed at this question. "You really don't know? My Prince, you have the power to kill me right there in your hands."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't you see? Take that charm, plunge it into my heart, detonate its power…and I will die."

Kurogane stood stark still for a moment, trying to absorb this new information.

"I…I don't believe you. You're lying…to get the Heart from me or something," he accused. Koryu just shook his head.

"I'm a _dark_ faerie. What would I want with a Heart of _Fire?_ You could do it, Kurogane. You could end my life right now."

It couldn't be. It simply couldn't be. No way it was this easy - but Kurogane still found himself sorely tempted to try. After months of utter helplessness…there might actually be something he could do to harm their enemies?

"Do it, Kurogane," the faerie lord murmured hypnotically. "Take my life from me. You have the power. You are one of us. Your eyes are painted with the color of your true desire. Don't deny your true nature. Spill my blood."

Yes. Yes, he could do it. He would. He _must_. He must destroy this creature.

"Kill me in cold blood…just as you killed all those helpless men."

_Wait…_

"Kurogane!" He suddenly heard a different voice shouting to him. He glanced to his side and saw Yuui, flanked by Doumeki and Watanuki. Taking a cursory peek at his thoughts, she met his confused gaze head on. "Don't. You don't have to do this. You have a choice."

"You don't want a choice, though, do you, little Kurogane?" Koryu asked knowingly, completely ignoring Yuui. "You _want_ to kill me. You _know_ you do. I can see it in your eyes. You want to make me pay for what happened to your precious lover."

Yes - Fai. If he could make one of them pay, he _must_.

"Don't do it. Don't let him do this to you," Yuui urged pleadingly. "You're not an animal, Kurogane. You're not like them."

"But you _are_ ," his victim urged just as strongly. "You're just like me. You can't escape it."

"Kurogane, remember what you're fighting for. Fai wouldn't want this for you," his friend insisted. God, but she was so much like her brother.

"But you can't save him…unless you destroy us," Koryu reminded him, knowing exactly what pressure point he was twisting.

That did it. With a cry of rage and pain combined, he seized the sun charm, snapping the chain around his neck as he channeled power to it. With that power, he actually managed to thrust his fist inside the dark faerie's chest. For a moment, he saw a flicker of fear in his opponent's eyes.

However, the moment he attempted to channel more power to the Heart, his own body rebelled against him. His vision went hazy and his body finally collapsed as the last of his reserve strength bled from him. He still clutched the Heart tightly in his fist, but he could do little more than lie helplessly on the ground, watching Koryu's blurry face laughing above him before vanishing entirely.

The next moment, he felt a pair of arms around him; then he faintly felt the teleport spell before he and his rescuer dropped onto soft, moist grass.

"It's okay. We're safe now," his rescuer whispered in his ear. His mind told him it was Yuui's voice, but his ears kept hearing Fai's.

"Fai…I'm – so sorry. I tried…I tried so hard…I just…don't know what to do. Do I…have to be like them…to save you? I…I'll do it. I will…" Unable to keep the world in focus anymore, Kurogane finally released his hold on consciousness.

Yuui very nearly cried when Kurogane called her Fai. In an attempt to hold herself together, she just knelt on the grass, holding his unconscious body in her arms and stroking his hair gently, as if comforting a small child.

"I wouldn't let it bother you too much," Tomoyo consoled, coming to sit beside her with Kohaku cradled in her arms. Their group had teleported to a far bluff barely within sight of the besieged city. Yuui and the two guardians had only remained behind to get Kurogane out. "He was weak…drained…not thinking clearly."

"But it still happened," she said sadly. "No matter what his state was…he still made the mistake. Who will he see when he wakes up? Me…or him?"

"Let's not worry about it until then. At least we all got out safe."

"You're sure the Fire Guard will be able to handle things here?" Yuui asked Doumeki, who was hovering close at hand.

"They'll be able to get it under control. It isn't a very large force. I don't think Koryu really expected _us_ to be here. It was just a lucky chance for him. Kurogane was actually very helpful in undoing most of their damage. Clearly, it put too much of a strain on him, though."

"You _do_ realize he'll be angry with you," Yuui turned her line of questioning to Watanuki. "for not telling him the Heart had that kind of power."

"It never occurred to me to mention it. So few Hearts have ever existed, no one has ever made a full study of their complete properties. It makes _sense_ that the detonated power of a Heart could kill a faerie if thrust into his or her own heart; I just don't know if the prince could do it."

"Would he…lose the Heart of he were to try?" Yuui asked, knowing that the pendant was very important to him, for more than reasons of power.

"No, the _Heart_ would certainly endure the detonation of its power. What I'm saying is I'm not sure if _he_ would. You saw what happened when he tried it just now. If he'd had enough strength to remain conscious, he may well have killed himself trying. Thankfully, he'd already drained too much of his own power to make a proper attempt. Koryu probably knew he was mostly spent. That's why he risked tormenting him like that."

"Could any of you use it against them?" Yuui asked hopefully.

Watanuki shook his head. "No. Kurogane's worked with it so intensely, the Heart's bonded itself to him. Only he can use its power now. The only way he could hope to survive killing a faerie with it is to be at his full strength when he tries. If what he accomplished tonight is any indication, he might be able to pull it off, but…"

"But…?" Yuui prompted impatiently.

"What Kurogane accomplished tonight will light a fire in him," Doumeki began to explain. "He will see that pushing himself the way he has has yielded results. It may cause him to push himself even harder, toe the line between life and death with even greater abandon."

"But…what will happen to him?" Souma asked, hesitantly joining in on the conversation.

"We couldn't say," Subaru answered her. "Kurogane-san is operating on a new plateau that few mortals have ever even tapped, let alone become proficient in. He will either become the greatest warrior the mortal world has ever known…or it will be too much for him. This power will overwhelm him…and lead to his destruction."

None of the three girls said anything in response to this. Yuui held her brother-in-law a little closer and Tomoyo held Kohaku a little tighter. Souma sought her small bit of comfort in Subaru's arms. Kamui glanced at the pair in very strong disapproval, giving his little brother a scathing glare when Souma wasn't looking. However, when Subaru's only response was to give Kamui a very stern shake of the head, the older Shiro went to Yuui and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We should keep moving, Yuui-sama. We cannot linger here."

XxX

" _You are one of us."_

_Is he? Is it true? He doesn't know anymore._

" _Have you ever seen your eyes? They're the eyes of a demon. Your eyes are the color of fresh blood. You would have spilled mine tonight. You know it…don't you? You know you'll have to become like us if you want the strength to get him back."_

" _But…will I be the man he loves if I do that?" he asks, finally turning to face Koryu._

" _Does that matter? I thought you wanted him back…no matter what the cost to_ _ **you**_ _may be."_

" _I_ _ **do**_ _want him safe…"_

" _Even if you yourself are somehow lost along the way?"_

" _If I have to…"_

" _You are one of us," a new voice declares. Kyle soon appears beside Koryu. "You've already tasted your first blood and you_ _ **know**_ _you want more. You felt powerful in that moment…like there was nothing that could possibly stop you. You want to feel that again. You want never to be weak again."_

_It's true. It's all true. He really doesn't know what to say anymore. How can he deny these things that are more or less true?_

" _But you_ _ **aren't**_ _like them," a different voice insists. He turns to find Yuui standing opposite himself and the two dark faeries. He also notices that as more people appear, the room they occupy seems to become more distinct. He can see they are in a large stone chamber, but one end of the room is still shrouded in heavy darkness._

" _You don't want to hurt innocent people…only guilty ones. They don't_ _ **care**_ _who they hurt. I_ _ **know**_ _you're not like that."_

" _How do you know what I'm like?" he asks bitterly. "I've hurt_ _ **you**_ _."_

_Yuui shakes her head. "You weren't thinking clearly. You_ _**aren't like that** _ _," she says firmly._

" _Heh…maybe it's the only time to tell what I really_ _ **am**_ _like?"_

_At this, Yuui's face twists in helpless anger and she crosses the chamber in only a few steps, swiftly slapping her hand across his face. He staggers only slightly from the blow, more out of surprise than pain._

" _Wake up! Can't you see what you're doing to yourself? Do you really think killing yourself for him will make Fai happy? If you lose yourself…or if you die saving him…he'll just follow you. You_ _ **must**_ _realize that."_

" _Oh, I think he realizes what he's doing to himself," Koryu breaks in, suddenly appearing directly behind Kurogane and resting a hand on his shoulder. "He's becoming more powerful. You should have seen him tonight. He was brilliant. He'll be a beautiful killer when he finally accepts that it's what he really wants."_

" _You are one of us," yet another voice says. Yuui visibly winces when Yuuko appears in their midst. "Are you really going to listen to her? She wants to hold you back. It can't be good for her if a rival sovereign gains power."_

" _What? No! That's not it at all!" Yuui cries out desperately. "You can't possibly believe that!"_

_He doesn't. He knows an insinuation like that is ridiculous. If he can trust anyone in the world, it's his two sisters, but he doesn't let Yuui know that. If he is to do this thing these creatures suggest, he will have to distance himself from everything in his life that is good. The fact that Yuuko has appeared to him in comfort is proof there is no redemption to be had for him. All that's left for him is to save Fai. After that, it will probably be best if he just…loses himself._

" _Did you ever really see a difference between us, little prince? We have the same eyes, you and I," she tells him, gazing directly into his eyes to prove her point._

" _You are one of us," a final voice joins all the others, a voice Kurogane knows better than all the others. Yuui shakes her head, her face falling in horror as the new figure at Kurogane's back places his hands at his shoulders and leans down close to him." Fai isn't_ _ **for**_ _you anymore."_

" _Maybe not," he says angrily as the Dark Prince kisses his ear. "But I won't let_ _ **you**_ _have him, Seishiro. I have the power now. I'll_ _ **kill**_ _you…even if I have to_ _ **become**_ _you to do it."_

That last moment of anger was enough to shock Kurogane out of unconsciousness, but he found he didn't quite have the strength to look around to find out where he was. All he could see was a featureless rock ceiling over his head.

Had he meant them? The things he'd said in the nightmare? He was already starting to forget exactly what had been said, but he was fairly certain he had meant it.

XxX

_Yuui can't help but smile upon entering the dream realm and realizing she's sitting in front of a mirror with Sakura standing behind her brushing out her newly long hair._

" _How have things been going?" the queen asks casually as she styles her daughter's hair._

" _Well, we're all still breathing. That's something," Yuui says slowly, getting an odd look on her face as she thinks harder and harder on the situation. Finally, she tries to turn and look at her mother, but Sakura keeps her head facing forward. "Is this_ _ **your**_ _dream, Kaa-san?"_

_Sakura only nods._

" _I didn't know you had the ability to walk in dreams."_

_Sakura shakes her head. "I don't."_

_Yuui freezes. "W-what do you mean? If you can't walk in dreams…but this is your dream…then…then-"_

" _This is my dream of death," Sakura explains calmly, giving her daughter a warm smile._

_For a moment, Yuui can't take it in, but the revelation slowly spreads throughout her entire being until she finally cries out in shock and turns to face her mother._

" _What – what **happened?** When?"_

" _I let myself die," she explains calmly, knowing this will be difficult for her to accept._

" _Why?" Yuui demands, tears pouring down her face. "I only…just found you. Why would you leave me? You haven't even…met_ _ **Fai**_ _yet. How could you do this?"_

" _Because I'd never see your father again. There was no end in sight for me…ever…unless I did something about it. Can you understand that?" she asks, gently pulling her daughter into her arms for a last embrace._

" _I…I think so," the young queen responds after several moments of quiet crying. She wraps her arms tightly around her mother, as if she could hold her here through her own power. If she'd worked at it, she probably could have, but…what good will that do? If Sakura wants to go, she has no right to hold her here. "This is…the last time I'll see you…isn't it."_

" _Yes, baby. I really am sorry, but…this is the only way."_

_Yuui nods slowly, attempting to rein in her grief. "I…I'll tell Fai…that you love him."_

" _Yes, please. I did leave a message for the two of you, though. It should be with Touya or Yukito. When you return with him, make sure you get it."_

" _I will."_

_Sakura shudders briefly in Yuui's arms. "I'm sorry. I really can't stay long, but I had to find you. I had to see you one last time…to explain. I didn't want you to hear it from someone else."_

_Yuui knows their time is growing short because she can see Sakura's form already beginning to fade away. Kotori had been able to remain in the dream a little longer, but she'd been a dreamseer herself. Sakura is little more than the will to say a last goodbye - and that is done. Yuui shudders once, swallows hard, and kisses her mother's cheek once before releasing her from her embrace._

" _Will you be all right?"_

" _Someday…someday, I will be," Yuui says, trying hard to smile for her mother, but unable to keep all of her sadness out of that smile. "Goodbye, Kaa-san. I hope…that the two of you can finally find some peace."_

" _Goodbye, Yuui. Never forget how proud of you I am."_

The sight of Sakura's last smile remained behind her eyes even after she'd woken up. Somehow, she knew that smile would haunt her for many years to come.

"Yuui? Yuui, are you all right?" Tomoyo asked worriedly. "Why are you crying?"

As Yuui rolled onto her side to face her concerned wife, she reached a hand up to her face to feel the moisture of tears on her cheeks.

"T-Tomoyo…Sakura's dead," she whispered, her throat tightening against the escape of those awful words. Saying them made them true.

"Oh…Oh, Yuui…I'm so sorry," Tomoyo said soothingly as she pulled Yuui into her arms.

Everyone in the cave heard the words and they all had their own reactions of shock and grief, but no one yet dared to ask how it had happened. It was war. There were bound to be casualties. What they were all really worried about was how Yuui would take it. It hadn't even been two weeks since she'd lost her father and surrogate mother. Her next words, however, proved she might be able to handle it.

"She…she's with Syaoran now. At least…they're together."

XxX

"Kurogane, would you mind watching Kohaku for me?"

The question instantly snapped the fallen prince out of his meditation. "What?"

"We need to leave here soon and everyone else is going to scout out the exits. I need you to stay here and keep an eye on your niece."

The group had sought refuge in the Labyrinth after escaping Piffle City. The battle around the Faerie Falls entrance had become much less heated since a larger portion of the Oni forces had been diverted to fight in Piffle, so they'd easily been able to sneak in that way. They'd been hiding out in a cave they'd chosen for the last few days, but now it was apparently time for another jump.

"Why can't someone else watch her?"

"Because there are two entrances to scout and I don't want anyone going into a potentially bad situation with no backup. Someone needs to stay here and protect Kohaku."

"You shouldn't leave her alone with me," Kurogane finally admitted, revealing the true reason he didn't want to be assigned this task. Yuui just stared very intently at him for a long time after the confession. She knew what he was afraid of and there was simply no time like the present to beat that fear out of him.

"You won't harm her, Kurogane. You won't. I know you. You think you're this berserk killer, but you're just _not like that_. I'm going to prove to you what you are here and now because you're going to stay here and look after my daughter."

Everyone else in their group had taken their argument as an opportunity to get out of the cave. Once Yuui was certain everyone except her daughter and brother-in-law were out, she simply stepped out and erected a barrier across the mouth of the cave. Kurogane glared at her through the transparent shield of magic.

"I can just teleport out of here, you know?"

"No, you can't. Obviously, you forgot, but no one can teleport into, out of, or within the Labyrinth. Only Sakura could do that," this casual comment threw Yuui into a cowed silence for a moment, but she soon recovered from it. "Besides, even if you could teleport in here, you and I both know you still haven't completely recovered from Piffle. You're going to stay here, get some more rest, and take care of Kohaku. We'll be back before too long."

Yuui didn't give Kurogane a chance to retaliate. She, Souma, Tomoyo, Larg, Doumeki, and Kujaku headed off in the direction of the Spirit Lake entrance, while Watanuki, Hisui, Subaru, Kamui, Sai, and Soel headed toward the Faerie Falls entrance.

Kurogane fruitlessly pounded a fist against the shield and let out an angry shout. Unfortunately, his ruckus woke Kohaku from her nap and she began to cry. Kurogane groaned in frustration.

"Don't do that," he pleaded as he walked over and sat down beside the small bundle of blankets and cushions Kohaku was nestled in. Of course, she paid him no mind. She only cried louder when no one comforted her. After all, how was she to understand her uncle's inner turmoil over having any contact with her? She was a week old. All she understood was she'd been asleep, she wasn't anymore, and her mother was nowhere to be found. What was a poor baby girl to do but cry?

Kurogane sighed, feeling guilty as he stared down at the squalling baby. _He'd_ woken her up. How could he _not_ offer some kind of comfort for it? Would it really hurt her…just this once? Slowly, hesitantly, he reached a hand down to stroke the downy fuzz on her head.

It didn't help much. Kohaku just continued to cry, waving her tiny limbs about in a frenzy. Feeling Kurogane's touch, she quickly shot out a hand and seized a finger in her tiny fist.

For a moment, the young man marveled at the smallness of the girl's fist…the baby-softness of her skin. She really was just something his warrior's mind could barely grasp. How could there be something so delicate and precious in the world when there was so much bad in it? He could already tell Fai would adore this little girl.

Being able to grasp something helped a little. Kohaku's sobs became much less frantic, but she still cried to be held. Her little nest simply wasn't good enough. After debating with himself for several long, anguished moments, Kurogane gathered the infant up in his arms and cradled her awkwardly against his chest, trying to do what he'd seen his sisters do. Kohaku began to calm down a little more, but she was still crying.

"It's okay. It's okay," he soothed, rocking slightly in order to comfort her, though he almost wanted to cry with her. He didn't really know why. Was it her innocence…or the fact that he would never be able to have this with Fai - even though it was the one thing that needed to happen?

Kohaku eventually stopped crying, curling up in Kurogane's arms and nuzzling her face in his chest as she fell back asleep. The ninja felt both saddened and elated as he held her. Even though he had sworn he would not involve himself with Kohaku, the girl herself and Yuui seemed to be having none of it. He had unwittingly allowed himself another vow to protect. Perhaps his sisters knew him a little too well.

When the others returned to the cave several hours later, they found Kurogane asleep against the wall with Kohaku nestled securely in his lap, his right hand resting protectively on top of her head. Most of them couldn't help but smile.

"Kurogane and Kohaku are so cute," Soel sang quietly.

"I knew she'd get to him," Tomoyo said proudly.

"We'll let them sleep," Yuui declared happily. "We'll head out when Kurogane wakes up. Who knows when he might sleep again."

Though, if the niece and uncle pair could get each other to sleep, more than one solution would be coming out of this night.

XxX

The scouting trip was the first time any of the four friends had seen the Spirit Lake entrance to the Labyrinth, and this _was_ Kurogane's first time seeing it. To him, it just seemed like a small pond in a cave, but he knew the darker color of the water indicated it was a fairly deep pond.

"So how does this work?" he asked no one in particular, figuring someone would answer.

"We'll guide you," Kamui said. "The swim isn't so far you couldn't do it in one breath, but it's a little dangerous if you don't know the way."

"What about her?" the prince asked, nodding at Kohaku in Yuui's arms.

"She'll be fine. I'm going to hold a field of air around her as we go. She could handle breathing in the water. I just don't want to put her through that," Yuui explained, quickly doing as she said and casting a protective field around her daughter to hold the air in. Then Larg hopped onto her shoulder, Doumeki took her free hand and led her into the pool, quickly ducking under the surface and out of sight.

Tomoyo, Watanuki, and Larg entered the water about five minutes after them, also wasting little time in swimming out. Souma and Subaru were next. He and Kamui entered the water another five minutes later.

"Just hold your breath," the faerie said. "I'll lead you out."

Kurogane did as asked and the very next moment, water was closing over his head. As Kamui pulled him through the dark tunnel, he found his thoughts drifting back to Fai and how he would have panicked now had the blond not taught him how to swim all those years ago. He had experienced moments of being both thankful and regretful for it. Now was a moment he was thankful. He thought nothing of the cold water slipping past his skin.

He took a huge gulp of air the minute they broke the surface, taking a moment to shake off some water before opening his eyes. Kamui was already swimming him to shore, which wasn't that far off. The faeries were using spells to dry off those who had no other means, except for Kohaku, who had never gotten wet. She just made odd little faces at the others as they shook off water.

"Why couldn't we have all done the air bubble thing?" Kurogane asked as he and Kamui walked onto solid ground.

"Swimming's faster," Kamui replied. "Does getting a little wet really bother you?"

Kurogane's only response was a low growl. He didn't see it, but the three girls all smiled. It sounded almost like old times again. That, however, was the end of it.

"Did you really think you could hide forever?"

They all froze when they heard the voice. Hoping against hope it was a nightmare, everyone turned to face the source. Seishiro was the one who had spoken, but he was accompanied by Fuuma, who carried Assassin's Hand at his side.

"Hello, Niece," Seishiro said coolly. The next moment, the lakeshore exploded with movement.

"GET YUUI OUT OF HERE!" Doumeki shouted, quickly moving with Subaru to engage Seishiro as he sprang forward.

"Wait! No-" Yuui tried to protest as Watanuki seized her and Kohaku, vanishing instantly. Kamui would have done the same with Kurogane, but was quickly engaged by Fuuma.

Hisui, Sai, and Kujaku raced to shore, having seen what was happening when they surfaced from the tunnel. Sai grabbed Tomoyo and Larg opened a wind tunnel for them, taking them to wherever Watanuki, Yuui, and Kohaku had gone. Hisui was about to take Souma when she was swept into the fight between Doumeki, Subaru, and Seishiro. Kujaku glanced at Kurogane, but the prince shook his head. Soel's powers shouldn't be wasted on getting him to safety. They should be saved for Souma. Kujaku was about to say something when he was overtaken by the battle between Fuuma and Kamui. Unfortunately, he was quickly taken out of the fight when Fuuma moved around a blow he struck and sliced off his left arm with Assassin's Hand.

Kujaku cried out in pain as he fell to his knees, blood spurting from the open wound. Doumeki, Hisui, and Subaru all exchanged glances. Kujaku would die without help and Doumeki, as the only other wielder of dark magic among them, was the only one who _could_ help him. Leaving the fight to his two companions, he moved to Kujaku's side. The dark faerie chuckled bitterly.

"Heh, never thought I'd see…one of _you_ helping _me_ out."

"Shut up. Where did they go?" Doumeki asked Soel, who had hopped up beside Kujaku in the confusion. If Larg was with the others, it was still connected to Soel. The Mokona whispered something in his ear and the two faeries were soon gone.

When it was just him and Kamui once again, Fuuma stole a glance over at Seishiro, Hisui, and Subaru. Then he grinned at Kamui.

"Two against one hardly seems fair, don't you think?" With that, he darted off to join the other fight and Kamui was right on his heels, knowing that any fight involving Assassin's Hand could hardly be considered fair.

"Subaru," Seishiro crooned gently to his former lover as their blades clashed over and over again. "You've been sleeping with someone else, haven't you."

"What business is that of yours?" the Shiro lord hissed, blocking an attack from Fuuma before reengaging with Seishiro.

"You belong to _me_ , Subaru. No one else will enjoy you. In fact," Seishiro began with a soft sneer as he glanced over at Souma, "I think I'll rectify the problem right now." Before anyone could stop him, Seishiro was moving toward Souma like wind across a field.

"NO!" Subaru shouted, knowing he couldn't get between them in time. Souma drew her twin blades, but before Seishiro could engage her, he was stopped by Ginryuu. He laughed as he glanced over at Kurogane.

"Ah, Kurogane-kun. Koryu says you've improved. Might I see your new skills?"

"Sure thing, bastard," he muttered, knowing the Dark Prince would hear him. Before he'd even finished speaking, he lashed out as Seishiro, biting deep into his shoulder with Ginryuu. The Dark Prince gave a small grunt, but then he smiled at Kurogane and they were both off in a whirl of flashing swords. Kamui, however, watched their battle a moment too long and received Assassin's Hand in his thigh as a reward.

"Keep your eyes on me, Kamui," Fuuma warned as Kamui fell to his knees, trying very hard not to let his pain show. Before Fuuma could get in another blow, Hisui swept Kamui away from the fight, leaving Subaru free to do battle alone.

Soel quickly moved over to Hisui and Kamui, knowing they would need to get to Doumeki, as well. Once they had gone, only Subaru, Fuuma, Seishiro, Kurogane, Soel, and Souma remained.

"So noble of you to stay behind and fight me in your brother's place," Fuuma said casually as he and Subaru traded blows. "Unfortunately, you're not the one we came here for."

"Look around you, Fuuma. She's not here anymore," he said angrily. "What are you hoping to accomplish here?"

Fuuma laughed at this. "Oh, my, dear Subaru, whoever said I was talking about Yuui?" he asked, pushing his gaze past the confused faerie lord. Subaru twisted around to follow his gaze and found himself looking at Souma, standing with her blades held at the ready.

"No!" he shouted, turning back to Fuuma and attacking him with even greater intensity. "Why her? What's so special about her?"

"Nothing. It's just what she wants," he said before disappearing, making a beeline for Souma. Subaru was right on him.

_They're after_ _**her** _ _**?** If she dies, it'll be my fault._

Subaru was just about to engage Fuuma again when he was intercepted by Seishiro, who proceeded to battle both him and Kurogane.

"RUN, SOUMA! RUN!" he tried to warn her, but he was too late. She was already blocking Fuuma's first attack.

"Soel! Soel, get her out!" he pleaded as he and Kurogane battled furiously against Seishiro.

"Soel can't! Fuuma's too close! Soel – Soel will call someone," the tiny creature cried out.

"They can't help you now," Fuuma said callously to his would-be victim as he battled her away from the shore and into the forest. It wasn't long at all before they were out of sight of the other combatants.

"That's not important," she said calmly. She was beginning to see where this was heading. Even at her best, fighting her very hardest, she could see that Fuuma was only toying with her. It was only a matter of time.

"I can see your heart, Lady Souma Kuzuki. I know what it is you truly want," he said cajolingly.

Souma just laughed. "If you can see that, then you know just how impossible it is."

"That's true, but failing that…I can see what you would rather have instead."

"Is that so?" Souma asked, letting down her guard for the barest of moments. That was the moment Fuuma used to shove Assassin's Hand hilt deep in her stomach, being careful to avoid severing her spine. Souma managed not to scream at the pain. She only gasped, feeling the dangerous fluids begin to spill from her stomach and into the rest of her body.

"Yes," Fuuma said softly as he caught her falling body in his arms, carefully lowering her to the ground. "As you can never have your beloved Tomoyo, you wish instead to die in her service. I've granted your wish."

Souma tried to chuckle, but it hurt too much. "Am I…supposed to say 'thank you'?"

"It's not expected in situations such as this, but I imagine you will once I've said all. You'll live about another ten minutes. That will give your friends time to find you and save the child."

Souma's eyes widened at this and her already failing breath caught in her throat. _Child?_

"What?" she whispered.

"Don't worry. I didn't harm your child when I stabbed you. There will still be time for the father to come and rescue it."

"F-father?" she murmured, only just barely comprehending.

"Yes, Souma Kuzuki. You are nearly one week gone with child."

"Pregnant…?" she choked out, slowly moving a hand to the undamaged part of her abdomen. She had…a baby?

"Again, yes…by Lord Subaru Shiro, no less." Having broken that bit of news, Fuuma leaned down and kissed Souma's forehead. "Rest well, Lady Souma Kuzuki. I hope your wish is everything you dreamed of." Then he pulled Assassin's Hand out of her stomach, drawing out a fresh gush of blood. Souma couldn't help crying out this time. It burned…it burned so much.

Fuuma gently laid her down on the forest floor before disappearing into the morning air. Souma drew in air slowly, trying not to think about the deadly burning sensation spreading through her body. It wasn't so bad to die in Celes…the place she'd been so happy. It would be good to rest here.

"SOUMA! SOUMA!" she heard Kurogane shouting before too long. Seishiro must have gone the moment Fuuma had done his deed.

"Souma, please! Where are you?" she heard Subaru crying.

"Can you hear us, Souma?" That was Watanuki.

Souma gathered up her strength for one last cry, no words…just a small sound to let them know where she was. She wasn't certain how much time remained.

They all looked stricken when they finally came upon her.

"Oh, Souma…Souma…" Subaru murmured as he knelt beside her to examine her wound.

"Y-you're a healer," Kurogane said frantically as he knelt with them. "Do something! Help her!"

"There…there's nothing I can do," Subaru admitted, sounding almost as frantic as Kurogane. "He was using Assassin's Hand. Nothing can save her…not from _this_."

"Subaru…san?" she pleaded desperately, taking his hand in hers. "Please…save…our child…"

She imagined the look on Subaru's face in that moment was just as shocked and disbelieving as hers had been.

"What?"

"He said…you could…save it…please. I don't have…a lot of time."

"A-all right," Subaru said, trying to stay calm as he moved his hands to the place he knew her womb rested. He'd never performed the magic before, but he knew how the procedure worked, so he focused all of his power on the tiny spark of new life he found growing in her body…he would have noticed it before had he _bothered_ to pay attention. Then, slowly, cushioning the barely begun life within a warm, glowing ball of his own magic, he transferred the tiny seed into his own body, shifting his own innards to accommodate and protect it. He wasn't sure how he felt about this yet, but there was simply no time to think about it. Once the transfer was finished, Subaru lifted the dying girl into his arms, gently brushing her hair back from her sweaty forehead and pressing a tender kiss to the clammy skin.

"It's all right now," he reassured her. "It's going to be fine."

"Thank you," she said softly, several tears leaking from her eyes. "You'll…take care of…him?"

"I will. I promise," he said, a few of his own tears escaping. "I'm so sorry…I couldn't protect you," he choked out.

Souma shook her head slightly. "…wasn't…your fault. Ku-Kurogane?" she called weakly. She didn't have many words left.

"Yes?" he asked, taking one of her hands in his in hopes of comforting her.

"Tell them…I'm sorry," she said, smiling with more than a little fear in her eyes. He nodded for her, squeezing her hand a little more tightly.

Souma inhaled and exhaled slowly, wondering when the moment she wouldn't be able to resume would come. She had to admit she was a little scared here at the end. There was no telling what was waiting for her.

And then, just above Subaru's head, she thought she could see a face - a smiling, gentle face…a face she'd only seen in portraits…had only dreamed about…

_Kaa-san?_

Subaru and Kurogane both felt the moment the life left her. For a tiny moment, she seemed to almost lift…seemed lighter…but then her body settled again and she was gone from them.

"No," Subaru cried softly, burying his face in her chest. He'd been responsible for her; he should never have left her side. And now the child…that was too big a thing to even _begin_ to contemplate.

Whether it be literally or figuratively, Subaru Shiro knew he would carry Souma Kuzuki with him to the end of his days.

Kurogane gave Souma's hand one last squeeze, then withdrew to wipe his face free of any traces of sorrow for his friend's passing. He knew he would have to keep himself together for Yuui and Tomoyo's sakes…when they took Souma back with them. Seeing where she'd dropped her blades, he went to retrieve them. Then he took the sheath from Souma's waist and belted the twin blades. He would carry Sumomo and Kotoko with him from now on in memory of her.

"We…we need to take her back to the others," Watanuki finally announced, though he knew they all dreaded what was about to happen.

XxX

"Is everyone all right?" Tomoyo shouted the moment the last of their group arrived. "What happened?"

Yuui realized what it meant just a few moments before Tomoyo when Kurogane carried Souma to them and laid her before them.

"No," she whispered, clutching her daughter a little tighter against her chest.

"Oh, Souma, no. No!" Tomoyo cried as she fell to her knees beside the body.

"They were after her. They battled us into a corner," Subaru said, knowing it would bring little comfort to know Souma's death had been planned, but perhaps to know there was nothing they could have really done.

As the three royals gathered around their fallen friend, the faeries all moved away to give them space to grieve, knowing they had been close. Yuui wrapped her arm around Tomoyo's shoulders and Tomoyo turned to bury her face in Yuui's shoulder, crying softly. Soel and Larg came to cuddle next to Souma's unmoving body and Kurogane just watched over them all, having already had his moments.

After the two queens had cried quietly together for some time, Tomoyo turned her face up to Yuui's and wondered softly, "Did I bring this on her?"

"What?" Yuui asked in shock.

"I knew…how she felt about me. Did I expect too much of her as a friend…knowing I could never return her feelings?"

"No. You can't blame yourself for that," Yuui soothed her. "If you're guilty, we're all guilty. We all knew. Souma made her own choices."

The small group huddled together like that for many hours afterward, taking comfort in each other and missing those of them who were absent.

XxX

_They don't want to do it; neither of them do, but Tomoyo had once learned from Chang Ang that Kakyo Kuzuki has some measure of dreamseeing ability. If she and Yuui are to come to him in a dream to tell him of his daughter's death, he will more than likely believe it._

_The two queens find Kakyo sitting alone in a tomb, sealed inside with a stone coffin. Neither need to ask to know it is the tomb of his dead wife, Hokuto - Souma's mother._

" _I knew you would come," he says without looking up at them. "I've been waiting for you ever since you left Piffle."_

" _Then you know what news we've come to deliver," Tomoyo says sadly._

_Kakyo nods, angry tears beginning to cascade down his face as he lays his head on the stone lid._

" _We knew…Hokuto and I…long before she was born…the place where our Souma would end up. I even foresaw Hokuto's death…but I couldn't do anything to change it because she wanted Souma so badly…even though she knew what would happen to both of them."_

" _You knew…this whole time?" Yuui asks in shocked amazement._

_Kakyo nods slowly. "I wanted to protect her; I promised Hokuto I would. I tried to keep her contained…prevent her from becoming a ninja. After all…how could she end up in the place we foresaw if she never became a warrior? But…it seems I couldn't contain her true nature. The person she was would have led her to that place in the forest no matter what I did."_

" _She was happy, Kakyo-san…for a time, at least," Tomoyo says, nearly choking on the words._

" _I could never say it to her; she would never have believed it…but I was proud to be her father," he says, finally rising from the sarcophagus and turning to look at them._

" _You just knew you were going to lose her," Tomoyo finishes, "And you didn't know how to handle that."_

_Again, Kakyo nods, taking a moment to wipe the tears from his face. "Please…lay her to rest as you see fit. You were her friends…and her family."_

" _We already did," Yuui says, her voice taking on a slightly colder tone. "We've set up a little place in Celes. She'd want to rest there. We weren't going to give her to you even if you'd asked. Your intentions don't excuse your treatment of her. She deserved better."_

" _I know it," he says, smiling wearily. "I deserve any punishment coming to me, but you know…my Souma did have better. She had it in all of you."_

_Yuui gives the Nihon lord an odd look, not quite happy and not quite sad. Kakyo is a broken man who's done horrible things in the name of love. Perhaps she can forgive him for what he's done to Souma one day…but not now. So the two queens leave him alone with the memories of a dead wife and the pain of a child he's been grieving for since her birth._


	35. For True Love Conquers All

_The more he thinks about it, the more he wonders that he's ever been anywhere else. This tower room seems to be all he knows. He can only ever find memories of the four-poster canopy bed with the gauzy curtains and the silver and blue fleur-de-lis coverlet - that and the balcony, because Seishiro likes to fuck out there. His uncle and his odd little clone son are the only people he can really remember as they are the only ones who come to see him anymore, and even_ _**their** _ _faces are starting to become indistinct. There is little difference between his own face and Seishiro's face to him now. He can only keep them straight by the places they prefer to make love. Seishiro out on the balcony or in the bed, but himself, usually on the floor, sometimes against the wall, but always near the fireplace. His clone enjoys the fire, even though he himself hates it, he has simply never been able to argue with this dark creature his own accursed body produced._

_Again, now that he thinks on it, it's even been awhile since either of his two lovers have come to him seeking his body. He's starting to feel that maybe something is happening on the outside - that outside world he's never seen. Has everyone simply forgotten about him? Is there anyone left in the world at all?_

_Without his two malicious lovers about to distract him, he also finds strange little half-memories swimming to the surface of his mind. Sometimes he thinks he can see faces in the fire, in the stone walls, in the blankets, even. He's certain he's never seen any of them before - and yet he has. Whenever he catches glimpses of them, he feels a pain deep in his chest. They always make him so sad - and he just can't remember_ _**why** _ _! One face in particular, a dark face with eyes like burning coals, never fails to bring tears to his eyes. He will sometimes try to kiss that face and whisper futile apologies to it, desperately trying to touch the rough, warm skin, trying to clutch the imagined strands of dark hair. Sometimes he thinks he must know this face; other times he is just as certain he's simply insane and his two lovers have locked him away for his own good._

_Today, he finds himself kissing a pillow, knowing he'd seen that beloved face in it, even if it had only been for a moment. His quest for redemption from the bedding is, however, interrupted by a small, questioning voice._

" _Fai?"_

_He looks up and sees himself standing before the bed, only this himself isn't his son. This is someone new. His clothing is all black and made of a fabric he doesn't recognize, though some of it might be leather._ _His eyes are adorned with a thick black makeup. In his strange life, it's quite likely the oddest sight he's ever seen, but very little of what his eyes are telling him actually registers in his brain. The one thing that echoes in his consciousness is the hesitant name on the young man's lips._

_Fai._

" _Fai?" he whispers to himself. "Yes…_ _ **yes**_ _…that's my name. Fai…"_

" _You're not…_ _ **him**_ _, though?"_

" _I don't think so," he returns slowly, "but you're not him, either. If you were, we'd be on the floor by now."_

_The other him shudders. "Can we…can we not talk about the floor?"_

" _What would you rather talk about?" he asks his guest._

" _Who are you?"_

" _If there's anything other than the name you already seem to know, I don't know about it. There isn't much left. I stay in this room always…and I sleep with my uncle and my son whenever they come to me."_

" _Your son?" his other asks with another barely suppressed shudder._

" _He says that's what he is. I'm not really sure anymore. He looks just like me, though."_

" _I know what that's like," he says, his face coloring slightly in shame as his eyes shift to the floor. The tone of his voice causes Fai to really look at him for the first time._

" _Are you trapped in a room somewhere like me?" he asks, patting the bed to indicate the boy should sit down._

" _Yes…I think I am," the other him answers, slowly sitting down beside him after several long moments of hesitation._

" _So who shares_ _ **your**_ _body?" Fai asks outright._

_When the boy bites his tongue rather than answer, Fai gets the impression he's never really said the words out loud. However, this room is a different place and the answer he wants comes eventually._

" _My father," he says, sounding like he might be sick._

" _What's your name?" Fai suddenly asks. When he hesitates again, Fai realizes it's something else he hasn't said aloud - not for a very long time, at least._

" _Yuui," he finally murmurs._

_The name strikes a chord in Fai's memory, but he opts not to pursue it. He's found many chords that don't add up in his little room anyway. He only responds with, "That's a nice name."_

" _No. No, it's not," Yuui says despairingly as he draws his knees up to his chest. "It's a filthy, disgusting name."_

_Being careful of his fragile other, Fai slowly lifts his chin up to look him in the eyes, the same beautiful blue as his own. "I don't believe that. I can make the name nice again for you…if you want…" he says gently as he presses his lips to the boy's trembling ones._

_He isn't sure why he does it. Perhaps he just doesn't know how to interact with people anymore? The union of bodies has been his forced method of communication for so long that words mean very little to him now. He seems to judge people based on their reactions to pleasure and pain, and he can tell as he lays Yuui down on his bed that the boy isn't entirely used to pleasure. The way he hesitantly touches Fai's body says he expects pain from this activity._

_Yuui doesn't reject his kisses and his touches, but he is very slow to accept and reciprocate them. Fai can tell Yuui won't open up for just anyone; he does it for him, he thinks, because the two of them are somehow the same._

" _Yuui…Yuui…" he moans softly as he kisses the boy's neck. Yuui's body moves slowly against his, almost as if he's in some kind of trance._

" _Nng…Fai," he groans back, clinging tightly to him as he slowly begins to strip him._

_When Fai finally manages to get a hand between his legs, the reactions begin to change. The physical reactions are correct. The younger boy starts to swell with desire and he bucks against Fai's body, but his words say something completely different._

" _Fai…Fai…please, don't…I…I can't do this. I'm scared."_

_Unfortunately, the words have long since ceased to mean anything and Fai can only react to the eagerness the boy's body displays. He continues to touch as he likes. The dark powers his lovers have inspired in him begin to emerge and his touches begin to trail searing fire across Yuui's skin._

" _No…no! Stop…please stop. I don't want this!" Yuui cries in pain, feeling only helpless shame as Fai continues to strip him. He's come to a point where he will give Yuui pleasure…even if he has to force it on him._

_It's the sound of Yuui's tears that finally snap Fai out of his animalistic haze. The fire in his eyes dies and he looks down to find a nearly naked boy beneath him, sobbing in pain and terror as his pale skin bleeds from several tiny bite and scratch wounds. Sweet Goddess, what's come over him?_

" _I-I'm sorry," he says, awkwardly scrambling off of his younger self. Yuui, encumbered by his half-pulled down pants, drags himself to the edge of the bed and vomits onto the floor. He remains there for a while, trembling and breathing raggedly. Fai doesn't dare touch him, even to comfort him._

" _Thank you," Yuui says softly, pulling his pants back up, but seeming to lack the strength to fasten them as he collapses beside Fai once more._

" _For what?" Fai asks bitterly, curling into a small ball as Yuui had done earlier._

" _For not doing it," he returns wearily, reaching a hand over to lift up Fai's face. "A-Ashura would have done it. He would have taken what he wanted…and left me bleeding. Why…did you stop?"_

" _Because I made those sounds once," he replies, staring off past Yuui's haggard face, at something distant and barely half-remembered. "No one listened when I said to stop. Can…can you really…just say no?"_

" _You can," Yuui says warmly, patting his cheek encouragingly, though he looks half-dead from exhaustion. "Kurogane…let me say no."_

" _Kurogane?" Fai whispers. That name strikes a chord too strong to ignore. He doesn't think he's ever heard it before, and yet no word has ever felt more right in his mouth. It warms him from the inside, filling him up after an eternity of being empty. "Who's…Kurogane?"_

" _He's…well…he_ _ **was**_ _my boyfriend, but it's too dangerous for me to be with him. He was so nice…so gentle. He wanted to have sex with me so bad…but he waited 'til I was ready for him. He…he-loved…me…so much."_

_As Yuui's wonderful, warm words about his lover pour out of him, Fai finds his own memories resurfacing. He remembers their time together in Celes…childhood games…and slowly discovering how much he loved the other boy. He remembers their time as lovers…warm, sweet, and blissful…unparalleled pleasure. It hadn't all been wine and roses, by any means; there had been hard times, but those painful moments had made the happy ones all the more worthwhile. The face that has haunted him all this time is Kurogane's. Kurogane…his love…his soul mate…his strong, gentle protector…how could he have_ _**ever** _ _forgotten?_

_**Oh, Kuro-sama, I'm so sorry. I didn't** _ _mean_ _**to forget about you. Can you ever forgive me?** _

_As the two young men remember, they embrace tearfully, crying for a love neither is sure they can ever regain._

" _I have a Kurogane, too," Fai says after the pair has cried all their tears. "But I…I've been trapped here so long, I'd forgotten. I don't know if he even still remembers me…or wants me."_

" _Oh, he wants you," Yuui says, giving Fai a wry smile. "Kuro-tan won't forget about you even if you want him to. If you've got a Kurogane out there somewhere, I can almost guarantee he's coming for you. He'll always come for you…no matter what it takes." As Yuui says this, a few more tears prick the surface of his eyes. Fai hugs him close again._

" _What's wrong? Why can't you be with your Kurogane?"_

" _It's just…it can't happen. I won't let him die because of me. He_ _ **has**_ _to live."_

_Fai shakes his head. "He won't die because of you," he says, suddenly realizing something. "He'll_ _**live** _ _because of you. It's because of you that he lives at all."_

_Yuui sighs wistfully. "It's a nice thought, but…he would be so much better off without me."_

" _He wouldn't. It…it's a dream. I don't know if you'll carry this back with you at all…I don't know if I'll even escape…but you_ _ **need**_ _to remember this. He lives because of you."_

_The younger man gives a short bark of bitter laughter at this. "I guess I'll try, but I have to ask you something. Why are you giving me this advice when you don't even believe it yourself?"_

" _The same reason you told me Kurogane would always come for me…even though you're not sure of it yourself. We have to believe it."_

XxX

The scent of salt water was unusual to Kurogane. He had only been to a real beach once before, but that was why he'd chosen it. After they had created a small shrine several feet underground for Souma's resting place, it had been time to make the next jump. Yuui had decided he ought to choose the next location. He'd scoured his memory and, interestingly enough, had come up with this place: the eastern coast of Valeria.

When he was much younger, Amaterasu had decided that he needed to see the whole of Valeria, so she'd sent him and a small entourage on a tour of the country. Now that he thought about it, that trip had actually ended a short while before he'd met Fai.

For whatever reason, it was this beach he remembered most from that trip. The stories surrounding its history were very captivating. Legend said that the ruined Empire of Gallia lay far across this ocean. Long before recorded memory, it was said that the remnants of the dying royal house of Gallia had crossed the ocean and founded the colony that would one day become the kingdom of Valeria. It was a story so far beyond his own scope of the world, he often wondered why it captured his interest so. By rights, it should have been just another story, but it wasn't. He sometimes found himself wondering just what sort of catastrophe could make the Gallians flee across an unexplored ocean to a country they weren't even sure was there. It was an enigma, to be sure; an enigma that culminated here, and yet, instead of more curiosity, Kurogane found it strangely peaceful here…like he could finally be at rest on this shore. Of course, when he thought of rest, his thoughts invariably turned toward Fai.

Someday, after all this was over and Fai was his husband (somehow), he wanted to bring the blond here. He didn't know why, but he felt almost certain he would love this place. There was something almost…magical about it, but a different sort of magic than one could feel in Celes. He wanted Fai to be able to experience it with him.

"I don't know if you can hear me," he said softly to the sky, only feeling comfortable enough to talk to Fai like this when he was away from the others, who were all back in the forest making camp while he took a walk along the beach, "but I really want you to see this place. I think you'll feel the same way about it I do. I'm coming to get you, you know. I'm gonna set you free. They won't stop me. I'll get you outta that hell; then I'm gonna bring you here. I promise you'll see this place someday."

Maybe it was because Fai loved singing so much, but whatever the reason, Kurogane always felt closer to Fai when he tried singing to him. He sometimes did it when he was alone like this. This time he chose a song he'd learned from Tomoyo, a song he'd always associated with Fai.

_When I see your smile_

_Tears run down my face_

_I can't replace._

_And now that I'm strong_

_I have figured out_

_How this world turns cold_

_And it breaks through my soul_

_And I know I'll find deep inside me_

_I can be the one._

_I will never let you fall._

_I'll stand up with you forever._

_I'll be there for you through it all,_

_Even if saving you sends me to Heaven._

_It's okay, it's okay, it's okay._

_Seasons are changing_

_And waves are crashing_

_And stars are falling all for us._

_Days grow longer and nights grow shorter._

_I can show you I'll be the one._

_I will never let you fall._

_I'll stand up with you forever._

_I'll be there for you through it all,_

_Even if saving you sends me to Heaven,_

_Cuz you're my_

_You're my_

_My_

_My true love, my whole heart._

_Please don't throw that away._

_Cuz I'm here for you._

_Please don't walk away and_

_Please tell me you'll stay,_

_Stay._

_Use me as you will._

_Pull my strings just for a thrill_

_And I know I'll be okay,_

_Though my skies are turning gray._

_I will never let you fall._

_I'll stand up with you forever._

_I'll be there for you through it all,_

_Even if saving you sends me to Heaven._

More often than not, Kurogane found himself thinking the song was a little presumptuous in assuming the singer would go to any kind of heaven. People who took the title of guardian didn't often do things to earn them a place in Heaven, but that didn't matter so much to him. He did what he did because he wanted Fai safe…no matter the cost.

"It's been rough, you know. We've lost a lot of people…and now Souma's gone. We need you back. _I_ need you back. I can't do it anymore."

The prince gave no indication of surprise when Kakei appeared at his side. He just stopped talking. He'd known that Yuui had summoned the faerie lord in order to confer with him on how well the barrier around Valeria was holding up. He hadn't expected him to want to speak to him, though.

"You stood on this shore once…a long time ago," he said softly.

"Yeah."

"I'm not talking about when you were a boy, Kurogane-sama. I mean a very long time ago…you were a man then."

"What do you mean?" He thought he understood what the clan master might be talking about, but couldn't be completely certain.

"I'm old, Kurogane-sama…older than you can possibly conceive of, ancient. I've watched your world grow up; I've seen things none of you could dream of…and this is not the first time I've known you. You and Fai stood on these sands together once before…a very long time ago, after a long battle."

"I understand what you mean; what I don't see is how the person I was a thousand years ago is relevant to me now."

"Much more than a thousand years; try three thousand," the ancient master said with a chuckle, "and it will always be relevant. You are still the man you were then and you'll bring Fai back to this place, just as you did before."

"And why's that so vital?" the young man asked, more than a little bitterly.

"Because the two of you promised to meet me here once again…and I don't know if I'll live to meet you both if you should choose to come again after this age ends."

"You're a faerie, aren't you? You could go on forever if you wanted."

"Nothing in this world is older than I am. I was young when it was still being born in fire. Did it never occur to you I might tire of it one day…long to maybe see something new? I won't wait forever, prince of Nihon, so you'd better hurry and fulfill your promise."

"A promise I don't even remember making? Why is it so important to you?" Kurogane asked again.

"I suppose it's because you two made an impression on me then…and that's saying something. I wanted to see what you'd become, whether or not you would make good on the things you said you'd do. All this time, I've wanted to know if anything could weather the tides of time untouched. I thought if anything could, it would be the two of you."

Kurogane gave the faerie an odd look. "What about you? You've lived all this time."

Kakei outright laughed at this. "Maybe so, but I'm certainly not untouched. I'm different; I'm not the faerie I was when I first knew you. You were able to die…to preserve your essence. I was never able to do that. The light the two of you create will change the world; it always has…but I want to know if that light will survive, and your time to answer my question and keep your promise is running short."

If nothing else Kakei had said was true, _that_ certainly was. Kurogane didn't really care about who he'd been in the distant past. He'd clearly still loved Fai, even then, and that was all that really mattered to him. Eons of time were too big; they were simply too far above his power to perceive them. That was for beings like Kakei. All he knew was now…and now, time was running out. Time was running out for all of them.

XxX

_He isn't sure how, but his conversation with Yuui seems to have allowed him to escape his tower prison. More and more of his memory is returning and he is now fairly certain he's trapped in a nightmare. How that's happened, he doesn't know, but the only other possibility is that he's dead and trapped in some kind of limbo. It had been hell before from what he can remember, but now he's just trapped. The place he finds himself isn't much better than the tower, but it's still someplace different, and that is a great boon to his sanity._

_He's been walking across miles and miles of water. At first, the waters had been rough, but now they're beginning to calm. He can't guess how long he's been walking on the calm water before he sees a figure in the distance. As he draws closer, he begins to see yet another visage that looks like his. Unlike Yuui, though, this face is older, a great deal older if the expression in the single eye is any indication. The figure is dressed in a white kimono, more accurately, a furisode, like the one he'd worn to the masque with Kurogane._

_When they are close enough to really see each other, the man gives him a weary smile and asks, "So, do you call yourself Yuui or Fai?"_

" _Fai," he answers, glancing sideways at his older self, finding the question a bit strange. "And you?"_

" _The name they gave me was Yuui, but for all intents and purposes, I am Fai. For some reason, I suppose someone thought you and I should meet."_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _You do know you're dreaming, don't you?" the older man asks gently. Fai nods._

" _I know. Whatever it is, it's at least better than the nightmares I've_ _ **been**_ _having, but…is it_ _ **your**_ _dream…or mine?"_

" _A little of both, I imagine. I know I'm here and you seem to know you're here, as well. Though, I don't know who in their right mind would want me talking to_ _ **anyone**_ _right now."_

" _Bad day?" Fai asks sympathetically._

" _Heh, bad year. It's over now, though. Well, mostly over," he says, giving Fai an encouraging smile. Then he notices something on Fai's hand. "That's quite a ring you've got there."_

" _What?" Fai bursts out, glancing down at the hand the other Fai had been looking at. Sure enough, his finger is adorned with his silver and sapphire engagement ring - the one he'd thought was gone forever. With a strangled cry, he hugs the ring to his chest. "Oh, God! I thought I'd lost it!"_

_The older Fai's eyes widen slightly. "Well, clearly it's important to you."_

_Fai nods. "Yes. Kurogane gave it to me."_

" _Ku…Kurogane?" the older man asks, looking slightly stricken._

" _Yes, he…he asked me to marry him. He_ _ **promised**_ _me we'd be married."_

" _Wow," the other him murmurs with a sad smile. "You…actually get to marry him? I must say I'm…more than a little jealous."_

" _You've got one, too," Fai says softly. His older look alike just smiles, looking infinitely sad as he does so. "Can't you be with him?"_

" _I don't know. So much has happened…I've hurt him so much. He almost_ _ **died**_ _because of me. I don't know if I_ _ **should**_ _be with him."_

" _Do you love him?"_

_His other gives him yet another sad smile. "More than I ever thought I could love another person. I had no right to love him…and he shouldn't have loved me, but he pursued me anyway…even after I deceived him. Even though he knew what I was…all the lies I'd told…what I'd planned to do…he still risked his life to save mine," he recounts, a strange mix of warmth and self-loathing in his eye._

" _Because he loves you. If you love someone enough, you can forgive them anything."_

" _But he hates liars. There're…still things I haven't told him. There must be some sort of limit on how much you can forgive someone."_

_Suddenly Fai sees a horribly bloody vision in his head. He sees a moment of decision in familiar red eyes; then he sees a sword slice through an arm, blood spraying everywhere as those eyes struggle to hide their pain._

" _He did that to himself…for me…and I…I think I took advantage of him."_

" _How do you mean?"_

_The next vision in his head is of two slick, naked bodies moving together on a futon, one still heavily bandaged. His other blushes slightly._

" _I…I couldn't help it. I was just so happy he was alive. I couldn't not tell him how I felt another minute."_

_Fai shakes his head. "Do you really think_ _**anyone** _ _could hope to take advantage of Kurogane?"_

_His older counterpart chuckles self-deprecatingly. "No. I suppose that's more or less true."_

" _What happened to_ _ **you**_ _ **?** " he asks, indicating the patch over the man's left eye socket. "Did you give up something for him?"_

" _You could say that. Really, I wanted to protect all of them when this happened. There's…there's just so_ _ **much**_ _."_

_Fai thinks a long moment before responding. "Then…just leave it in the past where it belongs. Clearly, he'll forgive you for anything in your past. Does anything really matter except him?"_

" _No, I…I suppose you're right."_

" _Then go back to him and tell him that."_

" _Fai?" the older man suddenly starts to ask. "Tell me…why are_ _ **you**_ _here?"_

_Suddenly being forced to remember his own troubles, Fai sighs. "I…I'm not really sure. It seems like I've been trapped down here for so long. I'd forgotten everything…but something made me remember. Ever since then, I've been wandering. I don't even know if there's a way out."_

" _I wouldn't worry. If there's a way out, your Kuro-sama will find it. Even if there isn't, he'll make one for you. You know that."_

" _I hope so. I have no idea what's happening on the outside. I could have been down here for years, for all I know. Even if I_ _ **do**_ _get out, I…I don't know if it's a good idea for me to leave here."_

" _Why would you say something like that?" the older Fai asks, his expression going hard._

" _I've seen…terrible things,_ _ **done**_ _terrible things while I've been here. I'm…not right. I don't want to carry that into the outside."_

_Still looking almost angry, the older him places a hand on his shoulder. "I don't have to tell you he won't accept that. I think you know it already." Then, seeing that he needs it, he pulls the younger man into his arms, holding him close as he trembles. "The only thing I can tell you with total certainty is that if you wait, he'll come for you. He'll rescue you, no matter how long it takes."_

" _I…I don't think I have that much time left, though."_

Fai D. Fluorite was about to ask the young man what he meant when he suddenly found himself awake. He felt a little bad, feeling he'd left his alternate in a terrible position, but he also knew there was little he could do. He would probably never see the boy again. His only real comfort came from the fact that he believed what he'd told him.

Through fire, darkness, and death itself, his Kurogane would come to save him. He knew. He'd seen it happen before; and this young man was obviously not the deceiver he was. He was miles more worthy of rescue, and even as unworthy as he himself was of being saved, Kurogane had saved him anyway. Surely, he would come for that poor, lost boy, no matter what stood in his way. He knew that for certain as he gazed up into the sleeping face of the man whose embrace he slept in.

"I love you," he whispered, pressing a feather-light kiss to his chest. He'd hoped not to wake the ninja, but the man grinned slightly and held him a little tighter, groaning in approval, but not opening his eyes. Fai could have sworn his heart melted at the exchange. Even after all his sins, could all this…really be _his_ …forever?

XxX

Yuui had never seen real snow before. She'd dreamed of it, certainly, but really seeing it was a whole different experience. She couldn't quite keep the wonder off her face as she gazed around the clearing where their group was setting up camp. A thick blanket of pure white powder covered everything, sparkling and cold. Tomoyo had told her it wasn't the right season for snow. Normally it would have all melted by now, but the Dark Court's power was spreading to affect all of Koryo Province, rather than just the border between them. Apparently, it was always snowing in the Shirahime mountains. Yuui could believe it as she glanced at the rising peaks not far off from the forest, dark and forbidding, even in the weak afternoon light. They were technically still in Koryo, but they may as well have already passed into the Dark Court's territory.

"I still don't see why we can't go now," Kurogane growled irritably as he put the finishing touches on the tent where he, the Shiro brothers, and Kujaku would be sleeping. Doumeki had actually managed to reattach the dark faerie's severed arm, but the limb was still weak and he hadn't been much help in setting up camp the past week. Yuui was advising their guide save his strength for the coming battle.

"You know we can't. We need to wait until dark, and I want everyone to get at least a few hours of sleep before we begin the final advance. Even you."

"You really expect me to sleep at a time like this?" he asked, stalking angrily toward her across the small campsite.

"Yes," she said, trying to keep the atmosphere calm. The others pretended not to listen, but Yuui noticed Doumeki and Watanuki ready to leap to her defense should the fallen prince lapse into another bad moment and become violent.

"So I'm supposed to wait and sleep when we're _this_ close to him? Goddess, but I can't _stand_ this anymore, Yuui!" he shouted, using her name to let her know how serious he was.

"Nii-sama, please. Kohaku's trying to sleep," Tomoyo pleaded with her brother as she came up behind him, holding the still-fussy baby in her arms.

"You'll have to stand it a few hours more," Yuui said, her tone going suddenly stern.

"What are you going to do about it?" Kurogane asked her, getting right up in her face. All activity in the camp ceased at the direct challenge.

The old Yuui might have backed off, but she did not. Things were different. She was a mother, a wife, and a queen now. Her brother was still just a prince. "Try me," she warned. "You _know_ what I can do."

He didn't know why it happened. Maybe it was because her still short hair reminded him so much of Fai's…perhaps the spark in her blue eyes made him remember his lost lover…remember him and miss him so badly he could hardly breathe. Whatever the reason, Kurogane seized Yuui in his arms and kissed her.

The shock in the camp was tangible. Kurogane had mistaken the twin for Fai in the past, but he had never gone this far before, never lost quite this much touch in a single instant. Yuui herself was too shocked to do anything. She just hung there in his arms, dead still, letting him kiss her. It was Kurogane himself who finally stopped the horrifying embrace, backing away from his sister with a look of shock and self-loathing on his face. They both stared at each other in silent horror for several long moments before Kurogane finally broke the spell and turned away, stomping past Tomoyo and snatching Kohaku from her arms before heading into his tent.

God, how could have made _that_ mistake? He'd crossed a line with this and he knew it. Even in all his fits of half-mad rage and barely conscious delusions, he had never fallen that far. He had actually seen Fai standing before him for a moment. He didn't know where he stood anymore. Sometimes, it seemed he was getting better; other times… _this_.

It was Kohaku crying that finally got him to start calming down. She could sense the turmoil in him and it made her uncomfortable, too; so she cried, even though she was wrapped in enough blankets to look like a rather large ball. Yuui had been told the weather wasn't any real danger to Kohaku, but she didn't like the idea of her little daughter being even a little cold, so she was wrapped in several more layers to protect her from it.

Kurogane took several deep breaths to calm himself, rocking her as he did so. Once the two of them had found a rhythm, Kohaku fell fast asleep.

Kurogane wasn't far behind.

_He's back in his room - the last place he'd known real happiness._

" _Thank God, I found you. I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it, but then...I heard your voice...singing to me."_

_Kurogane swallows painfully upon hearing the voice. He's dreamed of it so many times, but this…feels different. Something is wrong…or something is right. He doesn't really know anymore. He's fooled himself a time too many to be sure of anything. Feeling both dread and helpless longing as he turns, his eyes fall on the one person he's been dying to see for so long._

" _Is it…really you?"_

_Fai nods, smiling sadly. "It's me. I'm real."_

_Not even waiting for him to finish, Kurogane runs to him and sweeps him up in his arms, spinning around in elated circles with him._

" _Goddess, I missed you. I missed you so much," he cries, planting several kisses on Fai's face when he finally sets him down._

" _I missed you, too, Kuro-tan."_

" _How did you find me? Why didn't you do it before?"_

" _I couldn't before. I don't even know how I'm doing it now. I just knew I had to find you. There…there isn't much time left."_

_Kurogane feels a spark of fear ignite in his chest, slowly growing as he stares down at the blond. "What are you talking about?"_

_Fai takes a step back from him, taking his hands in his as he looks him steadily in the eyes. "I…I'm going to die…Kuro-rin."_

_For a moment, it doesn't sink in. He just stares at Fai, uncomprehending. Then –_

" _What?" he whispers, slowly taking Fai's face in his hands, searching for some sign it isn't true. "How…how can you be dying?"_

" _I don't know. I only know I am. I can feel it. Maybe that's why I was finally able to come back to myself. I can…feel myself slipping into the darkness. I can't stop it."_

" _ **No!**_ _" Kurogane shouts, crushing Fai against his chest as if that alone will hold him here. "You_ _ **can't**_ _die! I'm coming to save you! We're so close now. We…we're going to get married. You_ _ **can't**_ _leave me now!"_

_Fai shakes his head, resting it against his chest, hoping to offer and receive some kind of comfort. "It's too late."_

" _I…I…Fai, you can't – it's not…not_ _ **fair**_ _ **!** I fought so hard! You can't just __**go**_ _like this! I-"_

" _Kurogane!" Fai shouts at him, trying to say what he needs to. "I came to find you because I wanted to say goodbye. I wanted so badly to see you one last time, but I…I'm scared!" he cries out, suddenly bursting into tears as he wraps his arms around Kurogane. "I'm just…so scared. I don't want to die!" he sobs, clinging as tightly as he can to his lover._

" _Oh…oh, Fai," he whispers, gently cradling his fiancé against him, feeling tears prick his own eyes. "I'm sorry; it's just…I missed you so much…and now_ _ **this**_ _…"_

" _Kuro-koi, would you please…just hold me? I don't want to be alone."_

_Kurogane nods, lifting him into his arms and carrying him to his futon, sitting down and cradling him in his lap as the two of them cry quietly together, knowing it may well be the last time. When Fai has a little more control over his voice, he begins to sing softly, trying to tell Kurogane just how much he loves him one last time._

_**I will always be with you.** _

_**Makes no difference where** _

_**Your road takes you to.** _

_**Even if we're apart,** _

_**Now we're joined at the heart.** _

_**Though our moment may be gone,** _

_**You and I will still live on.** _

_**I will always be with you.** _

_**I'll be by your side** _

_**Whatever you do.** _

_**Other memories may fade,** _

_**But the ones that we made** _

_**Are eternal as a star.** _

_**Now I'm part of who you are.** _

_**And I'll be there with you** _

_**In the sound of your laughter.** _

_**I'll be in the tears you cry,** _

_**Cuz the way you and I** _

_**Have touched one another** _

_**Doesn't end with goodbye.** _

_**I will always be with you** _

_**Like a guardian angel,** _

_**Constant and true.** _

_**When you're lost in the night** _

_**And you can't see the light,** _

_**My love will see you through.** _

_**I will always be there.** _

_**You'll have me there.** _

_**I will always be with you.** _

_As the last notes of the song fade away, Fai suddenly falls asleep in his arms. Trying his hardest not to panic, Kurogane lays him out comfortably on the futon, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips._

" _I love you…so much. Don't give up yet. I'm coming for you."_

Kurogane started awake, glancing feverishly around the tent. Kujaku, Kamui, and Subaru were all there.

"Something wrong?" Kamui asked, seeing the panic in his eyes.

Hoping beyond hope that it had been just another nightmare, the prince reached for the rose tucked behind his ear. At first, it looked fine, but then three petals suddenly wilted and dropped into his lap right before his eyes.

"No," he whispered in horror.

Giving Kohaku to Subaru, Kurogane shot to his feet and dashed out of the tent, moving to the tent where he knew Yuui and Tomoyo were sleeping.

"We have to go _now!_ " he shouted. The two hadn't been asleep for very long and woke easily at the intrusion.

"Kurogane, we can't-" Yuui started.

"You don't understand! He came to me…he's _dying!_ He's going _right now!_ If we don't go now, he won't make it. Please!" he begged, thrusting the rose right in Yuui's face. Several more petals wilted and fell.

Yuui studied him and the rose a brief moment, seeing the truth burning in his wild eyes and in the dead petals gathering in her lap. She nodded.

"Yes. Yes. We'll go right now."

_Hold on, Fai. You can't leave me. Not yet!_

XxX

_He feels much better as he sinks down through the blackness. He had found his love…been able to talk with him one last time. He can go peacefully now…with only a little fear._

_He doesn't really know where he is when the falling stops. It's an empty hall steeped in darkness - not the kind of pure black he's become used to, but the darkness of night…of a peaceful sleep. Not knowing what else to do, he begins to walk._

_After a time, he comes to a fountain made of white marble burbling crystal water. Suddenly feeling very thirsty, he falls beside the beautiful structure and begins to drink his fill. The pure water is cold and refreshing, soothing his aching body._

" _Are you dead, too?" a voice suddenly comes from beside him. Fai looks up to find a cloaked figure sitting on the fountain beside him. The figure draws back its hood to reveal the face of Clow Reed._

" _Clow-sama?" he whispers. "Why…why would you ask that?"_

" _Well…the truth is…_ _ **I**_ _am dead. I died by Yuuko's hand. Your sister is queen of Faerie now."_

" _My sister?" Fai asks in confusion. With that, Clow gives him everything. The truth of his lineage, the curse on him and his sister, and the horror of the curse on himself and Yuuko that still remains in the world…the reasons he's suffered all this time._

" _So, tell me, Fai-kun…_ _ **are**_ _you dead?" the former king asks._

" _Perhaps I am," Fai answers, shuddering. Perhaps it's already happened and he hadn't even known it._

" _Perhaps you are, for the living do not say such things. Do you know the face of death?" he asks._

" _Yes," Fai murmurs, remembering his slow fall through the darkness after his last goodbye with Kurogane…remembering_ _ **Seishiro's**_ _face…_

" _I am not unhappy," Clow begins to explain. "Nor am I content. There was something…left undone in life. This odd sort of…being…is death for those with unfinished business. It is not so bad to be dead. But you…how do you come to be in this place of crossing?"_

_Without hesitation, Fai tells him everything. He leans his head back, closes his eyes, and gives voice to his life. In all his years, he's never before spoken so much or so long, and yet the words come effortlessly, as though it's something he's done many times before._

_He surprises himself, remembering his youth in Celes, his first meeting with Kurogane, discovering his love for him. He speaks of Kurogane and their passionate lovemaking without blushing. He speaks of Seishiro and the torment he'd forced him through. He speaks of his engagement to Kurogane…and the horrible nightmares he's lived through. He speaks of his farewell to Kurogane with sorrow and love._

_It is not difficult. Indeed, it's as though he's been parched and there is cool water in his mouth. He says 'Seishiro' and his breath is clean after years of being foul and bitter. He admits, "I was raped," and an old tightness in his chest eases._

_He recites the names of his mothers and knows with total certainty that they are both dead. He leans his face into Clow's shoulder and soaks his robe in memory of Himawari and Sakura._

_Through it all, Clow nods, sighs, and holds his hand. When at last he is quiet, the former king says, "You are not dead. You are not like me. Your grief shines from your heart. The flame of love is strong. Your story is not finished, Fai." Not Prince Fai Fluorite Reed, but Fai, a son beloved of three fathers and two mothers._

_Clow strokes his head, which rests on his shoulder, as he begins to fall asleep, but as he's drifting there in the space between, Clow gives him a last warning. "You should know, though, that beyond this fountain there is only death. If you ever wish to return, you must not stray beyond it."_

_When Fai awakes, the old king is gone._

XxX

It didn't really look like a castle from the outside. All that was visible was a causeway leading to a pile of snow-covered boulders.

"Are you _sure_ this is it?" Kurogane demanded of Kujaku. They had made their way fairly quickly through the mountains, led by Kujaku, teleporting when necessary, only to end up here.

"Oh, this is what we're looking for, all right," Kujaku said with a crooked grin. "I couldn't forget the place if I wanted to. It doesn't look like much, I know, but it's what's _inside_ that counts in this case."

"If you say so," the prince growled impatiently.

"Is the plan clear?" Yuui asked Watanuki one last time. He would lead the upper attack group.

"Yes. I am to lead Kamui, Subaru, Hisui, and Sai in battle against the Oni they send to face us."

"Good. Kujaku-san?"

"I'm to guide the rest of you to the lower levels. If we meet with resistance, Doumeki and I will do the fighting while the rest of you continue forward to retrieve the prince."

"Yes. Any questions?"

Not a word was spoken. The only question that remained was what were they to do if they were already too late, but no one dared to ask it. Yuui nodded, letting them all know she appreciated that fact. She took one last moment to make sure that Kohaku's sling was secure around her shoulder and the small shield she'd erected around her daughter was strong enough.

"Forward."

With that, the group simply walked out from under cover and directly onto the causeway. They'd walked a good ten feet before any sign of movement could be detected from the supposed castle. However, within moments, a swarm of Oni was spilling down the causeway toward them. Doumeki erected a shield around himself, Kujaku, Kurogane, Tomoyo, Yuui, Kohaku, and the Mokona. The remaining five prepared to engage the enemy in battle. Kamui and Subaru both drew swords, but Kamui was also a wind faerie like Hisui and the two wind masters prepared to wield that weapon. Subaru was a water sprite, but he preferred a sword in battle. His magic was better suited for healing. Watanuki couldn't call plant life to do his bidding here, but the rocks were still at his command. Sai, however, was probably the strongest of them for this battle. She was one of a very few faeries who wielded ice magic in battle.

The causeway erupted in chaotic battle the moment the Oni wave swept over them. Yuui didn't take the time to see how they were fairing.

"Go," she ordered Kujaku.

The dark faerie easily took control of Doumeki's shield, using it as a vessel to teleport their force down through the levels. It seemed to be going well until they came to a stop in a darkened corridor several layers down in the earth.

"What's wrong?" Yuui asked tensely.

"There's one more level, but it's shielded," he explained. "I…I can't break through."

"Larg!"

"Mokona's on it," the tiny black thing said, immediately creating a wind portal down through the last shield.

When they arrived, who should they find waiting for them but Seishiro and Fuuma, weapons drawn and standing guard outside a large door. Assassin's Hand was back with Seishiro.

"Stand aside," Yuui commanded. "We won't hesitate to kill you."

Seishiro chuckled. "Really, my niece, I'd be more amazed than anything else if you could actually follow through on that, but we aren't really guarding him. We don't need to. You're free to go in any time. The one you'll have to get past is Fai himself."

None of them liked the sound of what Seishiro was telling them, but he didn't give them any more time to ponder it. He and Fuuma sprang forward together. Doumeki and Kujaku engaged them immediately.

"You won't get the jump on us this time," Kujaku said with a wry grin as he clashed blades with Fuuma.

"Go!" Doumeki shouted as he and Seishiro fought. "Save Fai!"

The three royals didn't need telling twice. They all rushed the door at once. It gave fairly easily and they headed inside.

"Where is this?" Soel asked from its place on Tomoyo's shoulder.

"The lowest level," Kurogane answered quietly. He'd been here before - in his nightmares: a stone chamber with a wall of darkness at its end. It was not, however, this revelation that brought him to a standstill. Fai was already waiting for them.

The blond stood just in front of the dark vortex, his arms crossed and one hip casually popped as he grinned at them. He was dressed all in black.

"Fai?" Yuui asked uncertainly.

"Perhaps. That depends on which Fai you're looking for."

That was all it took. Each one of them knew that _this_ was the demon they'd faced in their nightmares. This was their final obstacle.

"I'm looking for _my_ Fai, the real one. You're in my way," Kurogane said, giving clear challenge as he drew Ginryuu and took an offensive stance.

"Oh? Will you _kill_ me, Kuro-tan?" he asked as he walked slowly toward them.

"If I have to. You're not him."

"We'll see about that," the demon said softly, stopping before Kurogane. The next moment, Sumomo and Kotoko were in his hands and the two blades were crossed with Ginryuu. The last round had begun.

Kurogane mentally berated himself for bringing the twin swords into battle, but it was too late to change it now. Now there was only the fight. They traded blows furiously for several moments before his opponent began to taunt him.

"Do you really think you can defeat me?"

"I will," he returned calmly, pressing his advantage, maneuvering the demon back toward the dark vortex.

"You won't use Ginryuu on me. You _can't_ do it."

Kurogane's only response to the jibe was to slip between a moment of careless defense and nick both of his opponent's wrists, easily knocking the twin blades from his grip. When the ninja pushed forward, the creature fell backward, landing just before the vortex.

"Care to bet on that?" he asked, resting the tip of his blade just over the demon's heart. "Now where's Fai?"

His enemy had a good chuckle at this before gesturing back over his shoulder at the wall of darkness. "Where do you think? Could you really do it, though?" he asked, seizing Kurogane's blade in his hands, cutting himself as he pressed the tip a little harder against his skin. "Could you really run me through?"

"Don't tempt me," Kurogane warned.

"You should know that if you kill me, he'll die, too. He's too weak to survive without me."

Kurogane's eyes widened slightly at this, but he didn't back down. "I don't believe you."

"Then kill me…and find out."

The two of them remained frozen like that for an indeterminable amount of time, staring each other down. After a time, the demon with Fai's face shook his head.

"I didn't think so. There's only one way this can end. Step into my web," he said, sneering as he vanished into the vortex.

"What is this stuff?" Yuui asked as she and Tomoyo came to Kurogane.

"Darkness," he replied. "Pure dark energy. Kyle told me about it. He's in there somewhere," he explained.

"But…how can we get in there?" Tomoyo asked.

"We can't. Not our physical bodies, anyway. They'd be destroyed," he continued, looking at Yuui, allowing her to see his thoughts and to know there was only one way.

"No!" she insisted. "You'd never survive the transition. None of us could. There has to be another option."

"There isn't," he said, calmly tossing Ginryuu aside. Weapons wouldn't do him any good where he was going. In order to enter the vortex and rescue Fai, he would have to transform himself into a state of pure energy. It was the only way he could finish the task without destroying himself.

"Kurogane, a faerie can barely do it. You've got no chance."

"Except I've _got_ to do it. Doesn't really matter if I _can_ or not. I _have_ to. If I don't come back…get Tomoyo out of here."

Not giving Yuui a chance to say anything else or act on her own, Kurogane focused his will on performing a teleport spell, only when he reached his desired state, he didn't direct himself anywhere. He plunged into the darkness, using every scrap of will he possessed in order to retain his conscious mind.

He might have traveled through the darkness for a minute or a millennium. He didn't know. Time felt different in this form. However, after a time, he began to sense something in the darkness.

He couldn't exactly see in this form. It was more that he _felt_ things. There was something more in the screaming vortex…a barrier…shielding something.

When he'd finally passed through the shield, he allowed himself to collapse back into his physical form. He stayed on his feet only a moment before collapsing into a heap.

"Impressive," he heard the demon's voice somewhere overhead. "You actually managed to get through. I was almost certain you'd die."

"Sorry…to disappoint," he groaned, still getting used to his body. After a long while, he finally managed to look up, only to find a coffin made of glass, crystal, and obsidian resting in the center of the barrier. The demon Fai was sitting on top of it, tracing circles in the glass with his fingertips.

"What do you think you can do?" he asked as Kurogane slowly pulled himself to his feet and began to drag himself forward. "Even if you can wake him, you'll never gather enough power to get back through the vortex. You're going to die here."

"Then so be it," he growled weakly. "I'm not leaving here without him."

Suddenly looking fearful, the demon raised a hand and brought power to bear on the weakened prince. Kurogane felt a spell searing through his left arm for only a moment before the limb exploded outright.

Kurogane collapsed to his knees with a scream of pain as blood sprayed from the wound. Knowing he would black out soon if he let this rapid blood loss continue, he used his remaining hand and brought his fire magic to bear on his bleeding stump, cauterizing it completely to stop the blood flow. Wracked with screaming pain, Kurogane slowly pulled himself up off the floor once again.

"Why are you still trying?" his opponent asked in shocked amazement. "You do realize I can do the same to the rest of you until there's nothing left."

"But you won't," the injured prince said, smiling weakly as he came to stand beside the coffin. He was starting to realize what he had to do. "Because…you're…Fai…"

"Finally starting to figure it out, are you?" Fai asked arrogantly. "I'm the only Fai there is. My weaker half's already dead and buried. He's crossing into death even as we speak."

"It's…not too late," Kurogane insisted.

"Heh, you would die for him?" Fai asked with a sneer, tracing a finger over Kurogane's chest.

"No…not for him," Kurogane said, slowly raising his remaining hand and gently stroking Fai's face. "For you. For you…because you **are** Fai."

Fai's face fell at this. "W-what?"

"You…all this time…I've thought you were my enemy, but you're not. You're right. You're _part_ of Fai. You're a piece of his heart. I _can't_ destroy you. I can _never_ destroy you. I _love_ you. No matter how scarred and ugly this piece of you is…I still love you. I love _all_ of you."

Fai shook his head sadly. "You…you don't mean that. You _can't_."

Kurogane didn't say anything. The only thing to do was show him. He pulled Fai to him, cradling the injured shard against his chest as he pressed his lips to his in a lingering, loving kiss.

When the two finally separated for air, tears began to spill down Fai's face. He threw his arms around Kurogane, sobbing pitifully into his neck.

"Oh…Kuro-rin!"

"I love you," he whispered to him.

"Save me," he whispered before vanishing into the darkness.

Collapsing against the coffin, Kurogane was finally able to peer down through the glass. Fai was lying inside…so pale…so still.

_Please…it_ _**can't** _ _be too late!_

Removing the Heart of Fire from around his neck, Kurogane plunged the charm through the glass, instantly shattering it. The two Hearts glowed, reacting to each other's presence. Then, using his remaining arm, Kurogane lifted Fai's upper body through the broken lid.

"Please, don't leave me," he prayed before claiming Fai's lips with his own.

_There, on the threshold, just as Fai's about to start walking away from the fountain, he feels warmth in him again. Slowly, he turns back._

" _Kurogane?"_

For a moment, Kurogane felt a tiny chill of fear when Fai's eyes failed to open, but then the color began to return to his face and his eyelids fluttered open. He looked dazed at first, but then his eyes zeroed in on Kurogane.

"Is…Is it really you?" he whispered, reaching a hand up to touch Kurogane's face. The ninja prince couldn't quite stop the few tears that managed to escape as he crushed Fai against his chest.

"You _left_ me, damn you," he cried into his hair. "Don't ever leave me again!"

"Oh, Kuro-koi!" Fai cried as he weakly wrapped his arms around his lover's neck. "I'm so sorry. It's been…awful…"

"Well…it's gonna be all right now. I promise," he reassured the dazed blond as he gathered his strength to pull him out of the coffin. Having been imprisoned for nearly three months, he was very weak and couldn't quite manage to stand on his own, and with Kurogane in the state he was, things didn't go quite as planned and they both ended up in a heap on the ground. Kurogane shook his head, grinning sadly.

"I guess I'm the one who should be sorry," he said as he struggled back to his feet. "I may have brought you back…just for the two of us to die here."

The shield around them was beginning to break down. Why, he couldn't begin to guess, but he wasn't sure if he could gather enough power for another shift, and he didn't think Fai was in any kind of state to even try it on his own.

"I don't care what happens anymore, Kuro-sama…as long as I'm with you," Fai murmured as his lover helped him to his feet, supporting him as best he could. They were either leaving together…or not at all.

" _Kurogane!"_ a voice suddenly came to them through the collapsing shield. Yuui?

Just then, a light appeared through the darkness, connecting to the collapsing sanctuary and creating a path for them.

"Come…come on, you idiot," Kurogane said affectionately. "Let's go home."

Slowly moving forward and helping Fai to walk, Kurogane made his way down the corridor of light. The going was slow, but Kurogane refused to stop - not now that he had Fai with him again.

"What happened to you?" he asked. Fai hesitated a long moment before answering.

"I…I looked into the Darkness…and the Darkness looked into me…"

Kurogane wasn't quite sure he understood what it meant, but he _did_ know Fai was going to need much more help than just a kiss. He held onto him as tightly as he could all the way back through the corridor. Even when he reached the end and the others were shouting their names and he collapsed, lost in unconsciousness, he did not let go of Fai, and Fai did not let go of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs for this chapter are "Your Guardian Angel" by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and "I Will Always Be With You" from All Dogs Go to Heaven 2.
> 
> I should also make mention of the other Fai our Fai was dreaming about. That incarnation of Fai was written by a friend of mine, Moro-moro over on FF, for her own story, Gothix. She also wrote a version of the dream for Gothix and it's far and away a much better scene than what I wrote, so if you're ever in the mood for a high school AU, definitely give Gothix a try.


	36. Til Then, Sleeping Beauty

"I really hope you don't think it's that easy to rescue him."

_Don't listen. Don't listen._

"Even if you _do_ somehow manage to take him out of here, his spirit will never truly leave this place."

_Don't listen. He's a liar._

"You should know better than anyone…how dark magic can infect the heart…Darkness."

"Shut up!" Doumeki finally shot back, never once flagging in his onslaught against the Dark Prince, even though they both knew his words had reached him. Shizuka Doumeki's only true sore spot was, after all, his connection to the dark power.

"Do you ever wonder what they were thinking when they named my successor the Darkness? What does that say about you and your father?"

Doumeki's stone façade cracked for a brief moment. There wasn't a day he _didn't_ wonder about that.

"It doesn't matter," he suddenly heard Kujaku's voice behind him, finding himself back to back with the dark faerie as Seishiro and Fuuma circled them. "Darkness doesn't define you. Trust me; I _know_ dark magic. It'll take you over and enslave you if you let it. You haven't let it. You aren't one of them."

Before Doumeki had a chance to even consider this, a great light burst forth from the core chamber, illuminating the gloom in a brilliant blaze. The storm faerie caught a brief glimpse of Seishiro's surprised face as he turned to see what was causing it.

His eyes fell on his surrogate daughter, her arms spread wide, and her attention and power singularly focused on creating a corridor of light through a vortex of dark energy. Tomoyo faithfully kept guard at her side, making sure no one disturbed her wife.

"Oh, my. That's interesting," Seishiro commented, his voice seeming to display an odd shade of sincerity.

 _What's she doing?_ Doumeki heard Kujaku's voice in his head. His battle with Fuuma had ceased, as well. He was about to respond when he saw a figure taking shape in the light. Several moments later, the emerging figure resolved itself into two distinct forms…Kurogane supporting Fai as the two of them half-crawled from the vortex.

_My God…he's okay. They're both all right._

Unfortunately, this grateful thought had no sooner entered his head than Kurogane crashed to the ground beside Yuui, unconscious, but still holding Fai tightly against him.

" _Fai!_ " he shouted, completely forgetting about Seishiro as he rushed into the crumbling core chamber, falling to his knees beside the two of them.

"Oh, God, his _arm!_ What happened to his arm?" Fai cried weakly, still in shock from everything that had happened.

"He'll be fine," Doumeki assured him as he examined the wound. The prince had had enough sense to cauterize it to stop the bleeding. He couldn't _begin_ to guess what had happened, but at least Kurogane would survive long enough for them to escape.

Fai looked like he might say more, but Yuui stepped in, resting a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Don't worry, Fai. We can heal this. It'll be all right."

The lost boy stared wide-eyed at his sister for a long moment before nodding his acceptance. However, within a few seconds it was fear, rather than confusion, that filled his unblinking eyes.

"Consider yourself lucky, Darkness," Seishiro informed him as he crouched right next to him. "You see, you've broken my mother's power, and I cannot let this place fall just yet. So, just for today, I will let you go. I _will_ see you again, though…my Fai-kun."

Fai looked like he might scream as Seishiro leaned forward to kiss him, but he never got the chance to claim his nephew's lips. Doumeki quickly shunted the dark faerie aside. The two cousins got a good laugh in at the nearly empty gesture before vanishing into the vortex.

"Fai?" Doumeki urged, gently trying to extricate Kurogane from Fai's grip. "We need to get out of here. You need to let go of him so we can carry the two of you-"

" _No!_ " Fai insisted vehemently, clinging all the tighter to his lover, irrational and in shock after their ordeal. "Don't take him away from me!"

Doumeki sighed, seeing that his son wasn't in any state to be argued with just now. It wasn't that the two princes were particularly heavy; they were simply a cumbersome burden as he rose from the floor with both of them in his arms, Fai still clinging desperately to Kurogane, and Kurogane hanging on to him, even from the depths of his unconsciousness.

It wasn't until they'd fled the crumbling chamber and Kujaku was teleporting them back up through the layers that Doumeki really had a chance to look at Fai. After three months of imprisonment and being sustained by nothing but magic, the boy was horribly emaciated; his hair had grown to his shoulders and he just looked generally unkempt. It would take some time for him to fully recover from his experiences in the dark. As he held fast to Kurogane, he trembled violently, like a leaf about to be devoured by a winter gust. Could he ever really be the same again?

_It'll be okay. It'll be okay!_ _**It'll be okay!** _

The moment they broke the surface, Doumeki searched for Watanuki, easily finding him tending to a fallen Subaru as the Oni retreated around them.

"Fai?" he asked the moment he spotted his lover. Doumeki nodded, indicating the two ravaged boys in his arms. For a moment, the nature sprite looked stricken by the sight of their son, but this was eventually overtaken by relief and he nodded himself, helping Subaru back to his feet.

"Why are they…retreating?" Subaru asked weakly as his mauled back slowly healed.

"Don't know, but things are really falling apart in there."

"It may well be because Yuui sliced through the dark core with light. It's bound to have shaken Yuuko's power," Kujaku mused as the entire band gathered together.

"Either way, we need to get out of here," Sai said coolly.

"Yes, before Yuuko gets her act together and decides to send the Oni after us again. We need to get to Koryo. Let's move out," Yuui declared decisively, turning her back on the evil place in the hope she would never lay eyes on it again.

XxX

As she watched her enemies flee, Yuuko found herself thinking she'd never felt anything quite like this. This was a different kind of anger.

Not for a long time had she found herself quite so out of options as she did now. The little queen had somehow managed to shake her power foundation with the spell she'd cast. Somehow the Dark Queen didn't even think it had been her intent, but it had happened just the same. Seishiro and Fuuma were helping her repair the damage from below, but if she were to leave now to pursue the escaping faeries, her entire court would surely crumble. With her own mind in such chaos, the Oni were less than useless to her. Without Koryu, she could barely control her small contingent under _good_ conditions. The coup she'd been setting up for nineteen years was falling to pieces around her and there was nothing she could do.

When Yuuko got angry, she got _angry_. What she was feeling now was more of a slow, quiet rage.

_How_ _**dare** _ _you? How_ _**dare** _ _you defy me?_

"What? My hospitality wasn't _good_ enough for you, little Fai? Fine. If you can't sleep here, you won't sleep anywhere else. I'll see to it that you _never_ sleep again. You will have no peace unless it be in death."

The Dark Queen smirked to herself as she imagined the young prince, distraught under the weight of her new curse. Certainly, it wouldn't be as effective as something Kyle could cast, but the boy would feel the strength of her hate; he and his sister would perish under it if it was the last thing she did.

XxX

It had been a long time since anyone in Koryo had seen the sun. Even before Kyle's coup, the Dark Court's power had been growing. It had been nearly half a year since the snow started falling in Nihon's northernmost province. When Yuui inadvertently broke Yuuko's hold and the sun broke through the clouds for the first time in six months, celebration broke out throughout the entire province. It was this scene the weary group of warriors walked into when they entered Koryo City. They could not, however, share in the joyous atmosphere with Kurogane and Fai in the state they were in. Really, they were all in shock. Lord Mong Ryong, Tomoyo's now former betrothed, welcomed them with open arms upon seeing the condition his prince was in. Once all wounds were tended and the travelers were all fed and rested, he was fairly certain he'd be able to hear about the cause of the sudden happiness in his province.

Rooms had been granted to everyone, but Subaru was currently in Fai and Kurogane's room with Tomoyo, Yuui, and Kohaku, who all watched anxiously as he worked on Kurogane.

"Why is it taking so long?" Yuui asked. Thus far, the water sprite had only re-grown a part of the prince's upper arm. "I've seen you heal major injuries inside a minute."

"This is a little different, My Que…Yuui-san. Faeries can usually regenerate severed limbs on their own. If that can't be done, it means dark magic was used in the limb's severance or, in this case, destruction. That isn't so with Kurogane-san. There's no dark magic here, but his body's not strong enough to regenerate the arm. He simply doesn't have that kind of power. I'll be able to regenerate it fully, but it takes a great deal more skill than just healing up a few cuts or a broken bone. I have to recreate this limb's exact structure. If I _don't_ do that…well, let's just say he'd be better off minus an arm in that scenario. From this point, I'd say it will take at least another hour."

The queen gave her vassal a weary smile. "All right, I understand. Message received. Get out of your hair," she said, leading Tomoyo away from the impromptu operating table and over to the actual table, where Fai was sitting, staring intently at the faerie lord as he worked. A bowl of miso soup sat untouched on the table in front of him, about half an hour cold at this point. Yuui called a little magic to her hand and used it to warm the broth.

"Fai, would you please eat this?"

"He's not moving," Fai murmured, not even acknowledging his sister's request. He seemed like he would burst into tears at any moment. "What…what have I done?"

"What are you talking about, Fai? You didn't do this," Tomoyo tried to reassure him as she rocked Kohaku.

"But I…I think I _did_ ," he whispered, still looking only at Kurogane. "I can…remember things… _terrible_ things. The darkness in me…I…it was _me_. _I_ did this. _I_ hurt Kurogane. I…I'm a _monster_. I…didn't…"

Yuui and Tomoyo shared a brief glance. They had both seen the manifested demon and knew that Kurogane must have fought with him, somehow resulting in him losing an arm. How Fai could have that creature's memories, though, was beyond them. Yuui moved to her brother's side and pulled him into her arms, pressing his head against her chest.

"Listen to me, Fai. It was only a nightmare. You're free now. Kurogane's going to be okay. None of this was your fault," she soothed, gently running her fingers through his hair.

_Except that…it_ _**was** _ _my fault. All of this happened because of_ _**me** _ _._

"Is…is that her?" Fai suddenly asked, his eyes falling on the baby in Tomoyo's arms.

Pulling away from her brother and seeing that his gaze had finally shifted away from the bed where Kurogane lay, Yuui smiled and nodded, leading him to her wife.

"Fai…this is your niece, Kohaku."

Fai stared at the little girl, and she stared right back. He had never seen a baby before; Kohaku was something entirely new to him.

"Hi, Kohaku-chan," he said softly, hesitantly reaching out a hand to touch a soft, plump baby cheek. However, just as he made contact, Kurogane woke up.

"Fai?" he mumbled dazedly as his eyelids fluttered open. Subaru only had a moment to feel shock. With everything he'd been through, the prince should have been unconscious for several hours. As such, Subaru hadn't felt the need to use spells to try and keep him under. Now he was awake "on the table", as it were, and the faerie lord had only reconstructed his arm as far as the elbow. When Kurogane had been in the heat of battle in the depths of the Dark Court, he hadn't allowed himself time or energy to feel how much pain his body was in. Now there were no distractions; now the pain and the panic over not being able to find Fai were both instantaneous. Kurogane screamed.

It was such a raw sound, it raised the hairs on the backs of their necks. Kohaku began to cry and Kurogane began to thrash about on the futon. The thrashing caused Subaru to lose his hold on the shield spell he'd cast to hold the delicate limb together while he was working on it and the suddenly exposed arteries began to gush fresh blood once again. Arcs of blood spilled out onto the clean bedding. As the prince screamed in pain, he called out desperately for Fai.

"Fai! Fai! _Where are you, damn it?_ FAI!"

For a brief moment that felt like an eternity to the blond, he stared at his writhing lover in shock.

_Oh, Goddess. What have I done? What have I done to you?_

It was Yuui shouting and Kohaku crying that finally snapped the young man out of his shocked state.

"Help him! Help him, Fai! You're the only one who can!"

Acting on an instinct he barely understood, Fai rushed to the futon and threw himself down on Kurogane, grabbing his upper arms and pinning him down as best he was able.

"Kuro-rin, it's all right! I'm right here!" he cried out, having to shout to be heard over Kurogane's hysterics. Upon seeing Fai's face, the young man immediately fell limply back on the futon.

"G-God, Fai, I…thought I'd lost you again," he said weakly, gazing adoringly up into his lover's eyes, almost as if he didn't realize anyone else was around.

"Everything's fine now," the still-distraught blond lied as he stroked Kurogane's hair. "You saved me…but you were injured in the battle. Subaru-san's fixing you up now."

Though he was in excruciating pain, Kurogane still managed to smile for Fai. While they'd been talking, Subaru had managed to recreate his shield and stem the flow of blood, already getting back to work now that Kurogane was at least somewhat under control. He briefly wondered whether or not he should ease the prince's pain with a spell, but then decided his magic ought to be focused completely on the task at hand. Nihon's prince could handle pain.

The two lovers caressed and cuddled as best they could for several more minutes, each reveling in the other's long-absent presence. Fai even leaned down to kiss Kurogane, hoping to take some of the edge off the magic surgery. However, at the height of the exchange, Kurogane suddenly stiffened. Upon feeling his discomfort, Fai pulled back, seeing the stricken expression on his fiancé's face.

"What…what is it? What's wrong?" he asked, sounding as if he feared Kurogane might be about to announce his own death.

"Fai…" he whispered, reaching out his remaining hand to stroke the younger prince's cheek. "I'm sorry. I'm _so_ sorry."

"For what?" he asked in dread. Kurogane wasn't one for apologies. What was _this_ one for? What was happening?

"I promised you…we'd be married. But we can't…not now…we can't _ever-_ "

"What?" Fai's whispered interruption was more deafening than any explosion. "Why not? What are you _talking_ about?"

"Kyle…put a curse on us. If I marry you…you'll die…" that was all the ninja managed to get out before Yuui put him back under with a very powerful sleep spell. She hadn't wanted him to say anything. She'd been hoping Fai would never have to know, but it was too late now. The words were spoken and could not be reclaimed.

They all expected sobbing to be the next sound they heard from Fai, so they were horribly shocked when the blond began to laugh.

"Fai?" Yuui asked nervously as she looked into her brother's face, seeing just how close to the edge of his control he was.

"That just _figures_ now, doesn't it?" he shouted, continuing to laugh as tears spilled down his face. "Why can't they just leave us alone? _Why can't they just let us be?_ " he railed at the heavens, still laughing hysterically, even though his heartache was pouring down his face in waves.

"Fai! Fai, calm down!" Yuui had to shout to be heard as she pulled Fai away from Kurogane, afraid he might accidentally jostle him. "It's not over yet. There's still a way to break the curse."

"B-break?" the half-mad prince breathed, hardly daring to hope.

"Yes. If you can bear a child of your own body that Kurogane's father to, the curse will be broken."

In that moment, Fai seemed to break. The fraying threads that connected him to everything else snapped all at once as he fell weakly to his knees beside the futon. "It's never enough. It's just no use!" he sobbed, finally breaking down outright. "I would give anything… _anything_ …to be with my Kuro-koi…and yet the world asks for the one miracle I can _never_ perform."

Yuui gazed pityingly at her brother as she knelt beside him, taking him in her arms and rocking him, rubbing his back and stroking his hair to sooth him, as she often did for Kohaku.

 _Yuui, you can't wait anymore,_ Tomoyo was suddenly in her head, insisting. _You have to give him Yuuko-san's potion now. He_ _ **needs**_ _it._

_I can't do that._

_Why not? Just_ _**look** _ _at them._

_I am, Tomoyo. Do they really look like they're ready to have a baby right now? You know what a handful Kohaku is. Neither of our brothers is mentally or physically ready to take care of a child yet. They still need time to heal…both of them._

_But…can't we at least_ _**tell** _ _them about it?_

_No…I don't think we can. What if we tell them…and something happens to make it not work? It'll destroy them. It's better to let them think we're still trying to find a way. When they're both ready, we'll give them the potion…but not now._

"It's going to be all right," she soothed her brother, who had no idea a conversation had just taken place over his head. "We're going to find a way to make this work. We _have_ to."

XxX

"You _knew_ we were never going to be married…didn't you," Tomoyo said to Mong Ryong as he approached her from behind. She was standing on a balcony just off the dining hall, looking down on the still celebrating city. A small feast had been given in their honor, even though Fai and Kurogane still couldn't attend. Yuui had been formally introduced to Lady Suzuran Shura, the fiery ruler of the Kuroba Province, and Nokoru Imonoyama, someday to be master of the Horitsuba Province. Yuui and Kohaku had both gone to sleep, but Tomoyo had decided to stay awake, knowing that this conversation with the Koryo lord would have to happen sooner or later.

"I _did_ know that, yes," he responded easily. Mong Ryong was dressed rather casually for a noble. His dark, shoulder-length hair was tied back and it seemed to Tomoyo that he might have been incapable of not smiling. Even his current solemn expression was blended with a wry twinkle in his dark eyes.

"How? You don't have the gift, too, do you?"

" _I_ don't, but my most trusted advisor did. She died of consumption nearly two years ago, but until the hour of her death, Wall Mae-san told me about the future she saw in her dreams. She told me that our Tomoyo-hime would one day be the bride of the faerie queen herself. She warned me the Dark Court would move against our nation, but she never explained how. I had seen Kyle Rondart's face before when he approached me with an offer of marriage between my house and the royal family. I knew he was our enemy, but Wall Mae-san had warned me not to strike back, only to defend. If I'd argued against his plot, I would have been killed, and Koryo would have been subjugated by the Dark Court. So I agreed, knowing a marriage between us could never happen if I simply let the dice fall where they may. Our two mates had already been decided."

Tomoyo laughed softly at the way he phrased his last statement. "You're in love with someone else, aren't you."

"You could tell?" he asked sheepishly.

"I knew it at the masque all those months ago, when we met to seal Kyle's contract; I just didn't think much of it at the time because I _knew_ I would one day be married to my Yuui. So, Mong Ryong-san…who is your special someone?"

"Wall Mae-san's daughter, Chun Hyang. Though…up until a year ago, she would have had none of me, but Wall Mae-san always told me she'd fall for me one day. Really, it was the last thing she said to me. Right up until she kissed me herself, I wasn't sure if her mother had been dreamseeing or just hoping I would win her. Chun Hyang's quite the little spitfire. When Suzuran-san sent her personal guard down to Piffle to fight for the resistance, she wanted to join them."

"You wouldn't let her," Tomoyo finished softly.

"Not in those exact words. It took some convincing. My Chun Hyang is brave…but what can she do against an army of dark faeries?"

Tomoyo nodded; what he said was true, after all. In this great conflict between the immortal forces of light and darkness, what were all the mortals but pawns and liabilities?

"So…what happened down there?" he finally asked her.

"Fai…Yuui's brother…was taken by the Dark Court. We had to get him back. Ku-Kurogane loves him," she admitted softly, knowing Mong Ryong would understand. "The Dark Court itself has a core of pure dark energy. My brother entered that darkness, risking death to rescue him. Yuui and I didn't know if they'd be able to get back through, so Yuui cast a spell to create a pathway through the darkness. She shattered the dark with light. Kujaku-san believes that broke the Dark Court's power. We don't know how long it will last, but that's what we're looking at right now."

"Well, whatever ends up happening, we thank you for this, My Lady. My people haven't seen the sun in so long. If there's anything we can do for you, you have but to ask."

"You've already done so much. You're giving us shelter now. You've sent soldiers down to Piffle to fight, even though you still need as much help as you can possibly have right here. Your people have suffered fighting the Dark Court. I know this weather hasn't allowed you to plant crops. I'll do my best to see that Faerie helps you out; it's the least we can do." She might have gone on if Mong Ryong hadn't held up a hand just then.

"All right. All right. I see. In that case, would it be thanks enough to allow all of you to remain here to rest and heal…until you are all well enough to continue on."

Tomoyo nodded, not mentioning that she wasn't certain just how long it might take her two brothers to heal, but she didn't think it needed saying. Mong Ryong probably understood.

"There is…one other thing, though," she continued.

"Yes?"

"No doubt the news of Chang Ang-sama's death has reached you by now."

"Yes," the lord responded, his face going taut with sadness. "An unfortunate loss. He may not have always been the…ah… _nicest_ of men, but he was a good man, nonetheless."

"He asked us to bring his ashes back to Koryo, where he was born, in order to scatter them around the Goddess' sanctuary. We've brought the urn-"

"I'll see to everything else. Now, you really ought to get some sleep, too. You look exhausted," he said, taking her hand in his and briefly kissing it. Tomoyo smiled gratefully.

"Thank you very much, Mong Ryong-san. I'll bring the ashes to you in the morning."

XxX

" _You can't get away from me."_

_The dark, sick caricatures of his own eyes stare at him…_ _**into** _ _him._

" _You're wrong! I_ _ **did**_ _get away from you. Kurogane came. He rescued me," he insists, hating how weak his voice sounds._

" _Can he save you from yourself, though? I_ _ **am**_ _you, Fai. You can never just cast me off. It was_ _ **you**_ _._ _ **You**_ _are the one who hurt your precious Kurogane," his other says smugly._

_He swallows painfully, trying hard not to cry. "E-even if I_ _**did** _ _do that…he's going to be all right."_

_His dark self laughs. "Maybe_ _**this** _ _time…but what about_ _**next** _ _time? What happens when I surface…when you let me out? At this rate, the day_ _**will** _ _come when you will hurt someone. No one who's close to you will ever be safe again."_

" _No. I won't let you…I'll fight you!"_

" _You? Don't make me laugh. You are_ _ **nothing**_ _compared to me. You'll let me out someday; I promise you. Someday, you'll need me. You won't be able to do without me," his other whispers dangerously, leaning in very close and pressing his lips to his ear. "You'll release me in order to save his life, because you'll have no other choice, and when that happens…I will kill him."_

"NO!" Fai shouted as he shot up from the futon, clutching the sheets in terror.

"What's wrong?" he heard Kurogane asking urgently. Fai shifted slightly and immediately found himself cradled in the warrior's protective embrace. He wrapped his arms around him, clinging as tightly as he was able. Then he began to cry.

"Oh, oh, God!" he cried over and over again, burying his face in the warmth of Kurogane's bare chest.

"It's okay," the ninja prince soothed. "You're safe now. It's gonna be all right."

"No…no matter what I do…I'll never be able to unsee it…the things I saw down there…"

"Shh, shh," Kurogane continued to soothe, rubbing Fai's back as he clung to him.

After several long moments, Fai finally started to calm down, his breathing ragged as he rested against Kurogane.

"I…I woke you up, didn't I?" Fai murmured guiltily.

"No," his lover answered, sounding more than a little guilty himself. "I wasn't sleeping. I was…watching _you_ sleep."

"Kuro-rin, you ought to be resting," Fai chastised with a sad smile. "After your arm-"

"Don't even worry about that," Kurogane said, jokingly flexing his new arm for the blond. "This thing's fine. I'm just…not used to sleeping."

"What do you mean?" Fai asked, feeling he already knew.

"I…haven't been sleeping well these past months. I didn't see much better in my sleep than you did and I had the option not to see it, so I stayed awake whenever I could."

Fai shook his head before leaning in to kiss Kurogane. "I hate to think of how everyone's been worrying about us."

" _I_ was worried about you," the older prince growled, clutching Fai tightly against his chest. Only then did the two of them seem to realize neither of them was wearing a shirt. Fai clung just as tightly to Kurogane as his lover kissed the top of his head, feeling the familiar warmth of his skin close to him once again.

"I'm so sorry. All this time…you've been suffering."

"Wasn't your fault," he said softly as he caressed Fai's shoulders, feeling tears in his eyes he knew he couldn't let him see. "You're here now. It doesn't matter anymore."

It did matter. They both knew it mattered, but…what could they do?

Fai seemed to have an answer as he slowly pushed Kurogane back onto the futon. The two lovers stared at each other for a silent eternity before Fai broke it.

"Make love to me, Kuro-koi," he whispered.

"A-are you sure?" Kurogane asked, hesitantly reaching up a hand to stroke Fai's face. When he made contact, Fai held his trembling hand in place with his own, caressing it lovingly.

"All that time…I was lost in the darkness…I was touched by so many…known, taken…taken away from _you_. I want to be with you again. I want to feel you inside me. Please…take me back."

Kurogane's only response was to nod, simply lying where he was and allowing Fai to get things started. He knew what he wanted, after all. Fai slowly crawled down his body, taking several long moments to kiss his stomach as he pulled his pants down. Then he trailed lower, not taking too much time for teasing before taking his lover's member into his mouth. Kurogane's head fell back as he gasped in pleasure. Though he was still uncertain about this, he couldn't deny he'd missed this feeling. As his breathing grew heavier, he tangled his fingers in Fai's hair, feeling the familiar softness of the blond strands.

Fai wasted no time in getting him up. Kurogane could have sworn that the play that usually took them several minutes, at least, lasted only a few seconds this time. Almost before he knew it, Fai was crawling back up his body, leaving him aching for more.

When the younger prince took a moment to quickly remove his own pants, Kurogane took the opportunity to start sucking on his own fingers, hoping to prepare Fai in some way since they had no oil.

"Don't," Fai said harshly when he saw what he was doing. The harshness, however, was instantly gone when the blond fell back to kissing him. He continued in a softer tone as they caressed, "No. I want to _feel_ it this time."

"Fai-" Kurogane began warningly as his lover mounted him once again.

"I know. It's okay," he quickly shushed him. "I'll be fine." Then, without anymore warning than that, Fai slammed himself down on Kurogane's fully erect manhood.

Fai's head fell back, his mouth opening wide in a silent cry of pain.

"You okay?" Kurogane asked, sounding slightly panicked as he carefully watched Fai's face.

"It's all right," Fai reassured him, managing to smile for him, though he was obviously in pain. If _he_ was feeling a slight burn, then he knew he could barely imagine what _Fai_ was feeling.

"We don't have to do this," he coaxed softly, placing gentle hands on Fai's hips.

" _No_ ," he snapped, a fire lighting in his eyes that Kurogane recognized - with no small amount of fear. " _I_ decide who I have sex with."

"And…what happens if I decide we're _not_ having sex?" he asked, afraid yet needing to know the answer.

Fai looked and felt confused - confused by Kurogane's words, confused by his own actions - his desperate need - to be with Kurogane again and to _prove_ that the decision was his. Nothing made sense anymore. "Would you…really do that?"

Kurogane hesitated a long moment before finally shaking his head. "I can't say no to you." He had promised to love all of Fai, no matter how broken. He had to let him discover this part of his heart - even if there was pain.

Fai was back into things almost instantly. He moved his body up and down over Kurogane, creating a rough rhythm between them. They moved frantically together on the futon for what felt like hours, neither of them coming to climax. Kurogane tried stroking Fai's manhood in an attempt to bring him pleasure, but nothing seemed to help. When Kurogane finally did come, he felt a faint spike of pleasure as he emptied himself into Fai, but he didn't feel the usual sense of completion and contentment he derived from this moment. He just felt…empty.

Fai continued to bounce wildly above him for several moments before giving a weak cry and a final jerk as he released his seed into Kurogane's hand. His skin, always seeming to glow like the light of the full moon whenever they came together, shone briefly before just flickering out. When it was finally finished, Fai just sat awkwardly on top of him, trying his hardest not to meet the warrior's searching gaze. He felt sullied… _dirty_. He had taken the beautiful, sacred bond he'd shared with Kurogane and turned it into this ugly, twisted _thing -_ just to prove a point. What had the darkness done to him? What had _he_ done to Kurogane? Had their enemies…really taken _this_ from them as well? He didn't think he could bear it.

Kurogane was ready with open arms when Fai finally collapsed on top of him. Even though the blond faerie wouldn't look at him, he could still see the gamut of emotion running across his face. He asked no questions and made no judgments as he held his broken lover close. It had been a stupid thing to do; he knew, but he had needed it no less than Fai, even though it had brought them both nothing but pain.

After a time, Fai's body began to shake with sobs and Kurogane felt his shoulder grow wet with tears. Fai curled up against him, clinging to him like a frightened child.

"I'm s-so s-sorry," he sobbed pitifully against his neck. "I…I ruined it…and I'll _never_ …never be p-pregnant."

"No. Shh…shh," Kurogane began to soothe him again. "Nothing's ruined…just a little broken. We can fix it. And you _know_ I don't care about that."

"B-but I-"

"It _doesn't matter_ ," the older prince insisted firmly. "I'm going to be with you whether I can marry you or not. It doesn't matter what they do. They can never _really_ separate us. I'm gonna love you and be with you always…even if it can never be official."

"But I _want_ to h-have that w-with you, K-Kuro-sama. I love you. I w-want the _world_ to know you're m-my husband. I _want_ to h-have your child. I w-want to be able to love it and h-hold it in my arms, b-but I…it's…I'm just n-not enough."

Kurogane shook his head, holding Fai just a little tighter. "We're _not_ giving up, Fai. I said we're going to be together no matter what. _We'll_ call ourselves married even if history can't remember us that way. That doesn't mean we still aren't going to try to find a way. I won't let Kyle tell me what to do. I've seen these faeries do insane things. There _has_ to be a way."

Fai didn't say anything else. He just cried as Kurogane rocked him. He rocked him until he cried himself back to sleep, and even then, he continued to rock him. Once he was certain Fai was sound asleep, he kissed the top of his head once before rising from their futon and tucking Fai in securely under the blankets. Then he grabbed a black yukata and quickly dressed himself. He had some questions that needed answering.

XxX

Subaru couldn't say he was as surprised as all that when he opened his door to find Kurogane standing outside it. He could see the question burning in the young man's eyes. The only thing he was surprised about was that he hadn't asked it sooner.

"I need to talk to you."

"Nothing for the public ear, I take it," Subaru said softly, stepping aside to indicate the prince should come in.

"It's been at the back of my mind," Kurogane began to explain as he stepped inside, waiting for Subaru to close the door behind him to continue, "because of everything that's happened, and I didn't ask you back then because Souma was dying, but…you're pregnant."

"Yes, I am," the faerie lord said slowly.

"How is that possible?" Kurogane asked.

"It's possible because I'm the child's father."

"That makes it possible for you, a male, to carry a child?" Kurogane shot back incredulously.

"No. That makes it possible for me to carry _this_ child. Any fey man could turn himself into a woman if he really wanted to have a child, but it won't work like that for Fai-sama," Subaru went on quickly before the hope had a chance to blossom in Kurogane's eyes. "The curse specifically said that the child must be of Fai-sama's own body. If he changes his body in order to conceive, it won't be his own body anymore. I can carry this child inside me without having to change my gender because it wasn't conceived in my body. A child…cannot be conceived within a male form. That is the thing you and Fai-sama must overcome."

"All right," Kurogane acknowledged, accepting the shoot down with a shudder and a small growl of frustration. "Then…if a faerie's child can be transferred from one body to another…why can't you do that for my mother?"

Subaru shook his head sadly. "It isn't as simple a thing as moving the child from one body to another. The new host body must be compatible."

"And what does _that_ mean?"

"It can only be one whom the child is a close enough match for in blood. Otherwise, the new host body would view the infant as a foreign threat and attempt to attack it, much as the body does with any other form of disease. Even if the child could be protected by magic within an incompatible host body, that body would eventually destroy itself attempting to purge the perceived threat. We thought to try this in the beginning, but there's simply no one who is a close enough match for Amaterasu-sama's child. Her only close surviving kin are you and Tomoyo-sama, and you'd be in the exact same fix she is were either of you to take the child on. Kyle has no living relatives and it certainly makes no difference to him whether your mother lives or dies, so why should _he_ take the child on?"

"All right, all right," Kurogane admitted, silently acknowledging that he was no closer to bringing either Fai or his mother peace than he had been when he'd come into the room. They were well and truly stuck.

Subaru stared at the prince for a long moment, analyzing the scent coming off him.

"Oh, Kurogane-sama. Tell me you didn't-"

"Yeah, it was stupid. I know that. You don't have to tell me, but I couldn't talk him out of it…and it wasn't like…I didn't want it either," Kurogane said, not meeting the water sprite's gaze. He _knew_ Fai was fragile right now, but he'd also come out of his ordeal with powers he'd never dreamed of. This new strength made him all the more fragile and it would take him time to sort through it all. Kurogane knew he was much the same, but he at least recognized it in himself. Fai was…lost.

"Kurogane?"

The two men looked up in shock. The voice was small - faraway - but they'd both heard the desperate call as if it had been a clap of thunder. Kurogane dashed out of the room, looking down the length of the corridor to find Fai standing in the dim light, stark naked, eyes wide and desperate. God, but he'd gotten so thin.

Upon spotting him, Fai started to sprint down the hall. His current physical strength, however, didn't quite match his need to get to Kurogane and he stumbled the last few feet. Kurogane rushed forward, catching him in his arms as he fell.

"Why did you leave the room?" he asked, holding Fai close and rubbing his back to soothe him.

"You weren't there," Fai mumbled into his chest, sounding like he might cry again. "I…I didn't want to be alone."

"I'm here now. I won't leave you again," he whispered to him, glancing over at Subaru, who was still standing in his doorway, shocked. There was no doubt in either of their minds that their conversation was over.

 _Take care of him_ , Subaru's voice sounded in his head. _In this state…he could easily harm himself._

 _I know_ , he thought, still unable to direct the thought straight to Subaru, but knowing he would hear it.

Giving Fai a tender kiss on the forehead, he gently lifted his shivering body into his arms, cradling him as close as he possibly could. It shocked him to feel just how insubstantial his fiancé seemed to be. He seemed to weigh no more than a starved kitten.

"Why didn't you at least grab a blanket, you moron? It hasn't warmed up enough for you to be walking around like this," he tried to tease him as they walked back to their own room.

"You weren't there," Fai repeated helplessly. "I had to find you."

"It's okay. It's okay now," he said again, not sure how many times he would have to repeat himself before they would both believe it.

XxX

It took a week for the snow to melt. A week, the group rested in Koryo. None of them thought it was a good idea to remain this close to the Dark Court, even if it was in disarray, but they could all acknowledge that Fai simply wasn't in any condition to be moved. Sometimes he seemed to be getting better, other times he would wake screaming, clinging to Kurogane and sobbing as if he were a little child again.

Kurogane and Yuui were currently out on the balcony of the two princes' room, while Tomoyo waited inside with Fai, watching as he played with Kohaku and the Mokona. Since Fai couldn't stand to have Kurogane out of his sight and Yuui had wanted to speak to Kurogane alone, the four had found that this was the best solution.

"I'm worried about him," the young queen said, watching her little brother play with her daughter from a distance.

"You think I'm not?" the Nihon prince growled, watching the same scene with a betraying amount of relief on his face. It was nice to see Fai happy about _something_.

"Has he eaten anything?" Yuui asked seriously as she turned to meet her brother-in-law's eyes.

"No. I've tried. Believe me, I have, but he just won't eat. It's almost like…he hasn't decided whether or not he wants to keep living yet."

"I think…maybe _you_ should try making him something," Yuui suggested tentatively.

"Me?" Kurogane reiterated, looking flabbergasted. "I…I could burn _water_. I'd end up poisoning him."

"I don't think you would, though. If you're making food for _him_ , I think you'd do fine. You want him to eat, don't you?"

"Of _course_ I want him to eat. I just…" Could he really do it? Could he make something that would help Fai make the decision to start eating again? He was afraid what might happen if he failed at it, but…at the same time, Fai needed to eat. He had to try _something_.

"All right," he said after a while. "I'll try."

Yuui would have said something else, except the two of them suddenly felt a very distinct chill in the air. Instantly, their heads snapped in the direction of the border between Koryo and the Shirahime Mountains.

At first, it looked like a dark cloud was drifting down over the mountain range. Clouds, however, certainly didn't _shriek_. It didn't take the two royals long to figure out that it was a swarm of Oni. They shared a brief moment of unbridled terror before turning to each other, coming to the wordless consensus that Fai couldn't be allowed to see it. They rushed inside and Yuui snatched up Kohaku and grabbed Tomoyo by the hand, giving Soel and Larg a chance to hop up on Tomoyo's shoulders. Once he'd scooped Fai up in his arms, Kurogane quickly followed Yuui out the door.

"What's happening?" the bewildered blond asked, clinging unquestioningly to the older prince as he ran.

"We need to get out of here," he answered in a clipped tone. Their hope of that, however, looked to already be shrinking when he saw the expression on Watanuki's face as he ran toward them, followed by Doumeki, Kamui, and Mong Ryong.

"Yuui-chan, we've got a swarm of Oni approaching from the south," he informed her when the two groups finally joined up.

"We've got another coming at us from the north," Yuui told them.

"Did they come for us?" Tomoyo asked, glancing guiltily toward Mong Ryong.

"Most likely," Kamui said dispassionately.

"You shouldn't worry about us, My Lady. We have enough half-fey soldiers to make a stand against them until you've gone. Once you have, their focus will probably turn elsewhere," Mong Ryong reassured her.

"Is it…safe to move him yet?" Kurogane asked, indicating the blond in his arms.

"Probably not," Doumeki responded up front. "But we've got no other choice. We have to get out of here now."

"Subaru's bringing the others," Kamui said. "They should be here soon.

"Correction," Subaru put in as he approached with Hisui, Sai, and Kujaku. "We're here. Everything's ready?"

"Yes," Yuui said.

"You'll need to be outside the castle in order to teleport away. We keep a constant shield around it," Mong Ryong explained, wasting no time in leading the group to a back entrance.

"Thank you, Mong Ryong-san," Yuui said. She was aware of everything the noble had done for them, but there was time for precious little else.

"It's-"

Whatever the lord had been about to say was cut off when he opened the back door. The swarm had reached the city already. They were completely surrounded.

"Damn it," Doumeki muttered, moving in front of the group in order to provide some protection.

"Can we get out?" Yuui questioned tersely.

"We might need to break through the castle's wards. It's hopeless this way," Watanuki said.

As the group debated, Fai stared out at the swarm surrounding them. They had come for _him_. They had come to take him _back -_ back to the dark. He _knew_ it.

"No," he whispered.

"What?" Kurogane asked, looking down at him.

"No," he repeated. When his gaze met Kurogane's, the older prince saw something in him _snap._ Almost before Kurogane knew what was happening, he was lying on the floor with Fai standing over him, staring out at the swarm. Then he pushed past Doumeki and out into the gathering darkness.

"Fai! No!" Kurogane shouted, trying to go after him, but finding himself stopped by Doumeki. "What are you doing? He's going to get himself killed!"

Kujaku was the one to finally voice what they were all thinking.

"What does he think he's doing?"

Fai briefly turned back to look at them. "I won't go back," he said softly, a fierce fire burning in his blue eyes. Then he turned to face the onslaught.

"I WON'T GO BACK!" he screamed, feeling power surge through his body. As he raised his hands in the air, a single, all-consuming thought claimed his mind.

_Bleed._

And it happened. The first wave of Oni began to bleed. Healed wounds reappeared and seeped blood. Blood began to pour from their mouths, noses, ears and eyes. Any place blood could possibly exit the body, it came, spilling onto the newly thawed ground and hazing into the air.

_Bleed!_ _**Bleed! BLEED!** _

Wave after wave descended upon the castle, and each one began to bleed in their turn. When one of the creatures actually managed to reach the maddened prince, he simply placed a hand on its forehead and the demon burst open, spilling blood and organs over both him and the ground.

The group stood, thunderstruck at the display of carnage.

"Oh, God," Yuui whispered.

"Are…are you sure he needs rescuing?" Mong Ryong asked as yet more Oni met the same fate upon entering Fai's personal space.

"A Hand of Blood," Kujaku said in shocked awe. "He…he controls blood."

"Oh, my, but this is beautiful."

Fai froze upon hearing the new voice. No…it couldn't be him…not here…anyone but him.

The Oni immediately ceased their attack when Seishiro appeared in their midst. Fai slowly turned to face him as his uncle began to walk toward him, a look of horror frozen on his face.

_Oh, God. Oh, God, oh, god, oh,god,oh,god,ohgod,ohgodohgodohgodOH, GOD!_

"I knew you had it in you, Nephew."

"Run! God, Fai, _run!_ " Kurogane shouted at him, but Fai didn't seem to hear or see anything apart from Seishiro.

Fai felt himself begin to tremble uncontrollably as his uncle drew closer. He was the source of everything…of all his pain…all his terror…all his nightmares. Every scar came from _him_ …and yet he couldn't make himself move. He could do nothing to protect himself. The only command his body took was to close his eyes in an attempt to block everything out.

"You have the power now, my beautiful Fai-kun," he said to him as he drew him into his arms, teasingly nuzzling him. "You have the power to kill me."

_Let me go!_ _**Let me go! LET ME GO!** _

He desperately wanted to scream the words, but he couldn't make his mouth work. He could only tremble in terror as Seishiro's hands roved his body. Pain…fear… _violation!_

" _Do it,_ " Seishiro hissed forcefully in his ear. "Kill me, Prince of Light. End my life."

That voice…it brought back every horrible moment of his life. He felt it happening all over again. The pain…the darkness…the fear…the cold. The memories sent a strange chill down his spine and he suddenly felt ice in his hands. He had to do _something!_ He couldn't let Seishiro take him from Kurogane _again!_

Power surged through him once again, and when he felt the icy cold of it fill his hands, he heard Seishiro give a small gasp of surprise and he felt warm blood splash onto his stomach. Opening his eyes, Fai glanced down between their two bodies to find two blades of solid ice rammed through Seishiro's stomach - blades coming from his _own hands_.

Seishiro laughed softly at this, placing a hand on one of Fai's cold ones. " _Another_ Hand, sweet Fai-kun? It _is_ beautiful…but it's not enough. If you want to kill me, you must use the Hand of Blood."

"No…no…" Fai moaned weakly, shaking his head back and forth as his mind suddenly processed the sight of the Oni bursting open before him. He suddenly seemed to see just how steeped in blood he was. No…he didn't want this…he didn't _want_ this power!

"No?" Seishiro asked, a glimmer of both disappointment and anticipation in his eye. "In that case…I suppose we're back to square one…" he crooned, sliding a hand down Fai's body and slipping it between his legs.

" _NOOO!"_ Fai screamed in horror. He was frozen. He could never fight Seishiro when it got this bad. It was like the time had never passed and he was still sixteen years old…still trapped in the illusion…still unable to move…still unable to process the fact that he was being r…r…ra-

Quite suddenly, the touch between his legs stopped. He opened his eyes and found a new blade protruding from Seishiro's heart - a blade of steel.

" _Don't touch him_ ," a voice near his ear hissed dangerously. Glancing to the side and finding Kurogane at the hilt of the blade, a wave of such intense relief and exhaustion swept through his body, he lost consciousness on the spot, collapsing from Seishiro's arms into Kurogane's.

"You can't protect him forever, you know," the Dark Prince said with a smirk, barely revealing the pain of the multiple stab wounds. "He'll have to face himself and his powers one day."

For hardly more than a second, Kurogane stared oddly at Seishiro. It was such a strange thing for _him_ to say - even if he knew it to be true.

"Go to hell," he said quietly before channeling a wave of fire magic down the length of his blade, setting Seishiro on fire. His only indication of pain was a small grunt. Even as his flesh roasted, the Dark Prince smirked at him.

"I'll drag him there with me…unless you hold onto him."

Kurogane didn't wait to see what Seishiro did after he withdrew Ginryuu from his chest. Hoisting Fai up in his free arm, he carried him back to the others.

"Let's go," he said tersely, his attention mostly focused on Fai. As Soel began a teleport spell for them, the prince's thoughts turned inward.

Seishiro had given him another ultimatum. What did it mean this time?

_I won't let him hurt you anymore, Fai. I_ _**won't** _ _**!** No matter what it takes…_

XxX

The swarm that had attacked Koryo from the south had been the remnants of the armies fighting in Celes. When the group reached the forest, they were greeted by the relieved Water and Wind Guards. Once Touki had promised they would be safe in the forest, the group headed in, making for a place they'd left little more than a week ago.

They had told Fai of the things that had happened during his long sleep, but he seemed to know most of it already, even though he didn't know how. He knew about his descent from Clow Reed, his true relationship with Seishiro, what had happened to Fuuma, and Clow, Syaoran, Himawari, and Sakura's deaths. He knew his two sisters were queens and his niece a princess. He knew things and pieces of things. Sometimes it seemed he thought things had happened that had never happened. One thing he didn't seem to know about, however, was Souma's death.

It didn't take the Valerian prince long to wake from the swoon he'd fallen into in Koryo. He woke with a start, instantly looking for Kurogane, who had remained at his side the entire time. For a while, Kurogane just held Fai, going through the whole process of comforting and soothing him all over again.

"It's okay now. It's all right. He's gone. We're in Celes now," he murmured to him, gently kissing his face.

"Celes?" Fai said, nearly swallowing the word. "We're…back in Celes?"

"Yeah. We're safe here. We thought…you'd want to see it."

"It?" Fai asked, feeling like he already knew the answer. Kurogane nodded as he helped him stand. The blond spotted Tomoyo, Kohaku, and Yuui standing next to a stone hillock that appeared to be the entrance to an underground cave. It would have been like any other place in the forest, except that a stone settled above the cave mouth contained the words 'A Sanctuary' in a simple black script.

"She's down there," his fiancé explained. "We thought you might want to say goodbye."

"We'll be helping the others set up camp," Yuui said before heading off with Tomoyo and their daughter.

"You gonna be okay?" Kurogane asked.

Fai nodded. "Just…don't go too far."

"I won't. You can see the camp from here," the ninja prince said, pointing off in the direction their sisters were heading to reveal the other faeries busily setting up things. Fai nodded his acknowledgment, walking away from Kurogane with some difficulty, and heading down into the tomb.

It wasn't so deep as all that, perhaps ten feet under. A rough stone staircase spiraled down into the small chamber. It was no architectural wonder, but the place was made beautiful and lit by several clusters of clear quartz crystal, lit from within by tiny sparks of magic. The crystals cast their soft blue light all throughout the chamber - even on the simple stone coffin set into a niche in the earthen wall.

As Fai moved closer, he could see that the crystals illuminated a plaque carved into the side of the coffin. The plaque read simply, 'Here rests Souma Kuzuki, a woman noble in spirit and fiercely devoted in friendship. She left too soon.'

"They were right to say it, Souma-chan. You _did_ leave too soon," Fai said softly as he sat down beside the coffin. "I suppose I just thought…that we'd always be together…the five of us; but…maybe it was unfair of us…to become couples like that and just…leave you behind. But I…I think maybe you understood better than anyone…that we couldn't really help it. Souma-chan?" he continued, hesitantly placing a hand on the coffin.

"I'm not sure if I'm telling you this because I think you can't hear me…or if I'm doing it because I _hope_ you might hear me…but you always listened before, Souma-chan. I…I'm scared. I don't…know myself anymore. I'm not sure if I'm _me_ …or this dark thing living inside me. I've seen everyone I love bleed by my hand. I've watched my power burn in the darkness…and it brings everything to ruin. If I'm…supposed to destroy this world…do I need to destroy myself to prevent it from happening? This thing inside me…it hungers for blood and chaos. I'm afraid I…I don't know…if I can contain it. What if it gets out…and it hurts Kurogane? It said it would. I _should_ die…but I – I don't _want_ to. I love Kurogane…and without him there is no world…but without the world…there is no _him_ , either. Can I break his heart…to save his life? I don't know what to do," he sobbed, resting his head against the lid of the coffin and wetting the stone in memory of his friend - and to give some kind of voice to his inner anguish and turmoil.

How could a single boy hope to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders without splintering into a million pieces?

XxX

"The Hand of Blood is a dark magic," Kujaku explained quietly. Having finished setting up camp, the other faeries had gathered around him while Yuui and Tomoyo helped Kurogane cook dinner. "But it hasn't been seen for a very long time. It doesn't manifest in the Oni. Their minds are much too hive-like to ever come into such a controlling thing as a Hand of Blood."

"But what about the other magic he displayed?" Subaru asked. "The ice blades? Seishiro said they were another Hand."

"A Hand of Ice," Sai put in. "Like my own, but he would be only the third faerie in our history to manifest such power."

"Who was the first?" Tomoyo couldn't help but ask.

"My mother, Umi Watanuki," Watanuki answered. "I never knew her, but I've heard the stories - a water master wielding blades of pure ice."

"Two Hands…almost simultaneously. It's amazing," Kamui said softly. "Such a thing has never happened before."

"If Fai's mental state is anything to judge by, it may never happen again," Doumeki speculated. "There's never been a case quite like his."

"In _any_ case," Kujaku continued, "there _is_ a distinct possibility Prince Fai has become a dark faerie."

A hush fell over the assembled group at that. They had all been thinking it, but of course, as usual, Kujaku was the one to give voice to the unspeakable thought.

"What are you saying?" Kurogane asked, looking ready to bash Kujaku over the head with the ladle he was clumsily handling.

"Not all dark faeries are the enemy," the dark faerie said pointedly. "I'm simply saying that his time trapped in the dark could have caused his magic to manifest in this way. Dark magic isn't inherently evil. What it _is_ is extremely powerful, so much so it often leads its wielders down paths of greed and self-destruction. It takes a great deal of self-control to wield dark magic in your own right…rather than allowing it to wield _you_."

"If he…really has become a dark faerie…then Fai-sama will suffer greatly to control his power before this is over," Subaru said softly.

"He'll fight it," Kurogane said harshly, applying the same harshness to the pot of oden he was stirring. "He won't give up."

"No one's saying he will," Watanuki said cajolingly. "It just…won't be easy. Fai-kun's…very fragile right now."

"Gotta have a little more faith in him than that," the prince bit back. "And whatever the case, you'd better not mention it to him…not yet, anyway. He's heading back."

"How do you-" the question died on Kamui's lips when he and the others glanced back in the direction of the hillock to find Fai emerging from below.

"I know," Kurogane responded simply.

Fai gave his friends a weak smile as he approached them. Soel bounded up to him, quickly coming in for a snuggle.

"You okay?" Kurogane asked him. "You were down there a while."

"I'm fine," the younger prince said, smiling for his lover. Kurogane wasn't sure if he'd ever heard such an outright lie from Fai's lips, but he decided not to call him on it in front of everyone else. They would talk about it later.

"Well, however long you were down there, you came up at just the right time," Tomoyo said with a smile. "Kurogane's just finished making us all oden."

Again, that awful smile. "Really, Kuro-tan? I didn't know you could cook."

"We still don't know if I can," he responded, wanting to glare at Fai, but unable to keep from smirking over the exchange. "We're about to find out." He wasn't yet confident he could. His oden didn't _look_ like the best meal he'd ever seen. Really, it looked like something the cat dragged in, ate, and promptly spat back up. Yuui and Tomoyo had _told_ him what to do, but he had had to put everything together on his own.

Feeling almost afraid, Kurogane ladled up a bowl of his potentially hazardous attempt and carried it over to Fai, offering it to him with a tiny flame of hope in his eyes.

"Here," he said, his voice almost quavering.

Fai's gaze shifted between him and the bowl for several long moments before finally accepting the bowl of stew. Then the blond stared down at the oden for another long moment.

_Goddess, please eat, Fai. I made this for_ _**you** _ _. Please tell me you don't want to die._

Taking one more glance up at Kurogane, as if asking if he really had to, Fai slowly raised the spoon from the bowl, gave the food a strange, discerning look, then took a bite.

Fai hadn't eaten anything in nearly three months. To his starved body, this offering tasted like the food of the gods. Just from the one bite, warmth began to fill his body and flavors burst in his mouth. Swimming in the rich dashi broth, his tongue caught tastes of beef, potato, and egg, all filling him up as little else in his life ever had. He swallowed the first bite and smiled up at Kurogane. This one was real.

"It's delicious, Kuro-rin. It's one of the best things I've ever tasted."

The older prince's shoulders slumped slightly in relief. He didn't care if Fai was exaggerating; he was just happy his love was truly pleased. He wanted to fling his arms around the blond and kiss him in praise for finally making the decision to eat and live, but he could hardly do that with Fai already laying into the rest of his bowl. The prince began to hear comments from the others as they tried the meal, things he might add or use less of next time, but he didn't really take any notice of them. All he could see was Fai enjoying his food.

Even if it was only for a moment…at least they could enjoy some small amount of happiness.


	37. Sleep On

_He's only ever seen portraits - court-ordered portraits with stiff postures and solemn expressions. He's sometimes dreamed of the man in the portraits, trying hard to picture what he looked like in real life, since he can barely remember his face._

_This is different, though. This isn't a painting and it is somehow different from any dream he's ever had. Kurogane doesn't really know how he knows, but he is somehow certain that the man he's seeing now is his father - Ashura._

" _Otou-san?" he whispers unthinkingly as he watches the dark-haired man pace feverishly through a dimly lit chamber. Of course, he can't hear him._

_After several more minutes of the frantic pacing, the distraught young man sits down at a vanity, burying his face in his hands._

" _Goddess…God…" he mutters over and over again. After a time, another man appears beside him. Kurogane can see his reflection in the mirror above the vanity, but it isn't a face he recognizes._

" _It'll happen tomorrow," Ashura says without looking up at his guest. "Tomorrow I marry Tera-chan and we bring down Taishakuten. It's what you've wanted, isn't it? To see him fall?"_

" _It would be better for everyone if he did. I know you know that. I've always felt that Nihon's part-fey subjects were my own people, but they've been raised as humans…so human is what they unfailingly choose to be. As such, I've never been able to interfere in Taishakuten's decisions. I cannot meddle in the affairs of this world."_

" _Why…do they die so easily? The half-fey?" the shaken young man asks. "I thought faeries were supposed to be immortal. Don't their half-human offspring get any of that?"_

" _They would…if they could accept it. Most of the half-fey cannot understand what it means to be an immortal. Even young faeries can barely comprehend it. One must be brought up a faerie to even_ _ **begin**_ _to understand the weight of immortality. Were you to suffer a mortal wound to the heart, the only conclusion your human mind would be able to accept was that you were dead, and thus you would die. That's what happens to the half-fey. They are shot, burned alive, stoned, hung…they feel the pains of dying and don't understand that it's a passing thing, so they give into it…and they die. And of course, as the blood dilutes, it become all the harder to access the immortality locked within it. This you know. You know more about faerie blood than most humans. That's why I think you'll make Amaterasu-hime a good consort."_

_Ashura shakes his head, sighing bitterly as he meets his visitor's eyes in the mirror. "Is that all you came here to say?"_

" _No. I_ _ **know**_ _you'll succeed tomorrow. I've seen the future awaiting you."_

" _I haven't. I haven't really seen much of anything in my dreams these past two years. Not since Shashi…" He breaks off after that, unable to finish._

" _I know…but I've come here tonight for a different reason. I came to give you these," he says, holding a closed fist in front of the emperor-to-be's face. When his fingers open to reveal what he holds, Kurogane is shocked to see his and Fai's necklaces - the moon and sun…the Hearts of Fire and Water._

" _What are they?"_

" _Very powerful magic. They're called Hearts. This one is a Heart of Fire," he explains as he fastens the sun charm around the young man's neck. "It's raw fire magic given form as a jewel. I placed it in the gold bindings of the necklace to help conceal it from people who would misuse its power."_

" _And the other one?" Ashura asks, nodding at the moon charm still in the other man's hand._

" _A Heart of Water. I thought you might give it to your bride as a wedding present."_

" _Why would you give these to us? Tera's never studied magic and I'm only a beginner. What can we do with them?"_

" _Keep them safe from enemy hands. They'll be needed in the future."_

" _Do you…want me to learn to use it?"_

" _No. The Heart bonds very specifically to the one who wields it, and that isn't either of us."_

" _Why not you? You made it, didn't you?"_

" _I did, but I've never used its power and I don't intend to. These Hearts are meant for others."_

" _Who?"_

" _The Heart of Fire is destined for your son."_

_If Ashura wasn't surprised before, he certainly is now. "M…My…son?"_

" _Yes. You and Amaterasu-hime will have a son. Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on his birth."_

" _But…Clow-san…he isn't…even_ _ **conceived**_ _yet," Ashura says, a faint smile taking up residence on his face._

" _Perhaps not, but I've seen him. He'll be a fine young man."_

" _And…the other?"_

" _A child will be born in Valeria not long after your own. It is this child who will come to wield the Heart of Water…and who is destined for your son."_

" _King Touya will…have a daughter? He hasn't even married yet."_

_The one called Clow chuckled slightly at this. "Not– not exactly. You'll understand before too long. Yuuko is stirring again. I fear the seeds of darkness will soon be planted in your world. Just keep these safe until the time is right."_

" _I did," Ashura says as Clow disappears. His eyes shift up to meet Kurogane's in the mirror. "I did what he asked…for you."_

" _You can…see me?" Kurogane asks slowly, beginning to move forward._

" _Yes," his father replies as he turns to face him, his face seeming to age from the one he'd seen in the mirror only a moment ago. "To think…I closed my eyes just now and you were a little boy…Kurogane."_

" _J – just now? You…you've been dead…for eighteen years."_

" _We still have dreams…even when we're dying. From where I stand, I'm dying in your mother's arms even now. Our own time matters little in the world of dreams. I hoped I'd be able to find you. My God…my son…my grown up son. I…" Words seem to fail the man as father and son slowly draw closer together, finally coming into a hesitant embrace._

" _Tou-san…tou-san…" he murmurs, suddenly caught up in the emotion of this moment he'd thought he could never possibly experience._

" _I think I understand what Clow-san meant back then. But tell me…the child he spoke of…was it Yuui-chan or Fai-kun?"_

" _Fai," Kurogane answers simply. "He's the one. He wears the moon pendant now."_

" _Ah," his father says with a slight chuckle. "Well, you_ _ **are**_ _Tera's son, I suppose; and I see you've grown into this nicely," he continues, lightly tapping the charm resting on his son's chest. "I can feel your power. You're much stronger in magic than any human I've ever known."_

" _I_ _ **had**_ _to get stronger…to rescue him."_

" _I know, and I can honestly say I'm proud of you for everything you've accomplished. I know you'll make a worthy ruler."_

" _Even if…what I want is to be with Fai?"_

" _Even so."_

" _Tou-san…what I saw just now-"_

" _A piece of my memory. I_ _ **wanted**_ _you to see it. I wanted you to know that, no matter what's happened…you were meant to have this power…and your Fai was meant for his. They are the tools you need to build your future."_

_Kurogane can't help but wonder in what fucked up world Fai is_ _**meant** _ _to be a dark faerie and he is_ _**meant** _ _to nearly kill himself learning fire magic, but at the same time, his father has essentially come through death itself to relay just that information, so there must be something to it._

" _So…that was Clow Reed, then?"_

" _The king of Faerie himself. You know of him?"_

" _Only that. I'd never really seen him; and now…"_

" _He's dead in your time," Ashura finishes for him, understanding just what his silence means. "So who rules Faerie now?"_

" _Yuui…alongside your daughter…Tomoyo," he says, not sure if his dying father knows of his little sister. Amaterasu hadn't even known until several days after the incident in Valeria._

" _Ah, yes. Our little girl. I'd seen glimpses of her face. Clow-san told me she would be a dreamseer…along with the one who would be her lover. It was Yuui-chan all along? Oh, my," his father says, again chuckling softly._

" _Reed…why did he see so much more than they did? It kills them…everything they didn't foresee."_

" _Well, for starters, Clow-san is a pure-blood faerie, much more attuned to things of that nature. Second, if I know him at all, he intentionally blocked their sight."_

" _What? Why? Why do something like that? Wouldn't it have helped us more to know?"_

" _Not even a little bit. You may have noticed this, but Clow-san could only reveal small details of the future to me, and even those were risks. What would your sisters have been able to tell you without risking something worse happening? Would they have been happier knowing about the curse and being able to do little to change it? Even if they had known and somehow prevented it, Yuuko probably would have just done something worse."_

_Kurogane's first thought is that he can't imagine anything worse than the months of suffering he and Fai have endured, but then he realizes…at least the two of them are still alive and together again. It's more than many others can say. Yuuko could have done worse; she could have done_ _**much** _ _worse._

" _She tried to take him away from me," he says quietly, not allowing himself to remember the pain._

" _But you broke the spell, didn't you," his father returns softly. "You'll need the power of that Heart if you want to_ _ **keep**_ _it broken. He will, too. The Dark Court will never stop hunting you."_

_Kurogane half-laughs at this. "Well_ _**that** _ _goes without saying, but…what can the two of us do against_ _**them** _ _**?** " he asks. He will be the first to admit that he's barely a match for Seishiro, even when fighting at his newly-won hardest._

" _The Hearts," Ashura responds simply. "Learn to use their powers together as one. Not for nothing did Clow-san make certain they ended up in your possession. I_ _ **know**_ _you'll make good use of them."_

"Tou-san-" he said aloud, his eyes suddenly fluttering open to see the morning sun peeking through the flap of his and Fai's tent. Slowly, he sat up, rubbing his forehead in consternation. That had really happened; he _knew_ it had. His _father_ had passed through time and death itself to speak to him one last time - to give him the answer he needed.

Glancing to his side, he caught Fai in a rare moment of peaceful slumber. They both still had trouble sleeping. This was actually the first time in months he'd had a _dream_ instead of a nightmare. Allowing his gaze to slide slowly down Fai's neck, his eyes came to rest on the moon charm lying on his fiance's chest, rising and falling with his breath - the Heart of Water.

Slipping his own amulet from around his neck, he lifted the sapphire and silver charm from Fai's chest and clicked the two pendants together in his hand, combining them into one - just as they were meant to be.

The twin charms reacted to each other, glowing softly in the dim morning light. This had happened before and he had never known what it meant. He'd always thought it was Fai's magic that caused it, but now he knew the truth. He could feel the power coursing through the conjoined amulets, their magic finally awakened. _This_ was the answer. _This_ was the weapon they needed…and it had been in their hands all along.

Fai gave him a small start when he suddenly bolted awake from another nightmare, but the prince recovered quickly enough, ready to help Fai through the harrowing process of waking yet again.

"Kuro – Kurogane," he cried quietly as he clung to his lover.

"It's all right. I'm here," the warrior soothed him, gently rubbing his back as he let him cry into his shoulder. "They can't hurt you anymore."

Kurogane had no idea how long they cuddled together on their pallet like that, but after a time, the two felt something warm pressed between them. They glanced down to find the two pendants still locked together, just as Kurogane had joined them. Now they were glowing even more brightly, magic pulsing through them.

"What…what is this?" Fai mumbled in slight confusion.

"I'll explain it to you. Do you feel up to doing a little training today?"

"I…I suppose, but…what's going on?"

"We've got work to do."

XxX

_How do you feel?_

_Very…calm, actually._

While Kurogane still couldn't direct his thoughts to most other people, he found he could do it with Fai. Neither of them knew why. Perhaps it was just…easier to think about connecting directly to him than it was with anyone else.

After telling Yuui and Tomoyo what he was planning, he'd brought Fai out into the forest, far away from the camp so they could work in peace. Then he'd shown him all the fire magic he'd been learning, explaining about the Heart of Fire. Then he'd told him about his own amulet, saying that he should be able to do a lot of the same things. Fai was currently suspended about six feet off the ground, contained within a ball of water that was keeping its shape around him through his magic.

_That's good. Maybe you ought to try this when you get panicky?_

_Maybe. Kuro-rin…what exactly do you think we can do with this power?_

_I think…if we can figure out how to harness the combined magic of the Hearts, we'll be able to fight Seishiro with it._

It took Kurogane less than a second to realize he'd said very much the wrong thing. Beneath the water, he saw Fai's eyes snap open, a dangerous fire briefly flaring to life in them.

_**Seishiro!** _

Suddenly, the ball of water turned to solid ice, freezing Fai inside. Then the orb crashed to the ground, shattering on impact, leaving Fai lying, gasping, among the broken shards.

"Dammit," Kurogane muttered as he hurried forward, helping Fai to sit up. "Are you all right?"

Fai nodded, still shivering, less from cold than from shock.

"I'm sorry," the older prince said as he pulled Fai into his arms. "That was stupid. It was my fault."

Fai shook his head. "No. I should have controlled it. But…you really think we can use it to…to fight them?"

Kurogane nodded. "I found out that these things can kill faeries. It's just… _I_ probably couldn't do it without killing myself. I don't have that kind of power. But you and me, working together, we could probably do it. I'm not sure how yet, but I think what we need to do is work with them…together…learn their powers."

"You mean…like this?" Fai asked, clicking his pendant into place with Kurogane's once again.

"Yeah. Just like that," the ninja said, his expression softening as the charms began to glow once more.

Coming to an unspoken agreement, the two lovers clasped their hands around the glowing amulets, instantly feeling the surge of their power. As the two of them focused their attention on the growing power they held between them, things began to happen.

They both felt cold and heat rush through them in harmony. Fai felt his hands burn and Kurogane felt his own freeze. One instant, the sun seemed to blaze in their eyes, the next they were dowsed with pouring rain. The deepest ocean, the heart of a raging volcano, so many things - it was getting harder and harder to hold onto the pendants.

Neither was certain if it was real or imagined, but they felt as light as if they floated underwater - and yet they seemed to be surrounded by a blazing ring of fire.

It was seeing Kurogane enveloped by a corona of fire that did it. Against his will, Fai found horrible memories seeping into his consciousness.

" _You bring destruction. You will reduce this world to ashes and bring all to darkness."_

No. No. Oh, _God_ , no…

" _The world will burn with you…Kurogane will burn…they will all burn."_

"NOOO!" Fai shrieked, collapsing as his connection shattered. The magic burst outward from their broken center, smashing several nearby trees and shaking up quite a few others.

"Hey! Hey! What happened?" Kurogane demanded as he dropped to his knees beside the blond, pulling him into his arms. Fai trembled there for several moments, feeling both the pain of the trees they'd accidentally destroyed and the shock of his brief flash of half-memory. Suddenly feeling bile rise, he turned from Kurogane and emptied the contents of his stomach onto the ground. Kurogane gave him a wry grin as he hugged him close again. "Feel better?"

"A – a little. I'm sorry. I…I let it…get away from me."

"No, you didn't," Kurogane said firmly. "You saw something…or remembered something. What happened?"

"No, I…I just…lost it…too much power. I'm not really sure," Fai said, giving him a weak smile.

Kurogane had certainly known Fai long enough to know when he was lying to him, and it almost hurt him to think that Fai even felt the _need_ to keep something from him. He would've called him on it, except that he felt the fragile blond tremble in his arms once again and cling to him a little more tightly. It would have to keep until later. Fai wasn't ready. Besides, the others would have felt that and would be running to investigate.

"Come on. Let's get you some water," he said as he stood, lifting Fai up in his arms.

"Heh. You know I could do that myself, Kuro-min," Fai teased lightly as they headed back through the forest.

"You probably just made yourself tired back there. You ought to save your strength. We can try again later."

"I am sorry," he said again, looking sad all of a sudden. "It was going well…wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. It's gonna take time to be able to create and hold that kind of power. We'll have time to work on it later."

"But…what if I… _can't?_ " Fai asked, his expression changing again - to something like fear.

"Don't be like that," the dark-haired prince chided roughly. "You've been through a lot. It'll also take some time for you to get your strength back to what it was before."

"But I…don't want to let you down anymore."

"You won't. You _haven't_ …not ever. Just don't push yourself too much. Rest."

Kurogane wasn't entirely sure why, but he somehow felt he'd lost the ground he'd gained with him in the past few days. It felt like Fai had slipped back into the clutches of whatever demon held his mind prisoner. The only trouble was that he was getting better at concealing that fact from everyone…

…everyone except Kurogane, anyway.

XxX

The group rested in the relative safety of Celes for about another week. The two princes spent the time training away from prying eyes, with Kurogane bringing Fai in to rest whenever he gave too much, either of his physical or mental strength. Now that it wasn't just his own health he was responsible for, he had to make the calls on when enough was enough.

It was on the morning of the eighth day that the message came through from Touki.

_My Queen, a dark faerie has gotten through our wards. Be aware…it may be the Sakurazukamori._

All of them wanted to believe that the forest might keep them safe, but Celes was…capricious at best, and one simply didn't take chances where the Sakurazukamori was concerned. They packed up their camp quickly and were almost ready to go when their enemy appeared. They were all, however, surprised not to be addressed by either Seishiro or Fuuma's voice.

"Sorry to disappoint," Koryu said smugly. "I imagine you were expecting someone else."

"You're _not_ taking him," Kurogane said firmly, moving to stand in front of Fai.

"Strangely enough, I didn't come here for him," the dark faerie said, slowly shifting his gaze over to Yuui, who held Kohaku in her arms. "My queen has a desire to meet the great grandchild of her deceased husband. Give me the child."

Fear flashed briefly in the young queen's eyes, but it soon turned to anger. "Who do you think you're talking to? I am Yuui, _queen_ of _all Faerie_. Who does Yuuko think she is to command something of _me?_ You will not have _my_ baby, Lord Koryu Satani."

The faerie lord seemed surprised, if not shocked, to hear the Queen of Light use his full name. For a moment, all present could have sworn they'd seen the dark faerie tremble.

"I didn't come here to talk," he said with an air of finality, his face settling into a mask of anger. Then he launched himself straight at Yuui - and doing that, found himself stopped by Watanuki, Doumeki, and Subaru. Kamui, Sai, and Hisui were all standing at the ready incase the first three failed. Kurogane turned his attention to Tomoyo and Fai to make sure they were all right.

"How did Koryu get in? Touki and Kazahaya were supposed to be guarding the borders," Soel asked Kujaku, the only one who hadn't immediately entered battle mode…and the only one who might have some insight into Koryu Satani.

"I'm not sure," he replied, watching the battle with interest. "I do have one idea, but…"

The two Mokona waited anxiously for the dark faerie to finish his thought, but he never did. His interest had been snared by something else. The tiny guardians slowly followed Kujaku's gaze, finding it fixed on Yuui, who was muttering something intently under her breath as she stared at Koryu.

_Who does he think he is?_ _**You** _ _are queen. He should obey you. You are his_ _**master** _ _._

"Obey me. Obey me. Obey me. Obey me-"

Finally making out what she was saying, Kujaku's eyes bulged in sudden fear.

"Yuui, _stop!_ " he shouted at her, drawing the attention of all the non-combatants.

Yuui either did not hear or did not care that Kujaku had spoken. She was much too focused on the dark faerie trying to fight his way to her.

_**Make** _ _them obey you. They are_ _**yours** _ _to do with as you choose. Make him obey!_

"Your will is mine," the young queen said slowly in a voice not her own. Even Kurogane and Tomoyo could hear her now. At the sound of the unfamiliar voice, Kohaku began to cry.

"Yuui?" Fai tried to call out to her…uncertain…afraid.

" _Don't_ _do it, Yuui!_ " Kujaku attempted to get her attention one last time…to make her see what she was doing. But barely had the words left his mouth when Koryu suddenly broke free from the three combatants and headed straight for Yuui once again. Kujaku didn't see the move, as he was too preoccupied with trying to reach Yuui before she did something she couldn't undo, but everyone else saw and they all began to move in on him. That, however, was when Yuui made a move of her own.

" _Koryu Satani!_ " she bellowed, her voice resonating throughout the forest. " _I am queen of Faerie…and you_ _ **will**_ _obey me!_ "

Just as Koryu was reaching out a hand to snatch Kohaku away, he froze. He hung frozen in motion for several long moments before slowly getting to his knees before Yuui. Everyone else froze, as well, standing in shocked amazement.

"What…did…you…do…to me?" Koryu demanded ferociously, trying valiantly to throw off whatever spell was holding him down.

Suddenly seeming to come back to herself, Yuui stared down at the dark faerie kneeling before her. "I…I don't know…I'm not really sure," she stammered, holding her daughter a little tighter in order to comfort her.

"Is it…a Hand?" Sai wondered aloud?

"No," Kujaku said somewhat sadly. "This is something only the sovereign has. It is the most extreme form of the geis - the covenant."

"The covenant?" Yuui asked, not looking at him. "What does that mean?"

"None of you would remember it. It ended before you were born. The sovereign once had the ability to force his subjects to obey him, regardless of their own will."

"She can…make him do whatever she wants?" Subaru asked.

"Why didn't we know about this?" Doumeki asked, continuing the line of questioning in a slightly irked tone.

"Because Clow Reed wished it so. When he killed his father, he wanted that power to die with him, so he swore off its use and placed a geis on the people never to speak of it again. I was the only one permitted to speak of it should it come up again."

_I was meant to_ _**keep** _ _it from happening. I failed you, Clow…_

"Why you?" Kamui asked suspiciously. "What's so special about you?"

"I don't know," Kujaku answered in a tone that said he very much _did_. "Perhaps it's because I'm of the dark and he considered the ability to _be_ dark."

Yuui might have demanded the answer of him with her newfound power, but just then, she couldn't tear her gaze away from Koryu's. He stared up at her in rage, trying to be defiant, but unable to extinguish the fear that lingered just beneath the surface. She could do anything she liked with him. She could force him to tell her all of Yuuko's plans…order him never to touch Kohaku…she could force him to end his own life. She had that power, but…she didn't want it. She didn't want to gain by such a blatant exploitation of another person. It would be no different from the things Seishiro had done to Fai.

"No," she said firmly, closing her eyes and shaking her head, releasing him from her control. He immediately got to his feet, backing away from all of them.

"Yuui-sama, think about this," Kamui cautioned her. "He's a dangerous enemy. Can you really afford to let him go?"

"I don't care. I won't take away another person's will."

"Couldn't do it, huh?" Koryu mocked softly, well aware that she'd briefly contemplated killing him. He had to regain at least _some_ measure of control.

"She spared you!" Fai lashed out at the dark faerie. "She showed you compassion, much more than you deserve after you tried to kidnap her daughter. I might not have," the blond said warningly, the fire that made Kurogane nervous smoldering briefly in his eyes.

"You would do well to leave here before the queen changes her mind," Hisui advised the dark faerie.

Hisui hadn't made herself known up until that point, but when she did, Koryu's attention was drawn straight to her, suddenly realizing who she was.

"You…you're the one…he betrayed us for…Hisui."

The wind spirit nodded, recalling somewhere in the back of her mind that Koryu was Kokuyo's cousin.

"Please…I was told…that he's still alive. What did Yuuko do to him?" the young lord asked, almost seeming to forget where he was.

"None of us…could really figure it out," Hisui began, also seeming to forget who she was talking to when brought to the subject of her lover. "He said he'd return to Faerie with me. I left his side for but a moment…and when I returned, he was already lost in the sleep of death. I don't know _what_ she did to him."

Koryu looked pensive for several moments before suddenly locking eyes with Hisui again.

"There might be a way to wake my brother. Don't give up on him just yet," the Oni lord said before vanishing into the forest.

"Brother?" Hisui murmured in shocked confusion. "What…what did he _mean_ by that?"

"An excellent question, Hisui, and an even longer story than most," Kujaku said casually. "But it's a story that has a great deal to do with the former Oni master, Akuma, the Shiro brothers…and myself. It's a conversation best kept for a more secure location. So if you want answers, I suggest we press on."

XxX

"You took his blood tithe, didn't you?" Koryu demanded furiously as he stormed into Yuuko's throne room. The dark queen herself was draped over her throne like a worn out rag doll, barely coherent after all the effort it had taken to maintain the Dark Court's existence. The insane, rundown queen was little more than a figurehead. Seishiro, Fuuma, and Kyle were in charge now.

"Oh…hello, Koryu," she greeted languidly. "What are you doing here?"

"Kokuyo!" he shouted, not to be deterred. "Two years ago! You took his blood tithe."

"Even if I did, what are you going to do about it, little lord?" she asked. The blood tithe was a system set up by Yuuko when she'd first founded the Dark Court. Being under Clow's geis to never speak of the covenant again, she couldn't develop a power like it for herself. Thus, the blood tithe was agreed to. Yuuko's servants could certainly betray her if they wished, but she still maintained a degree of control over their blood. If a time came when it was necessary, she could extract that tithe as she wished, tailoring very specific and enduring punishments for those who betrayed her.

"I didn't say I was going to do anything about it," he responded, sidestepping the challenge. "I just want to know what you did to my brother."

"So you know," Yuuko said softly, completely changing the subject.

"Fuuma told me. Of course _you_ know. Who else knows?"

"Not many, if that's what you're worried about. Kokuyo himself didn't even know. Your parents, of course. Clow and I were the ones they came to after the first child was born."

"Kokuyo?"

"No…Kokuyo was the _second_ child. You are the third and last."

"We have…another sibling?" he murmured in slight shock. Now that he thought on it, Fuuma had never said that Kokuyo was the first. "Who?"

"Well, it isn't Seishiro. He knew it the moment Fuuma saw the truth of it in you. Apart from him, the only other person who knows the truth is Kujaku."

"Kujaku? The dark faerie Clow kept as a lapdog?"

"His full name is Kujaku Satani. _He_ is the rightful heir to the title of clan master."

"Then…what's he doing with _them?_ "

"I couldn't tell you," she said with an odd smile. "No one knows _what_ that one is thinking nowadays. He never really belonged to the Dark Court…though I imagine he was _horribly_ torn when Clow and I went to war against each other."

"How do you mean he never _belonged_ to the Dark Court?"

"He didn't choose to come here, as the others did. Akuma imprisoned him here when he joined me. He remained a prisoner for nearly five hundred years. When Kamui killed your father for raping his mother, he was able to escape. So Kokuyo became the new Oni lord and Kujaku has been with Clow ever since. How much of this his companions know, I couldn't guess."

"Why…keep him prisoner?" Koryu asked, feeling a twinge of guilt for the older brother he hadn't realized he had. If Yuuko's treatment of captives was any indication, Kujaku had been imprisoned beneath the court for the first three hundred years of Koryu's life.

"Because he wouldn't agree to the blood tithe. He knew too much about his father to be allowed to return to Faerie. I only let him escape when he did because the war was ending and there was little point to holding him anymore…though, I see now that I would have done well to retrieve him when I still had the chance," she mused, more to herself. "It was through his efforts that the little faerie queen was able to penetrate to the core."

"What did you do to Kokuyo?" Koryu asked again, now that the subject of the blood tithe had come up once more. "How did you extract his tithe?"

"I poisoned him," the fallen queen answered with more than a little relish. "Not enough to kill him…just to leave him in a coma. I gave him a poisoned kiss…along with the command that he was not to heal himself. He was left trapped in limbo...and unless I say otherwise, he will remain so."

"What happens if I want his tithe back?" Koryu finally asked, offering his ruler a subtle challenge.

Yuuko laughed, trailing her fingers through her long hair for several moments before answering. "I thought you might. You _do_ realize I could extract _your_ tithe if I wanted to?"

"It crossed my mind," the young lord said calmly, trying to keep his thoughts from showing on his face. None of them would have dared to approach Yuuko under normal circumstances, but it was starting to become common knowledge just how far gone the queen was. She wasn't even trying to probe his mind anymore.

"I will, then," she said with a twisted smile. "Come here to me, Koryu Satani."

Koryu felt a brief spark of fear shoot down his spine as his feet began to walk toward the throne of their own accord. He had made the gamble and he would have to pay the price one way or the other. Once he'd reached her, she drew him down close to her, pressing her lips to his. As they kissed, the Oni lord heard his queen's voice in his head.

_Koryu Satani, son of Akuma and Sonsei Satani, I grant you full control of Kokuyo Satani's blood tithe, but you will leave this land. The Oni will continue to fight in your absence and you will be condemned to exile in the wastelands to the east, across the Amphirian Ocean. You will wander there alone until you discover what it is you truly want. Until that time, you may not approach these shores._

Koryu's eyes widened as he pulled back from Yuuko. Banished - until he knew what he wanted? Even _now_ , he didn't believe he _really_ knew what he wanted. Would such a day ever come?

Giving a childish grin, Yuuko drew her staff from thin air, tapping her general's head with the emerald orb at the top. "Now…go," she said, her firm tone belying her maddened air.

Almost immediately, Koryu turned on his heels, walking away from the throne and toward his uncertain future with more than a little trepidation.

XxX

The situation in Piffle City hadn't changed much in the near three weeks since the group had been forced to flee. Ryuuki and his warriors had managed to purge the walled city of Oni and erect a barrier field around it, but the surrounding fields were still chaotic with battle. If the current situation were allowed to continue, they would be faced with a siege, as they had been in Valeria, and none of them wanted to pay the price that had been paid to end the siege of Cephiro.

The sounds of battle carried even into Lord Ichiro's castle. It had been in everyone's ears constantly since Ryuuki's lieutenant, Kiyokazu Fujimoto, had met them at the city gates after Larg had teleported them through the barrier.

As he'd done before, Ichiro had granted those who'd wanted them their own rooms, but the small band was currently gathered in the room occupied by Kujaku. They had been asked to attend a war council later in the evening, but Yuui knew things had be settled within their own group before they could really start helping others.

Kujaku was draped languidly over his futon, but the others were arranged mostly in sitting positions throughout the rest of the room. Doumeki and Watanuki were seated on the windowsill with the Mokona and Kurogane and Fai were leaning together against the wall opposite the window, so Fai wouldn't have to see any of the fighting. Sai and Hisui were seated on a couch and Kamui and Subaru both stood guard by the door. Tomoyo and Yuui were both seated on the futon facing Kujaku. Kohaku had thankfully fallen asleep and was currently cradled in Kurogane's arms while Fai shyly stroked her downy hair.

"The truth, Kujaku-san," Yuui said, her voice barely audible.

"Do you ask this of me…under pain of the covenant?" the dark faerie asked gravely, remaining in his strangely relaxed position.

"No…never. I want you to _tell_ me. I want you to tell me who you are…who you are to the Satani…and the Shiro clan…and who you are that my grandfather would protect you…even though you've known the confidence of the Dark."

Kujaku stretched, a bitter smile taking up residence on his face. "That story began nearly three thousand years ago, My Queen. Did you know…that Akuma Satani began life as a girl child?"

Apart from Kujaku himself, the only ones present who seemed to know this were Doumeki, Watanuki, and Kamui, those of their number who had been born before the start of the Last War.

"This truth was no longer spoken of after Akuma defected along with Yuuko, so of course it was forgotten."

"What caused…this change?" Yuui finally managed to ask. She had seen glimpses of Akuma Satani as a male, but she'd apparently not seen far back enough to see him as a her.

"A woman named Tohru Shiro," Kujaku replied, staring very pointedly at Subaru and Kamui.

"What? Did he change just to rape my mother?" Kamui challenged, his voice taking on a shade of anger.

Kujaku laughed. "You _know_ that isn't true, Kamui. Kokuyo and Koryu were already born by then. The transformation occurred long before your baby brother's…conception."

Subaru had to physically restrain his brother when Kamui took several threatening steps forward. It took a few moments of him murmuring, "It's over; it's done with," in order for the older Shiro to calm down.

"I would ask you not to provoke him," Yuui said warningly. "Akuma…made him watch."

"Well, forgive me, Your Majesty, if I hold a slight grudge against the former Shiro master for the life _I've_ led," the dark faerie said, his voice nearly a growl as he gazed accusingly at Kamui, who was staring intently at the floor after Yuui's revelation.

"Then explain to us why that's so," Yuui went on calmly. "We're going to have this all out now, before anything else happens."

"The first three hundred years of Akuma Satani's life were quite promising," Kujaku began, as if relating an old story he'd heard. "She was the elder of a pair of twins, and her little sister, Sonsei, adored her. She was a powerful warrior and when she became master of the Oni at such a young age, it was expected she would rule over them with a firm hand. People began to wonder when she might take a husband and produce an heir for her clan. But what nobody knew was that Akuma had carried on a secret romance most of that time…with the master of the Shiro clan, Tohru."

Kamui looked like he might lash out, but Yuui held up a hand to silence him. "Why would they keep this romance a secret? It's been my experience that Faerie is…not averse to non-traditional relationships."

"Akuma was barely sixteen when they met, barely grown by human standards and little more than a newborn by faerie standards. Tohru was already seven hundred years old when the tryst began. Such a relationship would have been looked down upon until Akuma was at least a hundred years old. Even after that point, well…even before the Last War, the Satani clan didn't always…see eye to eye with the rest of Faerie's citizens. A union between the Satani heir and the Shiro master would have been…questionable, at the very least. So they loved each other in secret."

"What happened?" Fai suddenly asked, already fearing the direction this tale was taking.

"When Akuma became master of the Oni, she asked Tohru to marry her…and Tohru refused her. There hadn't been even a whisper of a betrothal for the Shiro master, but Tohru told Akuma their union wasn't meant to happen. It went on like that for another hundred years, secret meetings, Akuma begging Tohru to be her wife. They went on making love to each other right up until the night Tohru married Kazuhiko Fay-Ryuu, a distant cousin of the Sol line. She slept with Akuma one last time right before the wedding, married Fay-Ryuu, and went to his bed that night."

"THAT'S A LIE!" Kamui burst out. "My mother was no common slut! You shame her memory!"

"Calm down, Kamui-san," Yuui ordered.

"I've never spoken a lie in my life," Kujaku insisted.

"How would you even know any of this?" Subaru asked, still in the act of subduing his brother.

"Because I heard the story from my parents' own lips."

"And who were they?" Yuui asked.

"Akuma and Sonsei Satani. My proper name is Kujaku Satani."

Shocked silence ensued for several moments following Kujaku's revelation. Sai was the one to finally break it.

"But…they were…sisters…"

"They were indeed. When Tohru finally turned her back on Akuma for good, Akuma lost her mind. Thinking that Tohru would prefer her as a man, she made the transformation, becoming the man who would be my father. When Tohru still refused him, he turned to Sonsei for comfort. My mother had always adored her sibling, professing to love Akuma no matter what form he took. So she took his twisted desires onto herself… _into_ herself…and became Tohru for him…because it was what he wanted. I was merely the first product of my father's incestuous insanity."

"The _first_ …?" Yuui murmured, barely able to conceal her shock.

"Kokuyo and Koryu," Hisui said, finally making the connection.

"That's right. They didn't come around for a good long while, though. For the longest time, it was just my mother and I. Akuma still had enough presence of mind to realize what he and Sonsei had done would never be accepted…so he hid us from the world. For two hundred years, we remained sealed in the Satani castle. I was a little hellion then, but mother just passively accepted our fate. She always told me it was because she loved my father. And then…Kokuyo was born," the slender faerie recounted with a pained smirk.

" _He_ was the special one. _He_ was allowed to walk free in the light of day. Akuma accepted him as a son, realizing he would never touch another woman apart from Sonsei. Perhaps I was just too painful a reminder of his rejection…of the earliest days of their sin. Kokuyo was never allowed to know either our mother or myself. We entered another two hundred year period of isolation…up until the rebellion against King Fei Wang. Akuma sided with Clow and Yuuko, and I never understood why…perhaps he just felt a moment of guilt and desperately needed to tell _someone_ …but he revealed our existence to them. They were the first people I'd ever seen apart from Mother and Father, and my little brother for a few minutes after his birth. I remember…there was such _pity_ in their eyes," he recounted, actually looking _sad_ for the first time during the interview.

"Surely, they'd gotten angry with him for his crime, but I never saw any of that. Clow gave us a choice. He offered us the chance to come out of the darkness. I almost took it. I was ready to breathe the free air…but then my mother refused. She said she would remain…as long as Akuma wanted her there. I looked back at her then…and saw just how serious she was…not a _trace_ of madness. She _loved_ her brother. After everything he'd done to her, the woman actually _loved_ him…and I knew he would leave her there alone. There was no telling when he'd feel the need to seek his sick redemption in her arms. I knew that if I left, she'd be completely alone…so I stayed. I let them close the door in my face again."

"What happened…when Yuuko released the Sakurazukamori?" Subaru finally managed to ask after another long bout of horrified silence.

"Akuma sided with her. The Satani clan left Faerie behind, carrying the might of the Oni into the service of the newly formed Dark Court. Mother, of course, would have followed my father anywhere, but I wouldn't swear an oath to Yuuko. I wanted no part of their conflict. Yuuko and Clow had been…the first people to show me some compassion. I didn't want to watch them destroy each other. However, because of all the secrets I knew about my father, I couldn't very well be allowed to walk free, now could I? So they kept me imprisoned beneath the Shirahime Mountains…bound within the dark core for five hundred years."

Kujaku's narrative was quite suddenly interrupted by screaming. Everyone looked up to see Fai on his knees, tearing at his hair and shrieking to high heaven. Kurogane was down beside him instantly, struggling to hold Fai in one arm and Kohaku in the other; no easy feat, as Fai's panic attack had woken Kohaku up.

" _No more! No more!_ " the incensed prince shouted. "I don't _want_ those memories! I can't _stand_ it! I don't _want_ to go back in the Dark! AAGGH! KUROGANE!"

"I'm _here_ , Fai!" Kurogane had to shout to be heard, wrapping both his arms securely around the distraught blond once he'd passed the wailing Kohaku safely to Watanuki. "I'm right here. It's gone now. It won't hurt you anymore."

It took Fai several minutes to realize he was being held, not held down. His fit eventually lapsed into pitiful sobs as he clung to his lover.

"You're not going anywhere. You're staying right here with me. I promise," the dark-haired prince soothed, gently kissing the top of Fai's head.

"It…it won't stop…looking into me. I c- I can't…stop it…coming into me," he whimpered.

 _I'll stop it for you_ , Kurogane said, giving the words only to Fai's mind.

"What was that?" Hisui asked once the baby and the young man had both been sufficiently calmed.

"He's remembering…being trapped down there," Kurogane explained, continuing to stroke Fai's hair, unable to completely keep himself from remembering the feeling of the Dark pressing in around the boundaries of his conscience.

"And he was only a prisoner for three months," Tomoyo murmured as she gazed on her two brothers in sorrow.

"I…think you should take him to rest, Kurogane," Yuui suggested, though she kept her eyes on Kujaku.

Kurogane looked like he was about to agree, but then he seemed to decide something.

"No," he said firmly, staring straight at Yuui.

That caught the young queen's attention. Her gaze snapped over to her brother-in-law, meeting his hard eyes. "Excuse me?"

"He ought to hear this. If he's ever going to get better, he needs to be part of what we're doing."

"He's _sick_ , Kurogane. Does he really look like he's in any condition to hear more?"

"What do _you_ want, Fai?" Tomoyo asked, hoping to keep the fight from escalating.

Fai looked up, seeming surprised to even be asked the question. Then he clung to Kurogane just a little tighter. "I…I want to stay with Kuro-sama."

Yuui gave Kurogane a particularly stern look for several moments, but he only shook his head.

"I'm staying right here."

Finally, Yuui turned her attention back to Kujaku, signaling to everyone that she was through arguing.

"How did you bear it for five hundred years, Kujaku-san?" Tomoyo asked, turning things back to the previous line of questioning.

"The time doesn't matter so terribly much. Kurogane will attest to this. Time loses its meaning in the void. You can be there for a minute or a millennium; it'll get into your head. What matters is how you deal with it when you get out."

"And how _did_ you get out?" Watanuki asked, still cradling Kohaku in his arms.

"I escaped the day Kamui here killed Akuma. He was the one holding me down there…and I could _feel_ the moment of his death. I broke free, breaking up through the layers of the Dark Court, and no one tried to stop me."

"Not even Sonsei?" Subaru asked.

"Heh, Sonsei. The day Akuma Satani died was also the day his little sister followed him into death. Her strange little life had no meaning without him."

"So what did you do once you were free?" Yuui asked, noting the grain of sadness in Kujaku's bitter cynicism.

"I returned to Faerie. Clow took me in and let me remain there in secret. A few knew I was there, but no one ever knew who I really was. I imagine Clow foresaw my usefulness and kept me safe for the day."

"It couldn't have been just that, though," Fai suddenly put in, his expression absent as he fondly remembered the old king he'd met only once. "He knew what you'd suffered. He must have wanted you to know _some_ happiness."

"Yes…yes, I suppose that's true, as well," Kujaku admitted slowly, his eyes taking on an odd look - like he didn't quite know how to reconcile his two disparate experiences of the world.

"Then…the way Koryu spoke of to get Kokuyo back?" Hisui asked hesitantly.

"More than likely, whatever Yuuko did to him, she took his blood tithe - the oath all her servants swore to her should they betray her. He must have known truly what he wanted in laying his fortunes at your feet…to risk the payment of the blood tithe. Either way, I couldn't guess how my brother plans to get the right to that tithe from Yuuko. It's the only thing that could possibly wake him."

"Why didn't you speak of it before, then?" Kamui asked, still hanging on to his bitterness over the truths the dark faerie had revealed.

"No one thought to ask. Certainly Clow knew the truth, but would it have really made you feel any better knowing the cause of your beloved's fall?" Kujaku asked Hisui. "You still wouldn't have been able to do anything for him."

"I'll _make_ her give me his tithe," Hisui declared hotly.

"You may not have to. Koryu seems to be doing just that. Whatever the case, no one who asks Yuuko for something she's unwilling to give comes away unscathed. I advise you to wait. If Koryu really wants that tithe, he will pay the price for it."

"Can we really trust what you're saying?" Kamui continued to question.

"I swear by the heart of our sovereign and the bones of our Lady, I've spoken no lie this day. If I prove to be an oath breaker, may She strike me dead this very moment." With that, Kujaku turned his face upward, as if waiting for something. When nothing happened, he turned back to Kamui. "Does this satisfy you? We must not break our oaths, after all."

"I…I _can't_ …trust you. You're… _his_ son," Kamui struggled to get out.

"Answer me one thing, then…Subaru," Kujaku continued, turning his attention to the other Shiro. "Why did your mother die?"

Subaru hesitated a long moment before answering. It was, of course, better to ask _why_ a faerie had died, rather than _how_ , as it was all so very much a matter of choice for them, but even he wasn't entirely certain of the answer.

"I was only two hundred when she left. She called the two of us to her…and asked me if I was ready to be master of the Shiro clan. I was…shocked. It was the first I'd heard of their plan. All my life, I'd expected Kamui would some day become master. When she asked me, I told her I was assuredly _not_ ready. It wasn't my place…stain on the family that I am. Who was I to lead our clan? But she told me…that she believed I had the strength for it. She'd been waiting until she thought I was ready…waiting to go to…him. I begged her not to go…to at least give Kamui the birthright owed to him…but she wouldn't be persuaded. She lay down…and just faded away. All this time, I thought the him she spoke of was Kamui's father…but now-"

"She chose _him_ ," Kamui interrupted harshly. "Satani… _killed_ my father…and she still chose _him_ instead. Their skin glowed…that night. Was I…just as little to her as my father was? Was I so easy to leave behind…to cast aside?" he asked, finally giving voice to the thoughts that had plagued him for a thousand years.

"If you remember nothing else, Kamui Shiro, remember that your precious baby brother is also _his_ son. Of those of us who bear the name Shiro or Satani, he is undoubtedly the one who deserves the blessings of both lines. _He_ was the child the two of them wanted. Why the rest of us exist is far beyond me," Kujaku said, driving home each point as cruelly as he was able.

"That's enough, Kujaku-san," Yuui broke him off in a firm voice. Already, she could see her knight shattering. First Fuuma - now _this_. She'd hoped to give Subaru some peace of mind over his making…to give him something hopeful to paint over the stains he'd been pinned with all these years, but she'd also realized that Subaru's identity couldn't be changed without destroying Kamui's.

 _You_ _ **know**_ _it isn't true, Kamui-san; not all of it,_ she said to him in thoughts. _You were there that night; I've seen it, too. Tohru-sama never cast your father aside. He left because he_ _ **wanted**_ _to. A mere sword wound wouldn't have killed him and you_ _ **know**_ _it._

 _Even so…_ his pain-filled psyche cried out to her, _was I so easy to abandon? Why give me life…if neither of them ever wanted me?_

_Maybe…it was for your sake that they were together to begin with?_

_What do you mean?_

_I'm not sure…but from what I gather, your mother had a bit of the power of a Yumemi. Perhaps she saw something…_

"Perhaps…" he said aloud, not really seeming to take the words to heart as he turned to leave the room.

"Brother, wait," Subaru pleaded, catching hold of him once again. "Our mother _couldn't_ have loved you less. You said it yourself. The plan to have the Shiro birthright passed to me was all done to protect me. You suggested it, didn't you?"

 _Yes…but maybe I only did it because I didn't want to know who she'd really choose_ , he said privately to his brother. _And all these years, I've let you suffer the burden of being the product of a rape that never happened…because I didn't want to face what I saw that night._

"I don't blame you. I don't blame you at all," Subaru said aloud, pulling his semi-catatonic brother into his arms.

"Is there anything else anyone feels like telling me that I might want to know?" Yuui asked, sounding more than a little irate. At this point, the best thing she could do for Kamui was leave him to Subaru. Most of the others, though, were starting to get on her nerves. These faeries kept talking about being truthful, never telling lies and never breaking oaths, when all they really did was dance around the truth so skillfully it would have almost been more sporting to lie. Did no one think she needed to know any of this?

When no one responded to her request, she went to gather Kohaku from Watanuki. The little girl burbled for her several times before falling back asleep.

"I'll see you all in a few hours. You'd better take good care of him," Yuui told Kurogane. He glared at her, and for a moment, it was like the old days…when the two princes were in the youth of their love and Yuui would chide Kurogane about something unimportant - but then Yuui shook her head, sighing once before heading out of the room with Tomoyo.

It wasn't like she _wanted_ to be the bad guy right now. It just seemed she and Kurogane had very different ideas about what needed to be done for Fai. It killed all of them to see him in such a state, while _they_ had no idea what he really needed from them.

After two weeks of taking only a step forward for every two steps back…perhaps it _was_ time to try Kurogane's approach?

 _Do you remember what I said to you…the day we rescued Fai?_ When she and Tomoyo conferred like this, there was no chance anyone could possibly overhear them.

_I remember. Why?_

_I…might have been wrong. Maybe it's time we started trusting them._

Instead of saying anything, Tomoyo stopped Yuui right there in the corridor and planted a very quick, very heated kiss on her lips, then gave her a pleased yet playful smile before continuing on without her. Yuui needed several moments to process the exchange before she was able to follow after her wife.

XxX

It was three days following the showdown in Kujaku's chamber that Yuui summoned Kamui to her and Tomoyo's chambers. Even after the war council, there had been good news and much to do with love and babies, so Yuui was feeling very good about the timing. They had learned at the council that Koryu had vanished from the battlefield. Wherever he was, the Oni were essentially leaderless, and why they continued to fight was anyone's best guess, though they were more fighting defensive tactics now rather than offensive ones, and the Fire Guard was steadily pushing them back from the city walls.

After the council, Yuui had finally managed to get Chi in contact with Hideki. As they had fled the city so quickly last time, she hadn't been able to uphold her promise, but now it was done, and Hideki had finally been able to see his wife and child again and reassure them he was all right. Yuui had also heard that Subaru had gone to Kakyo Kuzuki with the news that he was carrying his grandchild. She hadn't heard how the meeting had gone, but she didn't imagine the Nihon lord had been particularly surprised by the news. She liked to think he was at least happy that some part of Souma remained in the world.

With all of the good things happening, Yuui almost wanted to take them as an omen that her decision was the right one. Tomoyo certainly thought so, and she had let her know it that very night. Even Kohaku had been very agreeable these last few days. All she needed now was a little help from Kamui.

The faerie captain looked…pensive…upon entering their sitting room. He hadn't been heard from much since their first day in the city, which could be either a good or a bad thing, but Yuui hoped he and Subaru had at least worked through _some_ of their demons.

"Kamui-san, I need to know what sort of spell you used on Fuuma and I…when Kohaku was conceived," she began rather abruptly once he was standing before them. Instantly, his eyes bulged in shock. He'd thought that matter was behind them.

"Yuui-sama-"

"No. This is from before I was anything to you but a little forest brat. You know what I want you to call me."

"Yuui…chan…why do you need to know this? I thought all that was forgotten," he said quietly, his face going ashen as he remembered the sins of the past year.

"It is. This has nothing to do with me or any of that. I want that spell for Fai and Kurogane."

"What? Why?"

With that, Yuui pulled the phial of potion from within her clothing. Even after all the time that had passed since she'd received it, the small vessel was still warm.

"If I reveal the miracle contained within this phial, do you swear, on your honor, that you will not reveal its existence?"

"I swear, on my honor and on my brother's life."

"Good. This potion came to me from another world, Kamui-san."

"How…do you mean?"

"Just as our two worlds are different planes of existence, so, too, are there other worlds beyond ours not connected to us in any way. This potion was given to me because it will allow Fai to conceive a child inside his own body and carry it to birth. Their curse can be broken."

"That's…good news," Kamui said slowly. "But what do you need _my_ help for?"

"I'm afraid if I slip them the potion, they might not make love. I know things have been…difficult for them these past weeks. It's destroying both of them…not to have what they once had. I believe this will help."

"I don't mind assisting you, but…why couldn't you just tell them about the potion?"

"Because I'm afraid of what might happen if it doesn't work. If I give them this fragile hope, only to have it dashed…I'm afraid it really will be the final nail in the coffin. I want to be certain it's worked before I tell them. As such, once I've slipped Fai the potion…I want them to be helpless to do anything but mate…just as Fuuma and I were," the young queen said solemnly, willing herself not to remember the agony of that day. Just because she had forgiven those responsible didn't mean she could look back on her rape with anything but horror.

"I understand. Does it matter to you if they…remember the effects of the spell?"

"Actually, I'd prefer it if they remembered. I want this to be a good memory for them. All I really need is an aphrodisiac. They need to desire nothing but each other…just long enough…and, maybe…if we're lucky…this will help them start to get back on the right track."

"It shall be as you wish. I will work this spell for you, My Lady. You'll have it by tomorrow," he promised her, bowing low.

"Good. That's when we'll do it, then. Thank you for this, Kamui-san."

His only acknowledgment of her thanks before he left was a small smile and a brief nod. Even if his existence meant nothing to the world, he could at least do this one thing to make someone else happy.


	38. Love Melody

Kurogane and Fai were cuddling on their futon when Tomoyo and Yuui brought Kohaku to visit them. They hadn't focused very much on training since coming to Piffle. Kurogane had coaxed Fai into getting in a few hours of meditation practice with his amulet by itself, but nothing more than that. Somehow, the ninja got the feeling that Fai worked better in Celes. Perhaps he just felt more comfortable there. Whatever the reason, he'd been thinking of requesting that the group move back to Celes rather than remain in Piffle. They all agreed that Fai still needed rest before they actively rejoined the war effort, but Koryu's little stunt had thrown a spike into their plans. However, the fact that he seemed to have vanished made the older prince somewhat hopeful. With the Dark Court's chain of command apparently in disarray, it might be safe for them to return to Celes to let Fai recuperate and allow the two of them time to train.

"How have you two been today?" Yuui asked, coming to the futon, sitting down, and laying Kohaku right next to Fai.

"All right," Fai responded as he sat up, sounding not too bad, all things considered. "Can I-"

"Sure," Yuui answered without waiting for him to finish, seeing that he was gesturing toward his niece. Kohaku always seemed to lift his mood. Fai immediately offered his hand to Kohaku, who seized his fingers and promptly began to suck on them. Fai gave the little girl a brilliant smile as he watched her.

"What occasions the visit?" Kurogane asked, sitting up himself when Tomoyo finally joined them.

"Kohaku was being fussy, so we figured we'd bring her to see her uncles," Tomoyo explained.

Having grown very adept at sensing it, Kurogane noted a breath of deception in the statement, but there was no harm in it, so he let it go. If he and Fai were under observation, then they were under observation. There was little they could do about it. He would play along for now.

"Have either of you eaten anything today?" Yuui asked, fixing her brother with a rather pointed stare. It was a little early for dinner, but it wasn't an entirely unreasonable question, considering that it was Fai and Kurogane.

Fai ducked his head slightly, not meeting Yuui's gaze. "Kuro-rin had some sushi earlier, but I wasn't really hungry," he explained, nodding toward the low table where they'd eaten, adorned with an empty plate and a cold bowl of miso soup.

Yuui shook her head. "I thought that might be the case, so we took the liberty of having something sent up," she said just as two servants entered with trays of food. The old dishes were gathered and four bowls of oden were set on the table in their place, along with four goblets and a fresh plate of sushi.

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to that," Yuui said once the two young women had gone. "Just having people at my beck and call."

"Well, you'll just have to force yourself," Tomoyo said, her grin only slightly impish as she whisked Kohaku away from Fai and carried her over to the table. Yuui quickly followed her and they both sat down, waiting for their brothers to join them.

"Oh, Tomoyo-chan," Fai whined, as if trying to resurrect the old days. "Don't take Kohaku-chan away from me."

"If you want to play with her some more, you'll have to come and eat something," Tomoyo said, her tone inviting no debate.

"Come on and eat, baka," Kurogane said as he stood from the futon and offered Fai his hand. "You've got to be hungry by now."

"Maybe a little," Fai capitulated, taking the offered hand and climbing to his feet. He'd caught a scent of the delicious stew and was now a bit more willing, as it reminded him of the meal Kurogane had made for him not too long ago. Though, still feeling a little rebellious at having been conned into eating, he went for the goblet first, pleased to discover the particularly sweet taste of plum wine. He downed at least half the goblet before starting in on the oden.

"I don't see how you can eat that stuff," Fai commented between bites as he watched Yuui delicately lift up a tuna roll and place it in her mouth.

Once she'd finished chewing, Yuui only grinned. "I guess I developed a taste for raw fish when I was pregnant. You'll probably want to be getting used to 'that stuff' if you mean to live with Kurogane in the future."

Fai's first desire was to be sad at the mere mention of his and Kurogane's future, but, strangely enough, he found that he couldn't fall back into the old depression. Something very different was starting to boil in his chest. He took several bites of oden, thinking whatever it was might have been caused by the wine. Unfortunately, though, it did nothing. All he felt was a sudden need to drink _more_ wine. Quickly, he lifted the goblet and guzzled the rest of it like water. The sudden deluge of alcohol upon his system caused his head to spin, but the bout of vertigo didn't last long. He tried to take another bite of oden, but was stopped by Kurogane's voice.

"Fai?"

At the sound of his lover's deep voice, Fai felt a sudden tremor of passion sweep through his entire body. It felt like it had been an eternity since Kurogane had called to him like that, his rich voice both soft and thunderous with the heat of need. When the blond finally looked up to meet his prince's eyes, he saw just that: Need…raw and open. As Kurogane stared at him openly, Fai suddenly felt the very distinct weight of the clothing on his body.

"Kuro…koi?" he whispered back, the name on his lips causing a familiar warmth to pool in his stomach. Any moment now, that warmth would begin to spill lower. Every moment they were not together was a new little death.

Kurogane was in very much the same boat. After just one sip of the wine, he'd been compelled to drink more. He'd tried to stave it off with the oden, but he ultimately hadn't been able to stop himself from guzzling the alcohol, just as Fai had. Now, he couldn't keep his eyes off the blond and he couldn't help but imagine what it would feel like to tear his clothing from his body and have him right there on the table. The thought alone made him fully, instantly hard and he groaned aloud, his hips giving a few involuntary thrusts.

He'd almost forgotten there was anyone else in the room when Yuui's voice saying something about feeding Kohaku briefly entered his conscience. The next moment their sisters were gone and Fai was on the floor beneath him, panting desperately and offering himself up to be touched and kissed.

He didn't really remember tackling Fai, and yet they'd somehow gone from sitting at the table to being splayed out on the floor, tearing at each others' clothing and kissing every possible inch of skin they could get at. Neither could explain it, but it was suddenly as if they were fighting for their very lives. Coherent thought had vanished, only to be replaced by a single overwhelming imperative.

Mate…or die.

In the midst of their passion, Kurogane seemed to instinctually realize that what they were doing simply wasn't efficient. This wasn't about pleasure. This was about getting his seed into Fai's body - no matter what. Growling hungrily, he managed to tear himself away from Fai's body long enough to scoop him up, carry him to the futon, and deposit him on it without much ceremony. Just as he was about to fall on him again, the blond made a small sound of pain that briefly subdued him.

Fai wriggled about on the sheets for a moment before coming up with a small red bottle. Something in Kurogane briefly rose above his drive to impregnate the blond at his feet, screaming that this was important. Battling against the animal need, he crouched down over Fai and took the bottle from him. When he'd uncorked it, the scent of roses quickly permeated the room, awakening something familiar in both of them. It was not, however, enough to quell the command of instinct beating in their blood.

While Kurogane covered his fingers in the rose-scented stuff, Fai took the opportunity to remove his already torn tunic and wriggle out of his pants. Once he was fully naked, he took a moment to eye Kurogane's yukata. Both were angry and confused with the black cloth. The complicated clothing was an undesired barrier in their desperation to mate. So, after several moments of heated confusion, Fai finally managed to focus his power on the yukata and it simply fell open, leaving Kurogane exposed to him.

Once they were both free, Kurogane wasted no time in jamming two fingers up inside Fai. Opening himself to the penetration, Fai cried out in both pain and desire. His entire world had become the minutes separating him from the moment when he would finally be filled with Kurogane's essence.

After several minutes of hard thrusting and scissoring, the ninja decided that his prince was ready for him and withdrew, taking a moment to cover himself with more of the bottle's contents and help Fai brace himself against the pillows. Then he positioned himself solidly on his knees, helping Fai hook his legs over his elbows as he pressed the tip of his manhood against the entrance to the blond's body. Then, without any hesitation, Kurogane plunged into Fai. Gripping the ninja prince's shoulders to steady them both, Fai let out several small cries of pleasure when Kurogane struck his sweet spot.

Normally, Kurogane would have allowed Fai time to adjust to him, but there was none of that this time. They were both desperate to complete the mating, so Kurogane began thrusting immediately, in and out, as deep as he could possibly go. Fai came almost instantly, crying out as his semen spurted out of him. He felt pleasure, but no relief. He was still empty, desperately needing to be filled. The luminous glow of Fai's skin, normally marveled at by both lovers, went unnoticed this time. Kurogane continued to thrust, knowing his release was near at hand.

Then, sensing the moment, Kurogane gave one final thrust, allowing his weight to collapse against Fai, burying himself in the slighter male's body as he reached his climax with an animalistic cry of victory. Fai sighed in contentment, knowing that he was finally filled with his lover's semen. Then, just like that, the two fell into an exhausted sleep, sated by the completed act of procreation.

Neither of them knew it, of course, but falling asleep in that exact position, not even taking the time to separate, gave Kurogane's seed the time necessary to soak into Fai's body, combining with Fai's own essence to begin the miracle they both so desperately desired.

It wasn't a very long nap, just long enough, but the sleep felt much longer to both of them, having had no peace in slumber for more than three months. This small cat nap felt more refreshing and satisfying than a month of sleep.

Blinking sleepily upon waking, Kurogane found himself crouched low over Fai, buried firmly in his body. As he watched Fai wake, he found himself wondering how they could have possibly maintained such a position in their sleep. He vaguely remembered the events of the past hour, but the memory he clung to the hardest was just how wonderfully fulfilling the whole thing had been. He felt truly happy again after months of pain and confusion. He felt like his love was finally starting to come back to him. Hoping Fai felt the same things he was feeling, he couldn't help but chuckle upon catching sight of the blond's confused doe eyes.

"I think we've been had," he said, leaning forward to kiss Fai on the nose.

"What…what do you mean?"

"I'm pretty sure those two snakes put something in our wine…a spell, maybe."

Fai closed his eyes briefly, giving up a wry grin. "Yes, you're probably right. Goddess, but I'm _starving_ right now."

"Well, let's eat, then," Kurogane said, still grinning as he pulled out of Fai. Rather than re-dress himself, he stripped off the yukata. "How're you feeling?"

"A little sore," he answered right off the bat, slowly starting to take stock. What stood out to him the most, though, was that he felt…unwound. He felt almost as if he'd been tightly coiled all this time and this had suddenly released him. Ultimately, he looked up at Kurogane and said, "I feel better."

Knowing what he meant in that moment, Kurogane could have sworn he was beaming down at Fai. Scooping him up in his arms, he pressed his lips against Fai's in a warm, lingering kiss before carrying him over to the table and setting him before his barely touched bowl. Ravenous as they were after their activities, it didn't take them long to polish off their own bowls and start on their sisters' untouched bowls. Amazingly enough, the oden was still somewhat warm.

"Yeah. Look at this," Kurogane said, pointing to the wine goblets. The rims of their own empty ones were painted red, but Tomoyo and Yuui's were painted purple. "That must be how they told the difference; and they must have also been the ones who left the oil, just as they were leaving."

"I suppose…but why _would_ they do this?" Fai wondered out loud.

"Maybe…they thought it would help. I mean…you _do_ feel better, don't you?" Kurogane asked, staring intently at Fai as he reached for one of the full wine goblets. Fai nodded, but there was still a shade of doubt in his eyes.

"I do. I really do," he rushed to reassure the dark-haired prince when he saw him sigh. "I feel…so much better than I have since…well, since you proposed to me, really," he said, bringing tiny, fond smiles to both their faces. "I'm just…afraid it'll go away. It always does. Some- something will happen…and I'll fall right back into the Darkness," he murmured, gathering his knees up against his chest and curling in on himself.

Abandoning the wine, Kurogane crawled over to Fai and pulled him into his arms. Gently rocking him, he placed a kiss on the top of his head to soothe him. "You're right. It probably will happen again…but you've just got to keep coming back from it. Hold onto this," he whispered to him, holding him just a little tighter. "Remember what this feels like. Come back to me. I'll be waiting for you. I'll _always_ wait for you."

"What if…I _can't_ come back?" he whispered fearfully, his mouth going dry.

"Then I'll come for you…right into the Darkness, just like I did before. We're going to beat this thing, you and me…no matter how long it takes."

"Together forever," Fai said softly, feeling slightly comforted as Kurogane pressed a kiss to his ear. Even though he was afraid, even though he was uncertain of so many things, for the first time in a long while, he truly felt that he and Kurogane together could defeat this evil that pursued them - even if it took them forever.

XxX

"I knew you'd come back to me."

Fai looked all around as he walked through the forest, anywhere but at the source of the voice.

"Another illusion, Uncle?" he asked. Normally, these things happened in Seishiro's bedroom - the place where Fai had lost his innocence. Now they were in Celes. It was just barely dawn and the sun hadn't quite managed to rise yet.

"You tell me, Nephew. Are you really here with me now…or is this in your head?"

"It doesn't matter," Fai said bitterly, still not looking directly at him. "You know you can have your way with me whether I'm trapped in an illusion or not. I can't fight you."

"Is that true?"

"You know it is. I couldn't fight you two years ago, I couldn't fight you in Koryo, and I can't fight you now. So go ahead! Throw me down on the ground and have me right now! The moment I find a _bit_ of happiness, a _bit_ of comfort, you have to come and snatch it away! _God_ , why don't you just kill me?" he screamed, falling to his knees before the dark faerie.

"Because that's not really what you want, is it," his uncle said knowingly, kneeling down and placing a hand on his cheek.

"What I _want?_ That's never stopped you before!" he cried. "I _begged_ you that night! _Always_ I begged you to stop, but you never listened. Why now?"

"Because this has to stop. One way or another, this has to stop," Seishiro said firmly, leaning forward and pressing his lips against Fai's.

For a moment, Fai hung in shocked suspension, lost in the kiss. But then his senses returned to him and he slapped Seishiro away.

"Like _that!_ " he spat out harshly. "It's always like that! If it needs to stop, why do you keep doing it?"

"Because I wanted you to hate me."

"I _do_ hate you!"

"No, you don't. You hate what I make you feel. You hate that I make you weak. You're _afraid_ of me. You don't hate me enough to overcome that fear and end my life."

" _Why_ do you keep saying that?"

"Why would I say it if it wasn't what I really wanted? It's all I've ever wanted of you."

"Oh, of course. I understand now," Fai said, laughing bitterly. "You can think of no better torture than to turn me into you. If I kill you…I _become_ you."

"That is true…but would you rather leave the killing to your precious Kurogane-kun? You _know_ he'd do it for you."

" _No!_ " Fai snapped, his chest filling with horror at the mere thought of it. "But I…don't think he'd want that for me, either."

"There's no way to win. There never has been. Only…I don't think you can really bring yourself to kill another…not consciously, anyway. You really are just like him."

"Him?"

"Subaru, of course. If _he_ must be the one to kill me, I'd hoped to summon up his hatred, but I'm afraid I've failed in even that. What can I do, nephew of mine? What can I do to make you hate me enough to kill me?"

"Nothing. I won't kill you. I won't let myself become you," Fai answered resolutely as he climbed back to his feet, standing over Seishiro for the briefest of moments. Seishiro soon followed him, though.

"What would you do…if I were to kill your dear prince?"

"Then the world would end in fire," Fai said solemnly, suddenly fearing he understood the meaning of what he'd seen in his nightmares. Did it mean…that Kurogane was to die…that his death would summon forth the dark power sleeping in his heart?

"Well, we can't have that, now can we."

"What do you want with me?" Fai finally asked. "If you're not going to fuck me, why did you bring me here?"

"Oh, we _are_ going to fuck, Nephew. Make no mistake about that. But are you so certain it was _I_ who brought you here? How do you know you didn't come here of your own accord…to settle things?"

"Maybe I did," Fai said, turning away from Seishiro once again. "Maybe I just can't _help_ being unfaithful to the man I love."

"That's it," the Dark Prince said in a voice that immediately drew Fai's gaze. A light seemed to have come on in his one eye. "It was never _yourself_ you feared me for. It was _him_ , wasn't it? Every time I took you to my bed, you were afraid he wouldn't want you anymore when you finally crawled back to him. That was it, wasn't it."

Fai nodded. He wanted to cry, but he felt empty of tears. Somehow, they both seemed to know it was ending today. He would either leave this place and return to Kurogane…or he would remain, his body forever chained to Seishiro's, and he still didn't know if he had any right to return to Kurogane's bed. Every time Seishiro even _looked_ at him, he felt as if he'd betrayed Kurogane a thousand times over.

"You took my virginity," Fai said quietly, finally admitting it to himself. "Even if it _was_ just an illusion…we were both there…and you _can't_ forget your first time. No matter how much I might wish Kurogane was my first, you'd already left your mark on my body by the time he made love to me. That _stain's_ always going to be there. And…for all I know…I'm supposed to be with _both_ of you!" he shouted, also admitting the true reason for his terror and utter disgust with himself. The nightmare in which he and his uncle had glowed for each other had never truly left him. He'd never even told Kurogane about it.

"Ah, I see. That's what we've come here to settle, then. I can promise you that never happened. I never touched you while you slept. That was all the Darkness getting inside your head. I can prove it to you if you want. Have sex with me."

"So we're right back where we started from," Fai said, beginning to laugh again, bordering on sounding hysterical this time.

"No. I said 'have sex with me', not 'make love with me.' There's a difference. I'll show you that we don't mean anything to each other. It only means something if you _want_ it to. In the earlier days, the old faerie sovereigns would seal treaties with their vassals through acts of sex. It's just that - an act, nothing more. Only your desire can give it any more meaning than a pair of pigs rolling in the dust. The only way you'll ever know is if you lie with me one last time. You said it was _your_ decision, didn't you? Consent, then. Lie with me as a consenting adult and reclaim what I took from you. Prove to me I have no power over you. I'll even let you top if you want."

"No," Fai said calmly, uncertain of the heavy feeling in his chest and stomach. It wasn't desire - certainly not, but somehow he knew Seishiro was right. He would never know peace unless he found out the truth. "If…if we do this…I don't want to look at your face."

"All right," Seishiro started as he stripped off his cloak and tunic. "You can pretend I'm Kurogane-kun that way."

"No," the Valerian prince said again, moving over to a nearby tree. "You're _not_ him."

Giving the Dark Prince nothing else as he continued to strip, Fai simply undid his belt and slid his pants down a little ways, revealing only the necessary parts.

"Is that all?" Seishiro's voice sounded in his ear as he felt arms slip around his waist.

"That's all you're getting," Fai returned sharply as he braced himself against the tree, confident that Seishiro had stripped completely. "It's all you need."

"Mm, that _is_ true," his uncle said, pressing his lips to his neck. Then he slid a hand down between Fai's legs, fondling, rubbing, and teasing as much as he possibly could. He took his sweet time in getting his nephew up, but Fai gave him no reaction. Undeniably, the touches felt pleasurable; certain touches cannot help but elicit certain responses, but for whatever reason, Fai was able to keep things straight in his mind this time. He could remember that it was his _uncle_ touching him like this. He could view it as nothing more than two bodies rubbing together for heat and pleasure. There was nothing intimate about it - not even when Seishiro tried to whisper passionate and dirty things to him. Through it all, he kept his head on straight.

Thankfully, the older faerie didn't take him raw this time. He felt some sort of lubricant on his fingers as he took the time to loosen him, but he didn't care to know what it was. He didn't speak to Seishiro at all. He _wouldn't_.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to suppress a small gasp when Seishiro finally entered him. Blushing in anger at himself, he managed to tune out what his uncle said to him as he began to move in and out of him. In response to his silence, Seishiro only pounded harder. Fai didn't move with him. He remained immovably braced against the tree, unbending before the violent motions.

As the moment of completion drew nearer, Seishiro thrust into him harder and deeper and jerked his tortured manhood all the harder. Fai had to clamp down on himself to keep from crying out, but he couldn't stop the increasing intensity of his panting. He couldn't stop his body from feeling what was being done to it. As the sensations heightened, Fai kept his eyes fixed desperately on the foreign hand that worked at his sex - the only part of Seishiro he could glimpse. Nothing yet.

"A- ah!" he cried out in a tiny, strangled voice, forcing his head to stay down and his eyes to remain open as he watched himself come, spurting himself onto the bark of the tree. Seishiro came a moment later with a satisfied grunt. When he pulled out quickly, Fai could feel the warm semen dribbling out of him, down his thighs to stain his clothing.

Seishiro leaned forward briefly and kissed his cheek. "You see? Nothing. Not a single, tiny glow from either of us. The only light is from the sun."

Indeed, the sun had risen while they'd been going at it. As Fai looked around, he almost felt like he was seeing the forest for the first time. The air even tasted different.

"I'm…free?" he whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around his torso, uncertain if he really believed it yet. When he finally glanced back at Seishiro, he found he was still naked.

"Prince Fai Fluorite Reed, what I once stole from you, I now return. Go to your lover as a virgin from this meeting. Perhaps you will never forget that you once knew your uncle's touch, but I don't think it will consume you as it once did. I'll ask when next I see you.

"As it stands, though, Nephew…I will require a favor from you in kind in the not too distant future."

Quite suddenly, Fai bolted awake. Glancing hurriedly around, he found he was back in the room he shared with Kurogane in Piffle City. Kurogane lay right beside him on the futon, still sleeping peacefully. The morning sun was only just beginning to shine through the balcony door.

_Did it…did it really happen?_

He had no idea either way. It didn't sit in his memory like a dream, slipping quickly into oblivion upon waking. This sat in his memory as if he had only just experienced it - as if Seishiro had only just pulled out of him, leaving him dripping with sperm.

Glancing down beneath the sheets in terror, Fai did in fact find his thighs coated with semen, but it was cold and sticky. He and Kurogane had made love just before going to sleep last night, so the seed was probably _his_ , not Seishiro's.

Whatever had really happened, Fai realized he was free of it - finally _free_ at last. His uncle's power over him was broken. However, just as he was realizing that, he happened to glance down at Kurogane again and see how peaceful he looked. His face was even lit by the tiny hints of a smile.

When Fai saw Kurogane sleeping like that, he knew he would have to tell him what had happened. He would have to tell him of every betrayal he'd ever flung at him, whether real or imagined. This was inarguably a betrayal. He had gone _willingly_ into Seishiro's arms, free of any spell, so far as he knew. Was this one betrayal too many? Would Kurogane still want him after this? How many times of losing your body to incest and betrayal was too many?

He was free of Seishiro now, yes…but had he gained that freedom just in time to lose the one thing he treasured above all else? Whatever happened from here on in, he knew he couldn't keep secrets from Kurogane anymore, not like this one, never again - not if their love was to survive.

Somehow managing to keep his sudden terror in check, Fai leaned down over Kurogane and brushed his lips lightly across his forehead, wiping his gathering tears away afterward.

_I won't lie to you anymore…but have I come back to you…only in time for you to walk away from me…Kuro-koi?_

XxX

Kurogane did eventually get around to asking Yuui if they could return to Celes. Seeing that Fai seemed to be improving, she decided it was worth the risk. The group had teleported away from the city to just within sight of the forest, opting to walk the rest of the distance rather than do any more teleporting. Sometimes it felt like forever since they'd been able to just walk. Since most of the Dark Court's forces had been diverted to fight in Piffle, less force was needed to protect the enchanted forest. The real goal throughout the entire ordeal had been to guard the entrance to Faerie, so the Wind Guard had withdrawn to keep a perimeter around Faerie Falls and the Water Guard had taken up the position of guarding Spirit Lake itself. With the liminality between two sovereigns only just barely broken, no one was willing to find out if the enchantment that barred Yuuko and her minions from entering Faerie still held strong or not.

With everything going on, Fai hadn't found the opportunity to tell Kurogane the things he'd promised himself he was going to tell him. Even now, he was having trouble working up the nerve. He just…didn't quite know what to say or how to say it.

_K- Kuro-sama?_

_Yeah?_

_Can…can I talk to you about something?_

_Right now?_

_Yes. I…it's something I've been meaning to-_

Whatever Fai had been about to reveal was suddenly cut off when an indistinct blur shot out of the forest and knocked Tomoyo to the ground. Kohaku, who was strapped to the young queen's chest with a sling, let out a wail of terror. None of them quite realized their attacker was Fuuma until he began to speak.

"Perhaps you can handle the little lord of the Oni, but you won't get away from me. The princess must not live."

Before even Yuui could intervene, Fuuma was tackled to the ground by none other than Sai.

"You will _not_ harm Her Majesty! Not while _I'm_ here!" she shouted as they wrestled on the ground.

"My, my, but you're quite defensive of this human queen," Fuuma stated calmly. "Could it be you harbor the same feelings that led Souma-chan to her end? No," he continued in a ponderous tone as they continued to battle. " _You_ don't even know what it is. There is, however…a strong desire to _die_ for her. This I can grant."

In the blink of an eye, Sai was lying on the ground with her chest torn open. Just as Fuuma was about to reach inside and do what he did to Himawari, Kamui leaped into the battle, forcing his former lover back from Sai's broken body. Subaru quickly moved in to protect her while she healed.

"What did he mean?" Subaru asked quietly, keeping the conversation between the two of them. "The feelings that led Souma to her end?"

"I think he means she was in love with Tomoyo."

"Well…yes. We all knew that, but…leading to her end?"

"He said he would allow me to die for her. That must mean that was her wish, as well: to die for her…since she could never be with her."

"Do you…want to die for her?"

"Yes…no…I don't know. I don't understand what this feeling is. I don't…think I love her. I just…feel she must not die. I couldn't tell you why. Something in me…rebels whenever she's in danger. Just her…"

Having felt the pull of a soul mate's connection himself, Subaru had a theory about his fellow clan master's feelings, but it was just that, so he remained silent, allowing his attention to be drawn to his brother's fight.

Yuui was blind and deaf to all of it at the moment. The instant Sai had shoved Fuuma away from her family, she'd rushed to them, wrapping her arms around Tomoyo and cocooning Kohaku securely between them.

"Are you all right? Are you all right?" she asked over and over again, hard-pressed to keep tears from coming. How could she have not been paying attention? How could she just let it happen?

"I'm fine. We're _both_ fine. It's okay," Tomoyo tried to reassure her, attempting to calm both her wife and their daughter. "Just a little shaken."

Kamui, meanwhile, was somehow managing to hold his own against Fuuma. The former lord had summoned up a sword, thankfully not Assassin's Hand this time, and the two were locked in heated combat.

"Why…Fuuma?" he demanded as they traded blows. "She's your own daughter…your little girl! Why would you ever hurt her?"

"I could tell you that Yuuko wishes her death, which would be true, but the fact of the matter is she means nothing to me. The existence of Yuui-chan's child means an end to the chaos, and I don't want that, so she must die. Her life means no more to me than yours does."

"I don't believe that," Kamui said, finally giving breath to the words everyone knew he held dearer than his own life…but that no one had the heart to tell him simply couldn't be true.

"Really, now? You don't believe the promise I made to you all those months ago, covered in my baby sister's blood? You don't believe _I_ will be the one to kill you?"

That was when Kamui saw it; it wasn't even a whole second, but he _knew_ he saw it - a flash in his lover's brown eyes, an expression on his face…horror and terror. Then, for only a moment, he could hear him screaming.

"Fuuma?"

His moment of distraction was all his opponent needed. Fuuma brought his sword up and thrust it straight into Kamui's heart, eliciting a small shout of pain.

"Your Fuuma is _dead!_ " he hissed in his face before whipping the blade out and shoving him to the ground.

"No…no, you're not," Kamui whispered, his voice too quiet for any human ear. Even as he bled out, his face lit with a relieved smile and his eyes filled with happy tears. "You're _still alive_."

Just as Fuuma was about to swing his blade down and decapitate the downed captain, he found himself stopped by another blade. Surprised to find himself faced with a blade of ice, Fuuma followed its length to find himself faced with Fai, who looked nothing if not enraged.

"Just like that?" the blond prince demanded calmly, his eyes blazing. "After everything you did to my sister to create Kohaku, you would destroy her…just like that? I won't _stand_ for it!" he shouted, engaging Fuuma and quickly maneuvering him away from Kamui. It was easy enough. All he needed to do was recall the rage he'd felt against Fuuma for what he'd done to Yuui…and his powers came awake as they'd done in Koryo.

The others watched the fight with more than a little trepidation. Fai actually seemed to be holding his own against the former clan master. What they didn't realize, however, was that his reason was slipping away - a little more with every blow.

It was when he started to see the doubt in Fuuma's eyes that Kurogane began to fear for Fai's safety. If Fai actually killed Fuuma…what would happen to him?

Suddenly, Fai held a hand up in between blows and Fuuma stopped dead. Then, as he slowly lowered his hand, Fuuma's body knelt jerkily before him.

"He's…controlling his blood," Watanuki said in awe and horror. As the others watched, they came to the same conclusion. It must have been a refining of the technique he'd used in his last fight. Rather than simply summoning the blood from the body, he could force the body to do as he wished.

"You hurt my sister," Fai said in a voice not his own as he raised the ice blade above Fuuma's head. "Now I can make you pay for it."

"Fai! _Stop!_ " Kurogane shouted, rushing forward.

"Nii-sama, wait!" Tomoyo tried to shout after him. There was no telling what Fai might do when he was like this.

"If you kill him, you become him. Don't do this!" Kurogane pleaded as he caught Fai in his arms, desperately trying to reason with him.

"Don't interfere!" Fai snarled, trying to wriggle his way free of the arms that held him. "He deserves to suffer!"

"No! I won't…let you… _do this!_ " the ninja growled back, giving no quarter as they struggled.

It happened so fast, neither of them was really certain _what_ had happened. Fai's hand slipped and there was the sound of flesh pierced by something sharp.

It was very much like the moment Fai had impaled Seishiro on his newborn ice blades - the feeling of penetration into the gut…the brief splash of blood. Only…Seishiro had easily shrugged the wound off.

Kurogane did not.

For a moment, his face bore a look of faint surprise, quickly followed by an attempt to suppress the pain he must have been feeling. As Fai stood, frozen in shocked horror, Kurogane leaned against him, whispering in his ear, "Don't…don't let them control you. I – I love-"

When the dark-haired prince collapsed against him, Fai slowly fell to his knees, cradling him in his arms.

"Ku- Kuro-sama? Kuro-rin? No…don't…I didn't mean to…please, don't – don't _die_."

But Kurogane made no response. His blood was warm as it seeped from the wound, painting Fai's front crimson. It was just like one of his nightmares - only this wasn't a nightmare. The hot blood was already causing the blade to melt and it was flowing much more freely. He was really soaked in Kurogane's blood. Kurogane was really dying in his arms.

" _AAAAGGHH!_ "

He was barely conscious of it when Kurogane was pulled away from him. His arms reached out and grasped empty air. His vision was painted red. The taste of copper was in his mouth, the scent of it in his nose, and his skin was slick with blood, not just Kurogane's, but his own, as well.

_No! No! Kurogane…I'm sorry!...so sorry…I didn't…_ _**mean** _ _to! Don't die!_ _**Please** _ _…don't die! I_ _**need** _ _you!_

Fai didn't see who did it, but he suddenly felt a bolt of magic shoot through his head and his hold on consciousness was quickly severed.

"I… _need_ you. Don't go…"

XxX

" _I told you," his other whispers in his ear. "I_ _ **told**_ _you I would kill him."_

_**If he dies…if he dies, I killed him.** _

" _He isn't here anymore to come between us. It's just you and me now."_

" _SHUT UP!" he screams, clamping his hands over his ears. "He's_ _ **not dead**_ _ **!** He's __**not!**_ _"_

" _You know that for a fact?" his own twisted face taunts him._

" _He…he_ _ **can't**_ _be…"_

" _What if he_ _ **is**_ _, though?"_

" _Then…then_ _ **I'm**_ _dead, too."_

When Fai snapped out of his fevered sleep, he found himself lying on a bed - not a futon, but a bed. He could tell because of the way Tomoyo was seated at the foot of it with her legs draped over the side. At first, she didn't notice him, as she was occupied with Kohaku, but then he asked her, "Kurogane?"

Tomoyo's eyes immediately found his and a smile spread across her face. Then she turned a little to her right and said gently, "Yuui? He's awake."

Fai turned on his side and was greeted with the sight of Kurogane lying in the bed right beside him, with Yuui bent over him checking his vitals.

"Is he all right?" he asked, tears already beginning to gather in his eyes. Yuui gave him a reassuring smile when she looked up at him.

"He's going to be fine. Subaru-san got to him in time to heal the wound. He's just resting. We haven't been here very long."

"Where are we?"

"We're home, Fai…back at the cottage. This is your bed."

Fai nodded, knowing she was right when he glanced at the curtains that Watanuki had made for them. Apparently, their ability to ward off bad dreams had worn off.

"What happened?" he asked, his gaze quickly turning back to Kurogane's face, somewhat relieved to see him sleeping peacefully.

"You lost control again. If you'd killed Fuuma, you would've been taken by the Sakurazukamori. Kurogane tried to stop you and…in the confusion, you ran him through. Fuuma disappeared when it happened. When you…started to lose it…Watanuki put you under…so Subaru-san could do his work. He healed the stab wounds, but he says he might be a little…delicate for a while."

"And you know he'd teach you a lesson for saying anything like that," Tomoyo said, trying to lighten the mood, even if only a little. Yuui smiled; Fai did, as well - only it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"It seems…I can't do anything but hurt you," he said, reaching a hand out to touch Kurogane's cheek. "All you've ever done is love me…been faithful to me…and I've returned that love and faithfulness with nothing but pain and betrayal."

"Even if that were true, _you_ are the one he loves…and that makes him happy, no matter what else happens," Tomoyo attempted to remind him. Both sisters knew that at this point, the only person who could grant Fai forgiveness and redemption for his perceived guilt was Kurogane. Until he regained consciousness, there was little either of them could do to ease Fai's pain.

As if he hadn't even heard Tomoyo speak, Fai moved over on the bed, curling up next to Kurogane, but still being careful of him. Gently, he ran his fingers through his black hair, somewhat damp with sweat.

"I'll get better," he said softly. "If you stay, I promise I'll get better. I'll do my best…I promise. Please…"

"I'll hold you to that," Kurogane's gruff voice suddenly sounded in his ear. Fai looked up to see the older prince smiling down at him. Rather than outright jump him, Fai delicately wrapped an arm around his neck and leaned up to kiss him.

"I'm so sorry. I – I didn't-"

"It's all right," Kurogane said, shaking his head. "It wasn't your fault."

"But I-"

"No. I would have risked anything to keep that from happening…and we're both okay now."

"I stabbed you, Kurogane," Fai finally managed to get the words out. For a moment, the ninja's face was unreadable, but then the expression softened and he leaned in to kiss Fai.

"Yeah. Yeah, you did. But that wasn't you. I _know_ that wasn't you," he said, resting his forehead against Fai's.

Suddenly feeling like they were intruding, Tomoyo and Yuui shared a brief look before simultaneously heading out of the room.

"We always do seem to come back here, don't we," Kurogane said with a light chuckle.

"Wouldn't…wouldn't it be nice if we could stay here…always?" Fai said, snuggling up even more tightly against Kurogane and burying his face in his chest. They couldn't, of course. They both knew it. There was simply too much at stake. At the same time, though…it was nice to dream…to dream they could live a simple life in the forest…that they could remain forever in this place where they'd been so happy…

"It would," Kurogane said, sighing as he ran his fingers through his lover's silken hair. It was a beautiful thought; it really was, but they both knew they could never live with themselves if they just ran away - as tempting as the prospect was.

Fai knew there were still many things he needed to say to Kurogane, even though the timing couldn't be less ideal. He had no idea when he'd again feel ready to tell Kurogane the things he'd been planning to say today, but quite suddenly, chief among them was no longer his indiscretions with Seishiro.

Even _he_ didn't know what had happened when he'd stabbed Kurogane. He had no idea if it had been an accident…or if he had really not known Kurogane in that moment…and stabbed him on purpose. Of all the horrors he'd experienced in the past years, _this_ was the one that struck him the deepest.

XxX

"They're awake," Subaru announced as he approached Kamui. The older Shiro hadn't entered the cottage when they'd brought the unconscious princes in. He'd taken up a post on the edge of the clearing, staring out into the twilit forest. He hadn't moved for the past few hours.

"Why are you taking it like this?" Subaru asked, sighing in exasperation. "He took us by surprise. None of it was your fault."

"It isn't that. Subaru…Subaru, I…I saw _him_ ," Kamui said, not looking at Subaru as he spoke.

"What…what do you mean?" Subaru asked, feeling an icy pool of dread well up in his stomach. He thought he already knew…but for some reason, he wanted to stave off the certainty a little longer.

"Fuuma. I _saw_ him. It was only a moment…barely there…but I _know_ what I saw. It must mean…the Sakurazukamori hasn't completely consumed him. _He's_ still alive in there somewhere."

Subaru just shook his head. "No, Kamui. I know what it's like…to pray desperately for that to be true…but he's gone. He's already been devoured. The Sakurazukamori keeps what it takes."

"Subaru, I _saw_ him. I _heard_ his _voice!_ " Kamui insisted, suddenly leaping to his feet and turning to his brother, seizing his shoulders. "You _have_ to believe me."

It wasn't anything visible, but Subaru's grief seemed to double in that one moment. Cajolingly, he placed his own hands over Kamui's. "Brother… _why_ is this so important?"

"Because we don't have to lose them! It might mean…that Seishiro still exists… _somewhere_ in the Sakurazukamori."

At that, Subaru's face went blank. "Even if that _were_ true, what business is that of mine?"

"You…you _love_ him," Kamui said, his emotional walls completely shattered by the brief glimpse of his love. "You never really _believed_ he was gone beyond all hope…did you?"

"Even if the real Prince Seishiro Reed still exists within the Sakurazukamori…I've never known him. How can I love someone I've never known? I was always the prey of the Sakurazukamori. Perhaps…it is our destiny to destroy one another," he mused coldly, blocking out any other emotions that might have been summoned up.

"You don't mean that," Kamui whispered, actual tears gathering in his eyes. "You _can't_."

"But I _must_ ," the Shiro lord said harshly. "Even if they are still alive…the only way to force the Sakurazukamori to release its hold is to kill them."

"No. There _must_ be another way."

"There isn't."

"What about your child? _Souma's_ child?" Kamui asked, throwing out his last appeal. "What will happen to it if you kill Seishiro…and become the Sakurazukamori?"

"Perhaps it would be better…if I didn't suffer this child to exist. Its mother is dead…and its father may as well be dead."

"Then…who takes over leadership of the clan after you're gone?" the older Shiro asked, not quite believing his baby brother was saying such things.

"You, of course. The world will finally be put to rights under Queen Yuui. Our enemies will be defeated, we'll be at peace with the humans, and the true heir to the Shiro clan will take his rightful place among the queen's circle of vassals."

Without waiting for Kamui's response, Subaru turned and headed off into the forest. No matter how much conviction he presented to the rest of the world, and even himself, to a degree…his brother's revelation had shocked him to the core. He'd only just managed to convince himself he might _actually_ be able to kill Seishiro…and now this.

Whether or not Subaru had waited, Kamui wouldn't have had a response for him anyway. He was just too shocked by the younger faerie's behavior. Admittedly, Subaru had undergone something of a personality shift ever since Seishiro's betrayal, but nothing this extreme.

Even if there _were_ a way to rescue the Sakurazukamori's victims…would his brother ever _truly_ recover from the betrayal? Would he ever regain the things he'd lost the day Seishiro declared he had never loved him?

XxX

Even though Subaru's healing skills had done the job almost instantly, it was only after several days had passed that Fai declared Kurogane well enough to go outside. It had nothing to do with Kurogane himself; it was really just Fai needing to gather up the nerve to say what he needed to say to him. It would have happened sooner, except he seemed to be getting sick. Fai found himself throwing up most mornings. It wasn't particularly debilitating. He would always feel much better afterward and it wouldn't affect him for the rest of the day - just in the mornings. Perhaps it was the stress of carrying around all of his secrets with him that was causing this to happen. Maybe saying what he had to say would help him get better - both physically _and_ mentally.

On their first day out, the pair decided to go for a walk. Fai had been hoping to go much farther than what they ended up managing, but he'd suddenly found himself exhausted. Worried, Kurogane had insisted they stop to rest in the shade of a large tree for a while. Not really feeling the need to speak, the lovers had just cuddled against the tree trunk for a good while. The cuddling had, of course, eventually lapsed into kissing…and that had progressed even further. When Fai suddenly managed to pull his thoughts back together, he found himself straddling Kurogane's hips with both their tunics cast off to the side. Kurogane was only just starting to work on the rest of the clothing.

"Wait," Fai said, gently halting Kurogane's fevered movements by resting his hands on top of his. "Kuro-sama…before we _ever_ …make love again…I think there are a few things you need to hear."

Kurogane's expression immediately went serious at this. "This is what you wanted to talk to me about that day…isn't it?"

Fai nodded.

"All right. What is it?"

Swallowing hard, Fai shifted his gaze slightly downward, terrified of what he might see in Kurogane's eyes. "Kuro-koi, I…I had sex with Seishiro."

As the silence began to stretch, Fai was just starting to think it might destroy him when Kurogane finally spoke.

"What do you mean? In one of his illusions?"

"That – that's just it. I don't know. It…felt like it was really happening…but then I woke up. I don't know. I just _don't know_ ," he said, shaking his head back and forth. The small panic attack was halted when Kurogane gently lifted his face up to look him directly in the eyes.

"What happened?"

"When I was trapped in the nightmare…he took me…so many times…and our skin glowed. I was so confused. Only…this last time…he said it was just the nightmare…but that I'd never have peace…or get back what he took from me two years ago…unless I broke the power he has over me…unless I consented to lying with him in order to learn the truth. I– I couldn't help it, Kuro-rin. I _had_ to know…so we had sex. I agreed; he…he didn't force me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I-"

Before Fai could get out anymore, Kurogane leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to his lips.

"It's okay," he said when they finally separated for air. "I understand."

"But…I was unfaithful to you. It's happened…so many times."

"None of which really happened, " Kurogane reassured him. "Not even that last one. You did what you felt you had to do."

"And…you're not angry?" Fai asked, sounding hopeful for the first time.

"I'm jealous," Kurogane finally admitted after another long silence. "I tried to deny it for a long time, but Seishiro was right. I'm jealous that he knew you first…that _he_ has that knowledge of you at all…and I hate that he lords it over you like he does, but I'm not angry…not at you. None of it was ever your fault."

As tears welled up in his eyes, Fai allowed his head to collapse against Kurogane's chest in relief. "I– I was…so scared…y- you wouldn't want me anymore. I thought _this_ time…might just be one time too many."

"That could never happen…as far as _he's_ concerned, anyway," the ninja prince said with a wry grin and a slight quirk of his eyebrows, "because I'm always going to take some of the blame for what happened to you on your sixteenth birthday."

"But you-"

"No," Kurogane interrupted, silencing him by placing two fingers against his lips. "He warned me something would happen to you…if I didn't claim you for myself. I let the moment pass…and _he_ took you instead."

"But you _did_ claim me" Fai said softly, nuzzling a little closer to his lover. "You're holding me now."

"I know…but so long as we're being honest, he gave me another warning. He said if I didn't keep holding onto you…he'd drag you to hell with him. I don't know what it means, I just…"

"We're together now," Fai finished for him when he trailed off. "I guess the only thing we can do…is face his threat when it comes. We'll protect each other."

Kurogane couldn't manage to keep the odd little grin off his face as he kissed the top of Fai's head. "You got your answer then? From him?"

Fai nodded. "I think so. I think I can be yours now…all yours. Even though he…raped me."

Kurogane's breath caught in his throat at that. Slowly, he glanced down at Fai to find him looking up at him with a slightly bitter smile on his face. It was the first time he'd ever said the words out loud.

"Seishiro raped me. My own…uncle…" he repeated, his eyes glistening as he finally admitted it to himself. "I was _raped_."

"Yeah," Kurogane said, gently pulling Fai's head back down to rest against his chest, cradling him close. "That's right. You were…and I couldn't protect you. In fact, I probably did the worst thing I could have done…sleeping with you the very next night."

"What – what are you talking about?"

"It was stupid of me. It didn't help you get better. Hell, it probably made you worse. You've kept it all bottled up inside for two years."

"I don't think that's true," Fai said, lifting his hands up to run his fingers through Kurogane's hair. "About it being stupid, I mean. I wanted it, too…and I _knew_. I knew that night…that you really loved me. Nothing's ever going to destroy those memories for me. You're mine and I'm yours…even if we can't ever be married."

"Oh, we'll get married. Even if we can't find a way to break the curse, we'll train with the Hearts until we're strong enough to face Kyle in battle…and kill him. Then we'll be free."

"Still…it would be nice to have a baby, wouldn't it?" Fai mused. "A little Kuro-tan."

"We still could, you know. It wouldn't break the curse…but I'm pretty sure you've got enough power to change your body…so we could do it," Kurogane suggested tentatively.

"You…you think?" Fai whispered, yet another layer of hope added to his slowly brightening voice.

"Sure. Subaru's having Souma's child. That Akuma guy changed gender. A lot of them do it…just to have kids. We could do it, too. Only…Subaru told me it wouldn't work to break our curse…because it requires your unaltered body, but…like I said, we'll take care of that."

"Yes…killing Kyle. Do you…really think we can defeat them… _all_ of them?"

"Somehow, I get the feeling Yuuko won't be too difficult when she finally shows herself. I think she _wants_ to die. She just…can't _let_ it happen, if that makes any sense."

"Yes…yes, I think it does," Fai said, his eyes briefly going blank.

"Seishiro and Fuuma might be a little harder, though…I keep hearing them say the Sakurazukamori was sealed somehow…before that bastard was its host. Maybe we can find some way of doing it again. That way, no one else would have to sacrifice their life to it."

"That…just might work," Fai said, smiling as he tilted his head back up to plant a kiss on Kurogane's lips. Just when the thought had entered his head to get back to the hot and heavy, Kurogane pulled him back a little ways.

"You said…there were things I needed to hear. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" the warrior asked, feeling that there was still something unsaid between them. Not that something was deliberately being kept from him - more that his love just wasn't sure what to say.

For a moment, Fai seriously considered not saying anything…but he couldn't do that. He had sworn to himself that he would never lie to Kurogane again. He couldn't break that promise _now_.

"Kuro-rin, please…tell me…what happened when you went to the Dark Court to rescue me?"

Kurogane closed his eyes for a moment, uncertain if Fai was ready to hear this or not; but he ultimately came to the decision that if Fai was going to be honest with him, he needed to do the same in return.

"Doumeki and Kujaku got us down to the core, but Seishiro and Fuuma attacked us. They held them off while the girls and I went in to try and figure out how to get you out. Only…you were already there waiting for us."

"What do you mean?" Fai whispered, fearing he already knew.

"I'd seen it in my nightmares…so many times…like everything inside you that was dark had come to the surface. Only it was real this time."

"A monster?" Fai whispered, holding his gaze. He had seen it himself…many times.

Kurogane nodded, remaining silent for several moments as he stared into Fai's eyes. "We fought. I followed him into the void," he said, closing his eyes briefly. He couldn't stop the tremor that ran through his body at the memory of the absolute nothingness, but he could at least keep Fai from seeing the fear in his eyes. He didn't continue until he felt he could safely open his eyes again. "When I finally broke through to where you were, he was there…sitting on top of the coffin Yuuko had you trapped in. That was when he destroyed my arm."

"Oh, God," Fai said in a quiet, horrified voice as he traced a hand down Kurogane's regenerated left arm. "I knew it. I don't know how I know…but I knew it was me."

"I know how. I don't know when I figured it out, but I realized that he _was_ you…a part of you, at least. I couldn't destroy him. The only way to win…to save _you_ …was to accept him for what he was - the person I care more about than anything in the entire world. When I did that, he just…faded away. I broke the coffin open, pulled you out, and kissed you. You know the rest."

Fai nodded, resting his head against Kurogane's chest once more. After a while, he managed to mumble, "He's…he's still inside me, Kuro-sama…in my head."

"I know," Kurogane said softly, kissing the top of his head again. "At least…I'd suspected it. He's probably _always_ going to be there. He's part of you. It's probably not gonna be any different from accepting…what happened two years ago. It makes you who you are," he said, rubbing Fai's back in an attempt to soothe him.

"But…what if I hurt someone again? What if Subaru can't heal you fast enough next time?" Fai asked, lifting his head up to offer the older prince eyes sick with worry.

"You can't think like that. You've just gotta learn to control yourself. It's no different from when I learned to use a sword."

"But… _you_ …I hurt you. You might have _died!_ " Fai hissed, turning his gaze away from Kurogane. "If you'd died…and _I'd_ killed you…" He couldn't finish. He just couldn't. It was too awful.

"It didn't happen, though. I knew there was a chance I might get hurt, but I made my choice anyway because I didn't want to see something worse happen to you," Kurogane explained, reaching a hand forward to stroke Fai's cheek, not forcing him to look up at him, but waiting until he wanted to.

"But I…I don't _know_ what happened. I don't know…if I just slipped…or if I…really didn't recognize you and I…if _he_ took over…and I stabbed you on _purpose_. I don't _know_. Maybe I don't… _want_ to know," Fai said, still not looking up at Kurogane as tears slipped silently down his face.

"Then don't," Kurogane said firmly as he wiped each tear away. "Don't think about it. Either way, it's a matter of self-control."

"Kuro-rin…what if…I can't ever control it? What if it's just…part of my nature?"

"What do you mean?" Kurogane asked, feeling that Fai was starting to talk about something a little different.

"I saw…so many things down there…terrible things. They said…that creation will burn because of me. That I'm supposed to bring about…the end," he said, finally looking up at Kurogane, his eyes slightly red from crying.

"Who told you that?"

"Seishiro…the Darkness…I'm not sure anymore."

"Can you really believe it then? The enemy'll say anything to keep us off balance. Tell me…do you _want_ to destroy the world?"

Fai blinked, looking almost indignant for a moment. "Of – of _course_ not, but it isn't so much the world I worry about. It's _you_ …my Kuro-koi. I saw you die…so many times…saw you die…or murdered you…"

Once again, Kurogane pulled Fai down close to him, cradling him as he nuzzled his face in his hair. "Only nightmares. I had nightmares, too…these last few months. I dreamed I'd killed you…or just not been fast enough to stop your death. I couldn't sleep. Heh…and you couldn't do anything _but_ sleep," he said, giving a slightly bitter laugh.

"But you're right. That's over now. You rescued me," Fai said, leaning up to kiss Kurogane. "You fought…so hard. You almost killed yourself…learning magic. You're just…so…I think you're probably even more powerful than I am."

Kurogane chuckled. "No. I _know_ I'm not. You wouldn't kill yourself doing some of the things I've tried. I almost did."

"I didn't have to work nearly so hard for my magic, though. You're so much better than I am…and…you can probably get even better. If we work together, you won't have to worry about using your own life energy. We could be… _unstoppable_ , Kuro-rin. We…really _could_ stand up to them," Fai said slowly, the expression on his face getting a little more amazed with each passing moment.

"You're probably right about that. We do still need to be careful, though," Kurogane said, watching his lover's face with a slightly leery expression. "I think the desire to be stronger is what draws _him_ out."

Fai's face went cold all in an instant and he clung to Kurogane just a little tighter. "Yeah, you're…you're right."

"Kujaku said…you might be a dark faerie now."

Kurogane felt Fai stiffen in his arms at that, but it wasn't too long after that he just went slack. "He's…probably right. These…these powers I have…they can't be anything good. Blood…I control _blood_." His voice had dropped nearly to a whisper by this point. "Have…have I become the thing I hate most?"

"No," Kurogane reassured him, leaning a little further down to kiss his shoulder. "It's not a bad thing. He said dark magic isn't inherently evil. A lot of its wielders just turn out that way because the magic ends up controlling them. It doesn't have to be that way, though. You're stronger than that…better. We'll train together…and we'll beat these things together. We'll be the strongest pair of fighters this world's ever seen."

After a while, Fai nodded, though his body trembled slightly. "I…I trust you…Kuro-koi. I know we'll…work through it together. Maybe we can…start over?" he suggested tentatively.

"What do you mean?" Kurogane asked, though he understood the look in Fai's eyes quite well.

"You said you regretted our first time…the timing of it, at least, and…when I was…with Seishiro, he said I could come to you as a virgin again. Let's…let's try again. I feel like…I can really come to you as an equal this time. I want us to start things off right this time," Fai said, holding Kurogane's gaze the entire time.

Kurogane took several moments to think about the request. He knew it didn't _really_ work like that, and he was fairly certain Fai knew it, too, but it was still a nice idea - that they could wash the slate clean of the years of pain, frustration, and secrets…that they could start fresh…like they were children in the first bloom of their love. Maybe they _could_ do it - come to each other anew and rebuild their broken love…create something just as beautiful. Most of all, Kurogane found he was proud of Fai for saying the words. He was proud his lover could finally say he was no longer a child and that his fate was in his own hands. His answer was to lean in and capture Fai's lips with his own, pulling the younger man down on top of him.

They took things very slow, taking every moment to relearn the tiny details and secrets of each other's bodies. Kurogane helped Fai to slip out of his pants, teasing him with a kiss as he went down. Fai repaid him in kind when he helped him remove his own pants, caressing his inner thighs and the skin just above his pelvis with his lips. He was already hard by the time Fai straddled his hips again. They kissed, touched, licked, caressed, fondled, and sucked for what felt like hours in Celes' silent afternoon heat.

When Kurogane finally felt that he couldn't handle any more of the slow, tortuous foreplay, he tried to grasp Fai's wrists, but had a bit of trouble holding onto him, as they were both already slick with sweat.

"How…how are we going to-" he started to ask, but Fai interrupted him with a brief kiss to the lips. Then he took Kurogane's right hand in his and began to suck on the first two fingers.

Briefly, Kurogane felt magic tingling between the two of them. When Fai released his digits, he found they were covered in more than just saliva. Fai had somehow used his powers to create a lubricant. Grinning hungrily, the ninja pulled his lover in close again and easily slipped the two fingers inside him. The delighted gasp that passed the blond's lips nearly made him come on the spot. He managed to hold on, however, and decided to pay Fai back for his initial round of teasing with a few gentle thrusts, always falling just short of the pleasure point. He knew _exactly_ where it was. When he finally withdrew, he gave Fai yet another grin, thinking he knew what was coming next.

Indeed, Fai didn't disappoint him. He writhed sinuously down his body, eventually coming to rest with his lips just barely wrapped around the tip of his manhood, slowly, very slowly, taking the whole length into his mouth and down his throat a little ways. The next moment, Kurogane threw his head back against the tree roots, moaning in pleasure and desire as magic spilled from Fai and into him, igniting the point of contact with sensation. He couldn't quite help digging his fingers into Fai's shoulders. He didn't need to look to know he was ready when Fai finally pulled away from him. He lost no time in positioning himself at Kurogane's hips once again.

Allowing just the tip of him to enter, Fai held his gaze for several long moments, and he just stared right back, each of them saying without words how wonderful this moment was. After a while, Kurogane leaned up to kiss Fai. The younger man met him halfway and, as they kissed, he slowly let his body slide down. Clinging tightly to each other, they both moaned at the pleasurable sensations. Once they'd taken the time to sufficiently enjoy the feeling of being so intimately joined once again, Fai slowly began to move, controlling the pace of their lovemaking.

It was the exact same position they'd used in Koryo, but it couldn't have been more different. Instead of dominating, Fai was simply taking the lead, even though he was receiving rather than giving. He didn't bounce up and down this time. He moved deliberately, rhythmically, drawing out every second. After several moments of writhing and panting helplessly on the bare earth, it entered Kurogane's mind he ought to return the favor. Slipping a hand between them, he gave Fai several good strokes.

The sudden stimulation caused Fai to cry out and fall forward onto the ninja's body. They continued their motions, but Fai couldn't help giggling a little through his groans of pleasure.

"What– what a sneaky little puppy you are," he said, kissing his nose.

It was such a little thing. It hardly should've affected him, but the older prince suddenly felt tears pricking at his eyes. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it until this moment.

"You…haven't called me a puppy in months."

"Are you-" Fai started to ask, taking notice of his newly bloodshot eyes.

"Shut up," Kurogane said gently, stopping Fai's mouth with a very deep kiss as they continued to move together on the warm, moist earth. They maintained their closeness, reveling in the heat as Fai's skin began to glow. The glow, however, served to mask a different heat.

The lovers became lost in the sensations as their movements became more frenzied. They could both feel that the moment of climax was near and they pushed for it with all their strength, needing to reach that height together.

When it finally came, they both screamed, not just in ecstasy, but pain, as something fierce blazed between them. Fai clawed at the earth and Kurogane dug his fingers into Fai's hips as they released their orgasm and sudden pain into the world. When they'd finally spent their passion, Fai collapsed on top of Kurogane, breathing hard.

"Dear God and Goddess," he whispered, glancing at Kurogane's exhausted face as they panted together. "What _was_ that?"

"I think I know," he replied, his smile pained, though he was still trembling from the aftershocks of what was quite possibly the best orgasm he'd ever experienced.

Helping Fai to move, Kurogane managed to get the two of them onto their sides. They glanced down between their bodies to find that their twin pendants had somehow become joined in the middle of things. The white, hot glow of their magic was only just beginning to fade, along with the glow of Fai's skin. The pain they'd felt at their climax had come from twin scars now seared into their chests from where the pendants had been pressed between them.

"Oh, that…that's different," Fai murmured, reaching a hand down to examine the burn on Kurogane's chest. "Are you all right?"

"Stings a little. I kinda like it, though," he said, tracing Fai's scar, which was already showing signs of healing. "I want to keep it."

"I _might_ be able to keep mine. Seishiro kept his eye from growing back, after all," Fai said, starting to focus his magic on his burn scar, hoping to halt the healing process.

"We probably shouldn't wear these during sex anymore, though," Kurogane commented as he glanced around, seeing that the power they'd raised had ruffled up the surrounding forest a little.

"And if we do, we could at least erect a barrier," Fai said absently. "It might be a good way to practice raising magic in a less stressful situation."

"Probably wouldn't object to doing it more often," Kurogane said with a chuckle, ruffling Fai's hair when he finally looked back up at him.

"Well, it never happened like that before. The Hearts weren't awake yet," he said, leaning in for another kiss. When they finally separated for air, he gave the ninja a wonderfully contented smile. "I think we need a bath, Kuro-rin. We're all covered in dirt and…other things. People will be asking questions."

"Yeah…because what's going on between us is such a big mystery," Kurogane said, giving Fai's shoulder a light punch as he sat up. Fai slid back a little ways, allowing Kurogane to gently slip out of him.

"You feeling okay?" Kurogane asked, noticing Fai wince slightly when he stood.

"Just a bit stretched is all…and I still feel tired," he said, the last a little more to himself than Kurogane, "but I think I can get to the river just fine." Then he offered Kurogane a hand up. Rather than refuse, as he normally would, Kurogane took the offered hand and allowed Fai to help him up.

Once they'd gathered their discarded clothing, they headed off to the river, hand in hand. Fai couldn't help but smile in the comfortable silence that fell between them. For the first time in a long while, he felt truly hopeful, no strings attached. Kurogane had managed to make so many of his fears seem silly. He felt stronger than ever; they were both becoming stronger all the time.

Perhaps there really _was_ a future for them.


	39. Dreaming of True Love

The change in the two princes was apparent immediately. They laughed and talked with their companions; they played with Kohaku, though everyone knew it caused them pain as well as joy. Cloistered in the forest as they were, it almost felt as if they were at peace.

Even so, they kept in contact with the disparate forces of Faerie and the Nihon resistance. War councils were held almost daily to keep everyone informed. Since Sakura's death, Touya had temporarily taken the role of regent and had sent what troops were still able to assist in Piffle. The news from the siege was looking better all the time. The Oni lines were being pushed further back all the time and Ichiro, Rasetsu, and Kusanagi were all fairly confident the line would break and fall back very soon. The Dark Court itself had been silent and no one was really sure why. They all remembered that Kyle had driven the half-fey from Shirasagi and that Seishiro had been planning to rally them, but they had seen nothing of that. Shirasagi's half-fey seemed to have simply vanished.

Added to the worry over their hidden enemy was the fact that the weeks were fairly flying by and Amaterasu was due to give birth soon. At the start, Kurogane had been the most vehement about his mother not keeping the baby, but the more time he spent with Kohaku, the less he felt even he could actually kill a child. So they waited in concerned silence as the empress' time drew all the nearer.

All the while, Kurogane and Fai trained in secret. They grew stronger and more adept in the use of the two Hearts as a single power. They were becoming a force to be reckoned with, confident they would soon be on equal footing with the worst of their enemies. The only trouble was that Fai's illness seemed to be getting worse. The stronger they got, the harder he would crash by the end of their training sessions. He was able to keep the throwing up a secret from the others, but Kurogane eventually caught him at it, as he always did.

"How long has this been going on?" Fai heard the ninja's voice somewhere from behind him as a warm hand came to rest on his shoulder. He was hanging his head out the window of their room, still trembling after the rather violent bout of illness.

"About a month now," Fai answered as Kurogane helped him back inside. "I thought you were still asleep."

"No. You jostled me a little when you bolted for the window," he explained as he helped Fai back to their bed. "Bit surprised you've kept it secret 'til now, though…if it's been happening for a month."

"Only a few times a week," Fai said as they sat down together, cuddling close while Kurogane soothingly rubbed his back.

"Think maybe your exhaustion has something to do with _this?_ " the older prince asked sharply. "I thought we weren't doing this anymore."

"I was hoping it would go away. I don't know _what's_ wrong. It's not like I _feel_ sick all the time."

"I take it you haven't told anyone about this?"

"No. What would I say? What can anyone do? For all I know, I…I'm dying."

Fai's grim prophesying was suddenly interrupted by the burbling sweetness of Kohaku's morning song. The curtains of Yuui and Tomoyo's bed parted to reveal a smiling, tearful Yuui and Tomoyo picking up the babbling two-month-old.

"Fai…you're not sick, and you're not dying," she said as she rose from the bed and walked over to them, kneeling in front of Fai. "You're going to have a baby."

For a long moment, the two princes stared at the young queen in shocked silence. When Fai managed to gather at least some of his wits, all he could manage to get out was, "What?"

"It…it's a long story," Yuui began, placing her hands on her brother's knees. "Kakei-san connected me with a sorceress from another world. In exchange for my ability to bear children, she gave me a potion that would allow a child to be created in your body."

"You…you gave that up?" Fai murmured, still not quite comprehending as he gazed into his older sister's tear-filled eyes.

"Don't worry about it. Kohaku's all I need. With this…you and Kurogane will have a child, and when it's born, the curse will be broken."

"Back in Piffle…" Kurogane started quietly. Yuui's only response was to nod. "Then…why didn't you tell us?"

"What if I'd told you…and the potion had failed? Would you have survived…knowing how close you'd come…really?" she asked, the look in her eyes almost pleading. Kurogane thought about it a moment, finally nodding his acceptance. If for nothing else than Fai's sake, he could forgive her the deception.

"I'm…pregnant?" Fai whispered, pressing his fingers gently against his stomach as he struggled to integrate the miracle into his reality.

"Yeah," Kurogane said, placing a hand next to Fai's on his stomach. Suddenly becoming aware of his lover's presence again, Fai turned in Kurogane's arms to look him in the eyes. When their gazes met, the joy of the moment washed over them and their lips met. Yet again, after so much despair, it seemed there might be hope.

"Oh…oh, Goddess, Kurogane…" Fai said, resting his face against Kurogane's neck when they finally separated. "I'm going to have your child…at last…at last."

When Kohaku began to fuss, Tomoyo brought her over to join the smiling group. Yuui took her in her arms and slipped aside the neckline of her nightgown, offering her daughter her breast. The little girl latched on and eagerly began to nurse. Kurogane and Fai couldn't help but watch the scene, both their hearts filled with awe at the realization that such a moment was now within their reach. As Kohaku fed, Yuui began to sing - a song from long ago, one of Himawari's.

_Under the snow,_

_Beneath the frozen stream,_

_There is life._

_You have to know_

_When nature sleeps she dreams._

_There is life._

_And the colder the winter,_

_The warmer the spring._

_The deeper the sorrow,_

_The more our hearts sing._

_Even when you can't see it,_

_Inside everything_

_There is life._

Remembering the song from their childhood - their mother - Fai began to sing with her, reaching out a hand to stroke Kohaku's hair as his thoughts swirled around the new life growing inside his own body.

_After the rain,_

_The sun will reappear._

_There is life._

_After the pain,_

_The joy will still be here._

_There is life._

_For it's out of the darkness_

_That we learn to see,_

_And out of the silence_

_That songs come to be,_

_And all that we dream of_

_Awaits patiently._

_There is life._

_There is life._

XxX

The news about the baby didn't make training any easier. Kurogane insisted they stop anytime Fai showed the slightest sign of fatigue. It annoyed Fai a little, but it was almost better than being at home, where everyone fussed over him even more endlessly than they had before. An impromptu party had broken out when the four royals had brought the news to the rest of the group. In the midst of all the bad in the world, something truly wonderful had finally happened. It didn't take long for the news to spread to their allies, either. Kyle's curse would be broken. The enemy's hold was slipping.

Watanuki was talking about putting Fai on a more rounded diet when the morning sickness subsided, which Yuui had assured him would happen after the first few months. Fai had no objections to the plan, and he was relieved to know that the vomiting would pass before too long. What really got on his nerves was how the others kept subtly trying to suggest that he stop training with Kurogane. Now that he was pregnant, his drive to train was stronger than ever. He _had_ to make this world a safe place for Kurogane's child. He had to purge it of the darkness that had caused them both so much pain. That evil would not touch their baby.

Today's training session, however, had come to something of a standstill.

"Do you…really think we can do it?" Fai asked.

"I think we _have_ to do it. _I'm_ the one who has to kill Yuuko. You can't do it because of your fey blood. I'm the only one who can, but without your Heart…I won't be strong enough to do it."

"So you think…that by joining the Hearts with your sword…I'll be able to help you without physically helping you?"

"That's exactly what I think."

"What if it doesn't work like that?"

Kurogane gave him a grin that could only be described as roguish as he held Ginryuu out in front of him. "We won't know unless we try it."

Fai looked torn for several moments. He hated the thought of Kurogane going into battle against Yuuko and Seishiro without him by his side, but he also knew he was right. The ninja prince was the only one who stood any chance of defeating Clow's geis and killing Yuuko. For everyone's sake…this had to be so. Finally, Fai nodded and removed the sapphire moon pendant from the chain around his neck. Rarely had he ever been separated from it. Apart from Yuui, the pendant was one of his earliest memories. It was the piece of Kurogane that he'd unknowingly carried with him his entire life. Now all he could do was return it to him and hope it would protect him in the battle to come.

When Fai held out his hand with the pendant in it, Kurogane extended his other hand, in which he clutched the ruby sun charm. They clicked the twin pendants together and Kurogane took the single charm and laid it on the blade of his sword, just beneath the hilt. Fai rested a hand on top of the pendant and Kurogane laid his own hand on top of his. Then, as one, they channeled their power through the charm and into the blade, fusing them into one. The last thing Fai added to the working was a prayer for Kurogane's safety. When they pulled their hands away, the pendant was set perfectly into the metal of the blade…as if it had always been there.

Once Kurogane had sheathed the katana, Fai wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close to whisper to him, "Carry it with you…my heart."

 _I'll keep your heart with me,_ he gave the words directly to Fai's mind.

 _I'll carry it in my heart,_ Fai returned. He wasn't sure how long they stood together like that before another voice entered his thoughts.

 _Fai, can you hear me?_ Yuui asked.

_Yes._

_You and Kurogane need to come home right now._

_Why? What's wrong?_

_Ransho-san contacted us. Amaterasu-sama has gone into labour._

XxX

Kurogane vaguely remembered Tomoyo's birth. He very clearly remembered the moment he'd promised himself he would protect her, but everything else was hazy. He remembered the sound of screaming - his mother screaming. It was much the same now.

The empress' screams were already echoing down the corridor as the group approached the room where Amaterasu was laboring. Rikuo was keeping watch outside the door.

"Ransho, Yukito, and Kakei are with her now. It shouldn't be too much longer," he told them, his expression unreadable.

"Tomoyo? Kurogane? Do you want to go in?" Yuui asked.

Kurogane nodded. Fai gave his hand a quick squeeze before letting go. Tomoyo's hand soon replaced it and they headed in together.

_Is…is Kaa-san going to die?_

_Of course not, Kurogane-sama. The empress is strong._

There was no Kusanagi to tell him that today. There was no comfort to be had. That was plain to see in the blood-soaked sheets Amaterasu was splayed out on. Kakei and Yukito were working feverishly to deliver the child and Ransho and Chitose were standing at a safe distance, waiting to offer help.

Words were being spoken, but Kurogane didn't really register any of them in his head as he and Tomoyo slowly approached their mother. The empress didn't even notice them until Kurogane laid a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open and she gave them a wry smile. It was painful to see her so helpless.

"It…it's not…his fault," she said as she took her son's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. The prince growled in frustration. He wasn't so much concerned with assigning blame. Right now, all of his concern was focused on her. Again, it struck him how very small she seemed. She had always been such a commanding woman, her presence filling a space. She'd been so strong; _nothing_ could touch her. When he was a child, she'd seemed to be the height of the world, but now he was grown…and his mother was a mortal woman like any other.

Amaterasu leaned her head back and opened her mouth, but she only had the strength for a small, strangled cry. Her eyes bulged and her body gave one last torrent of blood. The cries of the Nihon empress' last child soon filled the air.

The empress was still breathing, but the light had already gone from her eyes. Someone called for Subaru, but when he approached, Amaterasu just shook her head.

"Kaa-san…stay with us, Kaa-san," Tomoyo begged softly as she and Kurogane knelt beside her. Amaterasu didn't acknowledge the plea. She just held her son's gaze, still squeezing his hand tightly.

"You're ready," she said firmly. Then she laid her head back, closed her eyes, and exhaled. She did not inhale again.

_You can't do this. You can't leave me like this. I'm_ _**not** _ _ready! How can I do this on my own?_

"Kurogane-sama?" Yukito's gentle voice suddenly broke in on his fevered thoughts. He held a yowling bundle in his arms. "You have a little brother."

Kurogane remained silent when Yukito passed the baby to him. He didn't even have to think about it when forming his arms into a cradle for the little one. It had started to come naturally…even though it was because of this child that his mother-

"He wants his mother," Tomoyo said sadly as she reached a hand in to stroke the baby boy's cheek in an effort to sooth him.

"Well…he can't have her. He can _never_ have her," the bereft prince said bitterly. Briefly, it occurred to him that he could easily crush the baby in his arms, but at the same time, he knew he never could…not now that he had known Kohaku, and that Fai was carrying his child. Part of him still wanted to be the scared, angry, sad little boy who had just lost his mother…to be able to ask _why_ …but he already knew the answer. He had seen the truth in his mother's eyes as she lay dying. Amaterasu could have survived with help. She'd died because she was ready to. He would have to live with that.

"I think…wherever she is…she's happy. She's with her Saya…and our father. They're all together now," Tomoyo said. Kurogane might have responded had Fai's voice not suddenly sounded rather loudly in the chamber.

"Hail, Kurogane, Emperor of Nihon."

Kurogane started upon hearing the words, looking up to see that their group had entered the room, and all present were now kneeling before him. That was when the enormity of the situation really descended on him. With his mother dead…he was emperor. Everything he'd ever wanted was in his grasp: his birthright, Fai as his mate, a child of theirs…an heir…all of it - to be had upon payment of his mother's life.

The ninja shook his head in an attempt to banish the thought, reaching a hand down to help Fai to his feet.

"And hail to Fai, emperor's consort and partner," he said, kissing his lover's forehead in the traditional way.

"He'll need to be fed," Yuui reminded her brothers, her decision to rise letting the others know it was safe to stand. "I can do that," she said, passing her own child to Tomoyo.

"You can…nurse two kids?" Kurogane asked uncertainly. Throughout all of this, the baby hadn't stopped crying.

"Of course," Yuui said, reaching out her arms for the little boy. As Kurogane slowly handed him over, she asked, "What's his name?"

"Ryuou," Yukito answered, saving Kurogane from an awkward moment. "That was the name she gave us when the labor began.

"Hello," Yuui cooed to the child as she lowered the neckline of her blouse and offered him her breast, which he latched onto immediately, sucking greedily. "Hello, Ryu-kun."

"So what are you going to do with it?" Kujaku asked, breaking in on the moment in his usual intrusive fashion. "It is _Kyle's_ child, after all…and he presents a legitimate challenge to the Nihon throne."

"Do you _see_ how old he is, Kujaku-san?" Yuui asked somewhat sourly.

"Kyle's the one who should pay for his crimes, not this kid. _Kyle_ should be the one to answer for her life," Kurogane said firmly, never taking his eyes off Ryuou. An enemy's child he may have been, but he was still his baby brother and he would protect him, just as he protected Tomoyo.

"No. You're wrong," a new voice suddenly entered their midst. As one, their eyes shot to the door, only to behold Koryu standing there, looking utterly ravaged.

Instantly, weapons were drawn and spells were readied. Kurogane and Fai moved to stand in front of Yuui and Tomoyo, with Kurogane slightly in front of Fai, wielding Ginryuu.

"How did you get in here?" Kurogane demanded. "Did that bastard send you to collect his property?"

"It's me," the dark faerie murmured. He hadn't even acknowledged the defense mounted against him. He only stared at Amaterasu's broken body. " _I'm_ the one who should answer for her life."

"What do you mean?" Kujaku asked.

"Who cares what he means? How did he get through the barrier?" Sai hissed, wielding her ice blade.

"No," Yuui said quietly as she studied Koryu, not sure how, but seeing something changed in him from their last encounter. "What do you mean?"

"That boy…Ryuou…is _my_ son…not Kyle's," he said slowly as he turned to look at the baby in Yuui's arms.

For what felt like hours, rather than the mere minutes that passed, the only sound to be heard in the room was Ryuou feeding, completely oblivious to everything around him. Tomoyo was the one to finally ask, "How?"

"Kyle's infertile," Koryu answered bluntly, still not really looking at any of them. "He had no hope of getting a child on Amaterasu, so he asked me to try. When she conceived, he made me swear to keep the secret…never to claim the child as mine."

"And you here break that oath?" Kakei asked gravely.

"What honor have I left in the eyes of my queen?" he asked, looking directly at Yuui and making everyone realize that something entirely different from what they'd expected was occurring here. "Besides…what weight does such an oath hold? I had no care when I made it. I didn't think the fact I was a father would bother me very much, but I started to feel differently as the months passed. I started to think that…maybe I _wanted_ it to know me…when the time came. I don't know what it was, but something started to change."

"You had doubts about your loyalty to the Dark Court," Kujaku clarified. "If you had been truly loyal to Yuuko, Yuui never would have been able to control you with the covenant. It only extends to those who count themselves as her subjects. That's how you got through today…isn't it."

Koryu nodded. "Some of the Earth Guard challenged me, but when I was able to pass through the barrier, it proved to them I wasn't their enemy. I had made my decision as to whom to give my service to."

"So where have you been since that last encounter…if you were wavering even then? It's been nearly two months since that day," Yuui noted.

"Yuuko banished me to the East…to the ruins that lie beyond this country. I went to her to claim my brother's blood tithe. She granted it to me…but my own tithe was to be that I leave this land…doomed to wander in the ruined land beyond the ocean until I understood what it was that I truly wanted. I walked alone for weeks," he recounted, shuddering at the memory. "Nothing lives in that barren place. It's been like that for thousands of years…and is likely to remain so…punishment for the wars of men. Nothing living can thrive there. I nearly went mad with the emptiness of it. It's…what I imagine the void to be like," he said, glancing guiltily at Kujaku.

"So you…could have saved her life?" Kurogane asked, his quiet tone masking what most of the others thought must be a potent rage.

"Maybe…if I'd figured it out sooner. Just wanting to know my son wasn't enough. I had to decide where my allegiances lay…and I'd never known anything but Yuuko and the Dark Court. It wasn't an easy decision…but if you want my head, I certainly wouldn't blame you. Only…allow me one thing first," Koryu said, going to kneel before Yuui. The other faeries all tensed up, but Yuui allowed the approach. Maneuvering Ryuou into one arm, she offered the Satani lord her hand and he took it.

"Yuui Fluorite Reed, Queen of all Faerie, I pledge my loyalty to you unto my dying breath. I am yours to command, My Queen, and the Satani clan, along with the Oni, will rejoin Faerie, making the ring whole and unbroken once again."

"Yuui-sama? Are you sure you can trust him?" Kamui asked quietly. "He's a Satani. _They_ were the ones who betrayed Faerie before."

"That was a long time ago…and that wasn't him. He wasn't even born. Don't forget that Subaru-san is a Satani, too," she pointed out, chastising the captain without seeming to do so. Then she turned her attention back to Koryu. "As for you, Lord of the Oni, you should know that nothing broken can ever be made unbroken again. The fact will always remain that it was once broken. Something broken _can_ be made new again, though," she said, briefly glancing at her two brothers. Then she leaned down and kissed the top of Koryu's head. "I accept your oath. You _will_ , however, still have to answer to my wife and her brother for the life that has been lost," she added as she helped him to his feet.

Kurogane was the one to approach him and he offered no resistance as the young warrior sized him up. After several minutes, Kurogane delivered a crushing blow to the faerie lord's face. Koryu rolled with the punch, stumbling back several feet. Kujaku ended up catching him as he reeled.

"That's enough. Kyle is still the one who should pay," Kurogane announced before turning and heading out. Fai gave the dark faerie an approving smile before following after his fiancé.

"It's all right," Tomoyo reassured the bewildered faerie. "It means he likes you."

"Does…does this mean that the war's over?" Yukito asked uncertainly. "If the Dark Court's got no one left to fight for them-"

"It is _not_ over," Kakei said calmly. "Those who remain will not give up so easily."

"Koryu?" Hisui broke in hesitantly. "What you said before…about control of the blood tithe…does that mean…you can wake him?"

"Yes," Koryu said. "We can go to him anytime."

"Yuui-sama" Hisui started to ask, hardly daring to hope, "can we?"

"Wait," Yukito interrupted. "If you're going to return to Faerie, there's something you and Fai-kun need to see first. Sakura left a message for you."

XxX

When Yukito gave them the wedding ring Sakura had left behind, the twins had retreated to the room their three guardians had originally brought them to upon their return to Valeria: their room…the place that had been set aside for them in the castle. Neither of them knew how to retrieve whatever words she'd left for them, but they were confident of figuring it out.

As far as royal jewelry went, the ring was simple. A plain silver band capped by a small unfaceted emerald. Simple, but heavy, nonetheless - they both knew it. Like the rings they'd exchanged with the Youou siblings, like the Hearts now bound into Kurogane's sword, this simple piece of jewelry carried the weight of two people's shared experiences, the depth of their feelings for each other.

"What was she like?" Fai asked his sister as the two of them sat on the bed together, contemplating the ring.

"Where do you start?" Yuui mused, shrugging hopelessly. "She was beautiful and strong. They both were. They…waited so long to have us, and when they finally did, they couldn't keep us. I don't even want to think what it would be like for Kohaku to be raised as someone else's child."

"And we thought they'd abandoned us," Fai said bitterly.

"They never blamed us for it. They were both so kind. They waited until I was ready to be their daughter…even though it hurt them. They deserved us…they were nothing _but_ deserving…and _this_ was their reward," Yuui said quietly, her fists tightly clenching the coverlet they sat on.

"And yet…if it _hadn't_ happened the way it did… _you_ might have married Kurogane…and Kohaku would never have been born. We can't change what happened…and I don't think we really _want_ to…but we _can_ at least make them proud of us…and see that they can rest in peace," Fai said, resting a finger against the cool metal of the wedding band.

Seeing the gesture, Yuui copied it, thinking she might know what to do now. The moment both their flesh was in contact with the ring, the metal grew hot and the emerald started to glow. Within moments, a small image of Sakura's face appeared between them, smiling warmly.

"Hello, Yuui. Hello, Fai," the image said, sounding somewhat distant. "I'm sorry it had to be like this. I really am, but I wanted you to know it wasn't your fault. Syaoran and I were happy to do the things we did…for you. We were happy you were born…and happy you survived. We will always be proud of you. Yuui, Kohaku is beautiful. I know you'll be a good mother…and a great queen. You're so strong already. Fai…my son…my baby…I'm sorry we never had a chance to really meet…but I know you must be a wonderful young man…because of how they all miss you…how lost Kurogane-kun is without you…how much he loves you. I pray you'll be happy together…and that you'll rule Nihon and Valeria in peace. All I can say to the two of you now is…take care of each other. Protect your families and your people…whoever you deem them to be. I love you. We both do. We'll _always_ love you. Don't give up."

Then, just like that, she was gone. For a long while, the twins just sat, staring at the space where their mother had been. Then they slowly turned to face each other, blue eyes brimming with tears. Wordlessly, they fell into a comforting embrace, holding each other close as they did when they were children and still shared the same bed. They remained like that until they had no more silent tears to cry.

XxX

For everything the group had gone through in the past months, Faerie seemed remarkably untouched by events in the human world. When they emerged from Spirit Lake, the sithen appeared the same as it always had, undisturbed by the plots to take it over.

"It hasn't been this peaceful the whole time," Kakei said in response to Yuui commenting on this. "Faerie is linked to its sovereign. I may have been your stand-in these months, but you are no less the sovereign. The land has reflected your emotions. Sadness, anger, and fear in the beginning. Only recently have we been so at peace as this. Before the news even reached me, Faerie itself told me you were happy. The land hasn't been this relieved in many years," he explained as he led the group through the corridors.

"What do you mean?" Yuui asked.

"Clow was rarely ever at peace…especially after the Last War. I think the only moment he experienced true happiness in that time was when Yuuko ended his life for him. Faerie mirrored that strain. You'll probably notice the difference in the days to come."

It didn't take them long to reach Hisui's quarters. Kokuyo was lying just as she'd left him, no different from the day Yuuko had struck him down.

"What do we have to do?" Hisui asked Koryu.

"I think it's best if you do it," he said, handing Ryuou to Tomoyo. He and the baby still weren't quite used to each other, but Yuui insisted that he at least try holding him whenever she wasn't feeding him.

"How?"

"I…I have to kiss you. It's how the tithe is transferred," the young lord said awkwardly. Hisui didn't think twice about it. She stepped forward, grabbed him by the shoulders, and planted her lips on his. Koryu nearly stepped back in shock, but he gathered his wits soon enough and passed the wind master the magic that had been humming in his body the past weeks.

Hisui knew it the moment the spell had passed into her. The powerful command filled her head and her skin prickled with the force of it. She almost thought she could understand why Koryu had taken so long to decide…what with all _this_ running through his head. Anxious to be rid of it, she quickly approached her lover, dropped to her knees beside the bed, and pressed her lips to his. With every ounce of power in her, she willed the magic command to pass into him.

_Awake._

Feeling the prickling slowly draw out of her, Hisui drew back, watching Kokuyo's face with bated breath. The seconds had started to bleed into minutes before the color began to return to his face. Then he drew a deep breath and his eyes flickered open. For a moment, he seemed confused, but then he recognized Hisui and he shot up in bed, seizing her by the shoulders.

"Hisui! Hisui, are you all right? She didn't hurt you, did she?"

For a moment, Hisui couldn't speak. All she could do was take in the sight of _him -_ awake at last. Then tears began to flow freely down her face and she flung her arms around him, holding him as tightly as she was able.

"I'm fine! I'm fine! God, Kokuyo, I'm so glad you're all right!" she sobbed.

The look of confusion returned to the former lord's face as he held his lover close, unable to understand the reason for her tears.

"What…what happened?"

"She's a little overcome just now," Kakei said as he approached the pair. "Perhaps it would be best if I just…" he started, resting a hand atop Kokuyo's head as he opened his mind to him, giving him everything that had happened since his blood tithe had been collected.

"The…the Water Guard's protecting Spirit Lake?" he asked breathlessly when Kakei finally broke the connection.

"Yes."

"That…that won't be enough. It won't work."

"What do you mean?" Yuui asked.

"Well, Highness, if Koryu's given you use of the Oni, and Yuuko has no other recourse to fall back on…she will use the humans. That was her plan from the start. Would your soldiers fight against human opponents?"

"No," Yuui said quietly, "no, they wouldn't."

"But…how does she plan to get in? Yuuko can't enter Faerie," Sai reminded them.

"Can't she?" Kokuyo asked, sounding almost cryptic. "She didn't ignore the possibility that one of the twins might beat Seishiro to the throne. She's confident that the spell that kept her out before will have faded with Clow's death. Are you confident you're strong enough to keep Yuuko out, Majesty?"

"No," Yuui said again, only just beginning to realize the implications of it all. "We…we need to get out there."

"We may already be too late. Yuuko will have realized she's lost control of the Oni," Kokuyo said as he and Hisui rose from the bed together.

No words were wasted as the group turned and headed back the way they'd come, but when they reached the front gates and saw people emerging from the lake, it was not who they were expecting.

Rikuo, Yukito, and Eriol climbed onto the lake's shore and immediately began to run toward them.

"What's going on?" Yuui shouted to them once they were in earshot.

"I'm sorry, Yuui-chan, but Eriol insisted on coming here. He said it was a matter of life and death. Rikuo-san was bringing us when…when…" Yukito tried to explain.

"Yuuko's on the move," Rikuo took up the slack. "The Water Guard is being approached by an army of half-fey. She's brainwashed them all. What are your orders, My Queen?"

Yuui looked thoughtful for a moment, but it didn't take her long to decide. There was no other course of action left to follow.

 _Touki?_ she called out to the water master in her mind, allowing everyone else to hear her thoughts.

_Highness? What are your wishes?_

_Let them pass._

_Pass? Even…even Yuuko and Seishiro?_

_Even them. Seishiro could kill you all with a single touch. I won't have any of you dying for my sake. We'll meet them here._

"Are you sure about this, Yuui-chan?" Watanuki asked.

Yuui nodded. "I'm the only one with any prayer of barring Yuuko from Faerie…and I can't do it. I'm not strong enough yet. Kurogane…do you think you can kill Yuuko?"

"Yes," the ninja answered firmly, placing a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Then do it if you get the chance."

"What about Seishiro and Fuuma?" Subaru asked.

"I'm not sure," Yuui whispered before turning and heading back inside the sithen. The others followed.

"Kakei-san, I want you to summon the other lords here. All of them."

"At once, My Queen," he said, breaking off from the others to carry out the order.

"Yukito-san, Eriol-kun, and Tomoyo, I want you to go to my quarters. Take Soel with you. If we fail today, it can get you out of here."

"Yuui, I-" Tomoyo started.

"No. Don't argue with me on this one. You have to keep them safe," she said as she passed Kohaku to Tomoyo so that she carried both babies. "If the worst should happen, you need to get yourselves out."

"But…what about _you?_ "

"Larg will stay with us. We'll be able to escape," she tried to reassure her wife, even though they all knew there would be no escape if they failed.

Tomoyo swallowed hard, nodding her acceptance. She leaned in and kissed Yuui on the lips once before turning and moving away with Yukito, Eriol, and Soel following behind her.

"We can't keep them out," Yuui continued once they'd gone. "The rest of us will prepare to meet them in the throne room."

"Majesty…the Oni would be willing to fight against half-fey, if you wished," Koryu told her.

"I know they would, but I don't want them to," Yuui said firmly, never breaking stride. "Destroying an opponent who can't fight back is no way to win."

"Heh, I don't know if there's even one instance in history when a fortress has been taken with an army of invalids," Kujaku noted mockingly.

"Maybe we can't hurt them, but they can't hurt you, either," Yuui replied. "These people are nothing but a shield…a helpless, innocent shield. It's their leaders we need to worry about."

As the group headed toward the throne room, it slowly began to grow, the clan masters answering Kakei's call one by one, until all they lacked were Ransho and Rasetsu.

"They're coming, Highness. This is it," Karura reported with a discomfiting amount of excitement in her voice. "I saw them rising from the lake."

"All right…are you with me?" Yuui asked when they'd reached the main doors to the throne room, standing outside for what seemed like a much longer moment than it actually was. "All of you?"

"To the death…Yuui-chan," Watanuki said calmly, unquestionably answering for all of them. When the band of fighters finally entered the throne room, Yue and Kero were there waiting.

"You are not…even _trying_ to keep them out of the sithen?" Yue asked the young queen, the resignation in his voice already plain to be heard.

"I can't. That isn't my desire. I want to end it. I want to face them now."

"We're tired of running," Kurogane continued. "We're tired of them taking away the things we love." As he spoke, he slung an arm around Fai's shoulders, giving him a brief, tight hug.

_Fai…if this doesn't work-_

_Don't think like that. It_ _**will** _ _work. It_ _**must** _ **_!_ **

_But if it doesn't…and something happens to me-_

_Don't._

_If I die, I want you to get out of here. Go with Tomoyo and the others._

_You_ _**won't** _ _die. Even if you do…how could I leave you? How could I ever leave you…when I've only just found my way back to you?_

_You've got a responsibility now. You're carrying the heir to Nihon's throne. You have to live…and the baby has to live._

_A-all right,_ Fai agreed reluctantly, looking none too happy about it. _I'll survive…but I won't save our baby because of Nihon; I'll save it because it's_ _ **your**_ _baby…_ _ **our**_ _baby._

_Thank you._

_Damn you. Don't you even_ _**think** _ _of dying._

The first sign of the enemy's approach was a great clap of thunder, signaling the collapse of the main gate.

 _Majesty! Rasetsu and I are coming through Spirit Lake now. Yuuko's army has broken through the main gate. They'll reach you in minutes,_ Ransho warned her.

_I know. Thank you for the warning, Ransho-san._

Just as Ransho predicted, Yuuko's horde of brainwashed half-fey was swarming just outside the entrance to the throne room within minutes, chomping at the bit to get inside. Only Seishiro's tenuous control over them kept them back. Yuuko herself stepped forward, wreathed all in black as usual.

"Surely you didn't think you could keep us out forever, did you, little queen?"

"Why did you trust Koryu-san?" Yuui asked, rather than answer her question. "You must have known he would betray you."

Yuuko laughed at this. "I wanted us to come to this point. I have every last one of you here now - the stain sprung from _my husband's_ seed. You will all die here…you, your daughter, your brother, and that unborn thing he's carrying."

"If you so much as _touch_ him, I swear I'll tear you apart," Kurogane warned, resting a hand on Ginryuu.

"They tell me you might actually be able to now. I almost want to see it," the Dark Queen responded with a strange little smile.

"I don't believe you're really like this, Yuuko-san," Yuui said. "I've seen what you can be. Fai received a precious gift through you. I know you've been hurt…and I understand…but I can't allow you to hurt us anymore."

Yuuko's indulgent expression shifted into a suspicious glare. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I know you don't have the power to say what I'm _allowed_ to do. Seishiro. Fuuma."

At Yuuko's command, the Dark Prince and his cousin stepped forward, swords drawn. Kurogane looked ready to leap forward, but Subaru beat him to it.

"Yuui-sama, please allow me," he said, drawing his own blade. "This is my fight."

"Mine as well," Kamui said, stepping up to stand beside his brother.

 _What are you doing?_ Subaru asked his brother.

_I won't let you go it alone. The Sakurazukamori is just as much my problem as it is yours._

"As you wish," Yuui said quietly. There was no doubt in hers or anyone's mind that this was to be the last battle - for all four of them.

"You've no idea how long I've waited for this, Subaru," Seishiro said as the younger faerie approached him.

"I think I do," he returned bleakly as he raised his blade to meet Assassin's Hand. Almost before anyone realized it, the former lovers were engaged in a furious duel.

"He'll kill him, you know? Your brother?" Fuuma said to Kamui when the two of them crossed blades.

"I'm afraid he _wants_ that," Kamui said, catching each of Fuuma's strikes. "Even if he doesn't…he wouldn't survive killing him."

"Just as you wouldn't survive killing me?"

"Exactly. They say I can only set you free by killing you…and then my own freedom is forfeit…but I don't believe that. I _know_ you're still alive in there somewhere," Kamui said, not only blocking, but returning blow for blow.

"Well, I'll just have to prove to you how wrong you are…and make good your death."

The battle between Kamui and Fuuma was fast-paced, but mostly subdued, easy blows that lacked any real rage. The fight between Seishiro and Subaru, on the other hand, was fierce and bestial. Subaru struck at Seishiro with everything he had, but the Dark Prince took it all calmly, smirking lightly as he defended against Subaru's fury.

"Why won't you kill me?" Subaru finally demanded. "You would have done it before! There's nothing holding you back! You could kill me with a single _touch!_ Why won't you do it?"

"You _want_ me to kill you, Subaru? You would destroy the last piece of Souma Kuzuki that exists in this world?"

"Lord and Lady in heaven, I don't _care_ anymore! I just want it all to _stop!_ I want to be free of you…of hating you…of wanting you…of _needing_ you. I _can't_ kill you. No matter what you've done…you're still _you._ I _tried_ not to love you; it _doesn't work_ ," Subaru choked out, lashing out at the Dark Prince, mindless of all else.

"So…even after all this…it would still pain you to kill me?" he asked, the smirk on his face suddenly going cold.

"More than you can know," Subaru said bitterly.

"Then I have failed," Seishiro said before his calm exterior shattered. His cool, defensive style suddenly exploded into a fierce offensive and he forced Subaru back, hacking at him until he forced his sword from his hand. The blow sent Subaru crashing to the ground and Seishiro was on him in mere moments, holding Assassin's Hand just above his heart.

"Subaru!" Kamui shouted, trying to get to his little brother. Fuuma quickly waylaid him, though, keeping him engaged in their fight. Yuui wanted to step in, but she could see that her vassal would have none of it. Whatever else was in the Shiro lord's expression, the thing to be seen most strongly was pleading.

_Oh. Goddess…Subaru…_

_Please…kill me now…just end it._

The moment the two were frozen like that was long - Seishiro with the blade poised to strike and Subaru defenseless, his chest bared for Seishiro's final blow. However, to everyone's utter shock, Assassin's Hand did not fall. Seishiro raised the blade and took a step back. Even Kamui and Fuuma had stopped fighting at this point.

"What do you think you're doing?" Yuuko demanded. "He _asked_ for death. Kill him now!"

Shaking his head, the Dark Prince threw the sword at his mother's feet. "No. I will never."

"What?" Subaru whispered in shock.

"Traitor!" Yuuko screamed as she picked up the blade. "I'll give you your reward now! I'll kill him for you!"

In the moments before Yuuko made her strike, Seishiro turned to face Yuui. Time seemed to slow down as he opened his mind to her.

_My Queen, in this last moment, I give you my mind. Someone must know the truth._

All of Seishiro's thoughts and feelings, the events, the days of his life poured into Yuui's head all in a single instant. As revelation after revelation burst upon her, everything suddenly became clear. Then Yuui saw Yuuko start to move.

" _No! Stop!_ " she screamed.

It was over in seconds. Yuuko sprang forward and Seishiro moved to shield Subaru. Then there was the sound of metal piercing flesh and crimson blood splashed onto Yuuko and Subaru.

As Seishiro stood there with his own blade plunged through his heart, his expression slowly began to change - between the cool smirk they were all used to and the sudden rage they'd seen only moments before. Then he began to speak in two different voices - almost as if he were arguing with himself.

"Take _her_ , damn you. _She_ struck the blow. _She_ killed me. You _must_ take her."

"You're wrong, Seishiro. Maybe she _did_ strike the blow, but she isn't the reason you're dying. You died to protect _him_. _He_ is the cause of your death. _He_ will be my new host."

"You won't have him. I won't…let you. He's… _mine_."

"Do you think you can fight me, Seishiro? Do you think your useless _love_ can hold out against the forces of chaos?"

"Chaos?" the enraged voice laughed bitterly. "Love _is_ chaos, my master."

"Heh, maybe. Maybe so…but what power does that give you?"

"You think I haven't planned for this? I was never going to let this happen."

"What can you do? You're helpless."

"I'm talking to you now, am I not?"

For a moment, the cool persona seemed panicked. Then the angry one took control and made eye contact with Yuuko.

"Let go of the sword."

At first, the Dark Queen didn't seem to comprehend what was happening. All she could do was stare at her son - the son she'd just run through - with the self-same blade she'd used to kill his father.

"Let go of the sword, Mother…now."

In a brief moment of comprehension, Yuuko released her hold on the hilt. Seishiro immediately grabbed hold of it.

"It was with this sword that you were reborn into this world…and with it that I'll imprison you once again. You will rest forever in this accursed blade."

"You can't do this!"

"I can. This sword was once human. _It_ caused my death, it and nothing else. It shall be your host ever more!"

Quite suddenly, Fuuma dropped to his knees, clutching his head as he shrieked in pain. The fit lasted only moments, and when it ended his body went limp. Kamui was only just in time to catch him before he hit the ground.

"Fuuma? Fuuma, can you hear me?"

Then, with a cry of abject agony, Seishiro wrenched the sword from his chest and flung it across the room. For a moment, he just stood there, trembling.

"By God, I'm free of it," he mumbled before weakly collapsing. Just as Kamui had done, Subaru darted in to catch him as he fell. With the sword gone, he was bleeding even more heavily.

"Oh…oh, God…S-Sei…Sei…shi-"

"I tried…so hard…to have you hate me…so that you would experience no pain…when you had to kill me," he choked out as he reached up to stroke Subaru's cheek, "but I failed. Failing that…I was going to kill you…to spare you that pain…but I couldn't do it. I…wanted you to know…how I really felt…before I died."

"What…what do you _mean?_ You _can't_ die," Subaru whispered desperately, pressing a hand to the flowing wound in the vain hope of using his power to help.

"It's too late," the Dark Prince said, resting a hand on top of Subaru's as his eyes slid closed. "Nothing can stop this."

"SEISHIRO!"


	40. Her Whole Life Long

_For the longest time, he had known nothing. There hadn't even been darkness. It was just…nothing. There had been nothing and no one…not even himself. He carried few memories from before the breaking of the seal…brief flashes of his mother, his father, his cousins…their warmth. He remembered the promise he'd made to his mother in order to help her escape her cruel destiny. He was willing to sacrifice for his parents…he had never experienced a love like the one he saw between them and he didn't want to see it broken. That was all he remembered. Everything else had been burned away by The Breaking._

_He'd thought he'd be able to control it…somehow…but that notion had been extinguished the moment the chaos force had made contact with his mind. The Sakurazukamori had stripped away each layer of him, flaying away every atom until he was nothing but a naked mind, and even that it tore into. It could see, touch, and know everything he was…and in an instant, all of that was burned to ashes. Nothing remained of his identity. The only thing that existed for him was pain, unending and unendurable, as the Sakurazukamori forced its way inside his mind and body. Claws tore into him, carving the image of the chaos force into his back. Pain wracked his body and spirit, and images of what had been and what would be assaulted his mind, torturing him the more as he died. Whether it was death or something else entirely, it was merciful enough. He suffered that moment of hell for only an instant before slipping into the silent nothing._

_The moment he had become aware of himself again was when the Sakurazukamori had come across little Subaru Shiro, lost and alone in Celes. Their eyes had met…and he'd suddenly felt_ _**himself -** _ _Seishiro Reed._

_**Who are you, little one?** _

_The Sakurazukamori had been about to do it - he'd had the little faerie boy in his arms and he'd been just about to rest a hand against his heart and close his eyes forever…when Seishiro had cried out._

_**Don't! Don't do it! This child is…intriguing.** _

_**You're awake?** _ **_Most_ ** _**intriguing** _ _._

_**He'll die eventually, just not yet. He seems like he could be interesting to keep an eye on.** _

_**He was enough to wake you. Perhaps you're right. All right, Seishiro Reed. I will not kill him now. I'll make a bet with him. We shall see what this child does.** _

_Seishiro's first conscious act after hundreds of years of oblivion had been to save Subaru Shiro's life. In the years following that awakening, he had had to constantly return to his memories of the little boy to keep himself conscious and grounded. The nothing became a plane of static…of white noise and shifting patterns of darkness and light. He couldn't see or interact with the world beyond his mental prison. All he could do was cling to the image of the boy, hoping beyond hope to somehow retain the consciousness the encounter had given him. He had no idea what was so special about this one child; all he knew was that he'd given him his self back and he intended to hold onto it._

_After several centuries of gathering his strength, Seishiro was slowly able to use his senses again. He began to see how the world had changed since The Breaking: the war that had been fought, the formation of the Dark Court, his new role as the Dark Prince, and so much more. He began to share space in his own mind with the Sakurazukamori, who noticed his awakened presence, but more or less paid him no mind. It was an entirely new experience for the chaos force. Never before had a host regained sapience under its control and Seishiro's awakening was something of an amusing distraction for it. As time went by, Seishiro was able to tell when his jailer was looking into his mind and when it was not, slowly figuring out how to keep his thoughts simple for the Sakurazukamori whenever it was watching and saving anything more complex for when he was alone._

_Seven hundred years passed between that first encounter and their next meeting with young Subaru. By that time, he had become master of the Shiro clan, which both Seishiro and the Sakurazukamori had been surprised to discover. It had never occurred to them that he could be a direct descendant of the Shiro line. The Sakurazukamori had seen the young lord as an opportunity to sow discord among the faerie courts. Subaru, of course, had no memory of the ultimatum the Sakurazukamori had given him when he was a child, as the memory had been erased even in the moment of its making, but the chaos force could still see the marks it had left on the boy's body, even through the incalculably strong shield of glamour that had been layered over his skin. It had known upon finding him alone in Celes once again that he was the selfsame child from so long ago._

_Subaru had known him, as well. Of course he had - Seishiro Reed…traitor…the one who had been cast out…the Dark Prince. However, even with that knowledge, it hadn't been particularly hard for the Sakurazukamori to seduce the young Shiro. Something in him - perhaps the dangerous thrill of the unknown…or the dark delights his smoldering gaze promised - had drawn the innocent Subaru in from the very first, even through his fear, mistrust, and doubt. He had been a virgin when he'd come to him in the labyrinth that night, seeking to understand what drew him…and in the darkness of the sacred caves, the Sakurazukamori and Seishiro together had shown him just what passion could give birth to._

_There, with the sounds of their ecstasy echoing off the stone, Seishiro had learned the awful truth. The darkness had been pierced by the combined glow of their skin. This was how Subaru's spirit had managed to call him from the depths of his living death. There would be love - or there would have been if The Breaking had never occurred. He was Subaru's and Subaru was his…except he would never really be able to touch him…to hold him or speak to him. A love barely born was already lost._

_The Sakurazukamori tormented him with that knowledge for decades. Even though he didn't want to, Seishiro found himself truly falling in love with Subaru…with the shining light that was so unlike the darkness in his own soul. His jailer drew Subaru in with the words of love it drew from Seishiro's own heart, tormenting him with the fact that he would never really be able to have Subaru for his own…how futile his love was. As if all this weren't bad enough, the prince also had to live with his knowledge of his grandfather's last curse - the truth that not even the four masters had been privy to…only Fei Wang and his parents. Yuuko was cursed to kill Clow; it was true, but Fei Wang had not stopped there. The curse would go on. All who took their descent from Clow Reed's seed would be fated to die by the hand of the one they loved the most. It would somehow be Subaru's fate to be his executioner…and if he had learned anything about the Shiro lord, it was that such an act would destroy him. He would never survive killing someone he loved._

_The knowledge of their fate…of the pain he would one day inflict upon Subaru…compounded with the anguish of being so close to him and yet so thoroughly separated from him…and the fact that the chaos force could kill him whenever it chose…caused Seishiro's rage to grow. As the years passed, his rage began to give him power. For a brief moment, he would have control of a hand. He could stroke Subaru's face for the length of a heartbeat. One whispered word of the Sakurazukamori's would be his…_ _**really** _ _his. He clung to the first time he'd been able to kiss Subaru for himself with all his being. He could never accomplish anything truly significant in his moments of freedom, or the Sakurazukamori would have shut him down in a heartbeat. It enjoyed baiting him with them, but what it couldn't have possibly foreseen was that the stolen moments gave him hope. He learned to use his rage to mask his thoughts from the chaos force. He came to the conviction that Subaru must not be the one to kill him. He would not allow his precious Subaru to become the Sakurazukamori._

_Masking himself from his captor, Seishiro gradually began to influence its thoughts, suggesting things seemingly unconnected that could potentially be seeds of chaos, but that were all ultimately linked. Slowly, he began to have an effect on events beyond himself. He drew Kamui and Fuuma into the web with the promise that he had no desire for a crown, which was ultimately true, even if his later actions suggested otherwise. The plots allowed him closer to the twins when they entered the picture. Yuui's child would block his path to the throne when the time was right. Fai's rape had been at his suggestion, but the Sakurazukamori certainly hadn't objected to it and he had taken no real part in it. His only real action had been to draw Kurogane into it and to warn Fai to kill him. Even though it hadn't worked the way he'd wanted it to, he'd thought to rouse Fai's anger…his hatred…to awaken the young prince's power and goad him into killing him before Subaru was forced into it by destiny. Fai, however, proved to be much like Subaru. He simply couldn't kill indiscriminately. He wasn't like that._

_When it seemed this plot had failed, he'd been forced to adopt a different strategy. In desperation, he'd nearly goaded the chaos force into killing Subaru in order to spare him the pain of his murder and the burden of the Sakurazukamori, but it had seen right through the prompt. It was not going to allow him release so easily, so it had hesitated at the last moment, allowing the others to rescue Subaru._

_The next course had been to incur Subaru's hatred. If he couldn't save him from the fate of becoming the Sakurazukamori, he could at least spare him the pain he would suffer killing him. There would be no pain if Subaru hated him. So he'd tortured Kamui by pulling Fuuma further into his web with Kotori's murder. Amazingly, his younger cousin had put up no fight. Yet another piece of destiny, she'd told him. It had been what she wanted…in the hope that she might be able to make a difference. Her death and Fuuma's fall had, of course, destroyed Kamui and fanned Subaru's rage to blazing life. For a time, it seemed the new plan might work. Even better, the need to keep control of both himself and Fuuma divided the Sakurazukamori's attention even further, allowing Seishiro the opportunity to plan._

_He still had to find a way to keep himself off the throne in order to uphold his oath to Subaru. So, after he'd been declared a worthy candidate for the throne, but before he'd begun to take Arashi in order to keep with his mother and the chaos force's plots, he'd secretly managed a spell to destroy his own fertility. If Yue had bothered to look again, he would have found Seishiro suddenly an unfit candidate._

_Souma's death had been an unlooked for coincidence in his quest to draw Subaru's hatred, but he couldn't deny his own jealousy toward the girl for being someone other than himself who had known Subaru's touch. By then he'd realized that Subaru could never forgive the true Seishiro for the misery he'd caused in order to keep him safe, but he simply couldn't care anymore. Subaru was the only thing that mattered. The rest of the world could crumble for all he cared, so long as Subaru was safe. To that end, a last desperate plan began to form in his mind._

_He would betray Yuuko. That suggestion was certainly chaotic enough for the Sakurazukamori to allow it through. When he turned traitor, his insane mother would almost certainly destroy the cause in order to make him pay. Then he would intervene. Subaru would be free and Yuuko would take on the Sakurazukamori. She would get her wish. It_ _**was** _ _a kind of death, after all…and shouldn't his mother take on that weight…after everything that had happened?_

_Unfortunately, even this failed. The chaos force saw through him again. It took his intervention as his death by Subaru's hand and opted to torture its rebellious host one last time. It mattered little to the Sakurazukamori who the host was. It would live on, regardless. However, as they began to struggle for control, Seishiro had realized something. Assassin's Hand had been created through the sacrifice of his aunt…more specifically, through her head. The sword had been human once. Maybe…just maybe…it could be counted as a host. So Seishiro fought; he fought with all the rage and passion and cunning his years of imprisonment had pent up…_

… _and he'd_ _ **won**_ _._

_The Sakurazukamori had never really been challenged before. That was what gave him the advantage. It took only that moment of surprise to force it into the black blade, forcing it to withdraw from Fuuma's mind in the same moment. Then he tossed the accursed thing away for the last time…and breathed free for the first time in fifteen hundred years as he collapsed, ready to welcome death with open arms._

_Subaru was crying…begging him not to die. How could he…how could he still care for him…after everything he'd done? Perhaps this_ _**was** _ _his death at Subaru's hands? He had done it to protect him, after all…and Subaru would at least be spared the pain of having dealt the killing blow._

_He was screaming now…screaming his name. Why?_

"Why are you…so sad?" he whispered. "You shouldn't…cry…for someone like me."

"No. No, no, no, no, no," Subaru mumbled over and over again. "I _won't_ let you die…not now…not _now…_ I _won't!_ "

There was only one thing that might possibly save Seishiro now: the one thing he didn't have, but that he needed now more desperately than he'd ever needed anything in his life…dark magic. Only dark magic could counter the magic of Assassin's Hand.

 _Please…please…_ he prayed silently, pressing his hand even more firmly against the bleeding wound. _If he dies…if he dies, I…_

That was when he felt it - lines of fire and ice tracing their way down his arm and pooling in his hand. The burning was so intense it could have been either extreme heat or extreme cold. Then he thought he could almost see it - a dark mist playing about his fingers. Not really knowing what to do, he simply held on, allowing dark to meet dark.

They both felt it when the two magics mingled, beginning to fix what was broken. Seishiro's head fell back as he drew in a sharp gasp and Subaru slumped over him, painfully unused to the violent mesh of light and dark magic within his body.

"Subaru?" Seishiro murmured, slowly feeling his strength returning. "Subaru…what did you _do?_ "

"I told you," Subaru whispered, weak but happy, "I couldn't…let you die."

"No," Seishiro said sharply, sitting up and gathering the weakened lord in his arms. "I _should_ have died. I was trying to _protect_ you. Now we'll both die."

"What…what do you mean?" Subaru asked as his own strength slowly began to return. "Everything's going to be all right now."

"I know you believe that, but _nothing_ could be further from the truth," the former Dark Prince growled. "There's still…one more curse."

"Seishiro, I…I don't understand."

"Fei Wang Reed…didn't just curse Clow when he died," Yuui started to explain, drawing together the disparate pieces of her newfound knowledge. "His curse was meant to go on. All who are descended from Clow Reed are fated to die by the hand of the one they love the most."

"That…that can't be," Subaru said. "Sakura…she-"

Seishiro shook his head. "My little sister died of a broken heart…the direct result of her husband's death. When he died…he killed her. If I had died, you would have been spared the task of killing me yourself."

"But…I don't…why would I kill you?" Subaru mumbled, still not quite comprehending.

"It doesn't matter whether you want to or not. It's going to happen. Don't you understand? Everything I did, I did to prevent this from happening."

"K- Kuro-sama?" Fai said quietly, turning to look at his fiancé. Did this mean…that Kurogane and Tomoyo were fated to kill him and Yuui?

"No," Kurogane hissed, his eyes narrowing in rage as he turned to face Seishiro. " _No!_ I did _not_ come this far to have _this_ happen! There's _got_ to be something we can do to reverse it."

The next sound everyone heard was the unhinged laughter of an insane Dark Queen. She laughed at all of them, though she looked like she might cry.

"If there was something to be done…don't you think _I_ would've done it? There's _nothing_ you can do, little boy. You will all suffer as we did," she said, smiling cruelly.

"If you couldn't find a way to stop it from happening, you didn't love him enough!" Kurogane accused, goading the Dark Queen. " _I'm_ going to find a way to stop this because I _love_ this idiot and I'm _not_ going to kill him! _No one_ can make me."

Yuuko's laughter died instantly. Rage flared to life in her blood red eyes.

"How _dare_ you, you mortal brat? How _dare_ you speak to me like that?"

"Can you deny it?" the young emperor fired back at her. She was the nightmare from his childhood, but he no longer feared her. She was just a sad old woman who was long dead and didn't even know it. There was nothing inside her.

Yuuko let out a shriek of rage and swooped in to grab the sword Fuuma had dropped. Kurogane only had time to shove Fai out of the way and draw Ginryuu before she was on him, striking furiously, intending to cleave his sword in two.

Ginryuu held out against her fury, though, and Kurogane matched her blow for blow. He had nearly killed himself training for this moment and it was all proving to be worthwhile.

" _He was everything to me!_ " she screamed.

"And you killed him," Kurogane said calmly.

"It wasn't my fault!" she cried, getting more wild and desperate by the minute. "He betrayed me!"

"You betrayed him first. You promised him you wouldn't kill yourself and you still looked for a way. Look what it's done," Kurogane said, maintaining his calm throughout. "Face it. You _never_ loved him."

At this, Yuuko let fly a cry so primal and harrowing, it raised the hairs on everyone's necks. It was all her years of loneliness, hurt, self-loathing, and hatred compounded into a single vocalization.

Queen Yuuko Reed was mighty; it was true…but if her deteriorating mental state was anything to judge by, this battle would not last much longer.

XxX

As Yuui had asked, Tomoyo had taken the two babies, Soel, Yukito, and Eriol to her and Yuui's chambers and they had shut themselves in while the battle had been going on. Kohaku had been mostly calm, but Ryuou was inconsolable. Had the older three not been preoccupied with the one-day-old, they might have noticed Eriol's eyes going completely blank for the second time in his life. They didn't notice him until he started to unlock the door.

"Eriol, what are you doing?" Yukito demanded in a voice much harsher than he'd meant to use. "It's not safe out there."

"I have to go to her. I have to do this," he said, not looking at his father.

Yukito tried to go and stop him, but Eriol seemed to sense the movement and threw up a hand behind him just as he managed to get the door open. The Valerian high priest suddenly found himself blocked by a barrier.

"Eriol!"

"I have to talk to her before she dies. She can't die like this," he explained, unfailingly calm.

"Who, Eriol-kun?" Tomoyo asked.

"Yuuko," he answered, finally turning to look at them. Tomoyo couldn't help but feel she'd heard this voice somewhere in her dreamwalking. She knew it wasn't Eriol they spoke to now.

"Clow…sama?"

Eriol nodded. "Please…let me go to her. Do not interfere."

"But…it's dangerous. What if he gets hurt?" Yukito asked, quickly catching on to Tomoyo's revelation.

"Don't worry," the boy said with a warm smile. "Everything will be all right."

XxX

The dynamics of the battle in the throne room hadn't changed much. Kurogane still had Yuuko on the ropes and she was deteriorating all the faster. After one particularly harsh blow, Yuuko was driven to the ground, her sword clattering away.

"It's over, Yuuko," the young emperor declared, raising Ginryuu for the final blow.

In the few moments it took to raise the blade, Yuuko's eyes darted away from his face and Kurogane froze. He followed her gaze and found it directed at Fai. When he turned his own gaze back to Yuuko, she was smiling in that completely unhinged way of hers, a spell suddenly in her hand.

There was no time for anything else. Acting purely on instinct, Kurogane threw himself in front of Yuuko's spell as she let it fly. This would not end as it had eighteen years ago.

He wasn't really sure what happened first - whether he heard Fai screaming or he felt the intense burning in his chest, but those two things were suddenly all his world consisted of. His head was filled with the sound of Fai's cries and his body burned, feeling like it would incinerate at any minute.

The next moment, he felt himself gathered up in someone's arms and looked up to see Fai.

"No…no…get out…" he groaned.

" _No!_ " Fai growled as he pressed his hands against Kurogane's chest. "I _won't_ let you die."

Kurogane wasn't certain what he could do without the healing abilities his sister had, but it slowly started to make sense as the burning in his body began to diminish. No healer could work fast enough to stop his death, but with his Hand of Blood, Fai was doing the job his heart no longer could: keeping his blood flowing through his body.

"Come on," Fai encouraged. "Keep breathing."

Kurogane did so, taking it one breath at a time, but while the two were absorbed with each other, Yuuko slowly struggled to her feet.

"Fine. I'll have you both at once," she hissed, gathering another spell and flinging it at them. The attack never reached them, though. The ball of dark energy was absorbed into a barrier.

For a moment, Yuuko looked shocked, but then Yuui stepped forward, her raised hands clearly indicating she'd set up the barrier.

"Stop this now, Yuuko-san," she said calmly, her eyes on the ragged queen as she approached her brothers.

"Stop? Why should I stop?" she asked, her head tilting oddly to the side as she watched the three of them. "He's the _only_ one who can kill me…and I've waited forty years to destroy my faithless husband's bloodline!"

"Clow's dead, Yuuko-san," Yuui said as she placed her hands beside Fai's on Kurogane's chest, speaking as if to a child. "What are you trying to prove?"

"You shouldn't exist!" the mad queen snarled. "None of you!"

"And yet here we are," the younger queen replied, her healing magic glowing brightly in the charged air. "Look around you, Yuuko Reed. There's no one who's on your side anymore. The Sakurazukamori has abandoned you. The army surrounding us…they're all under your son's control. You are alone."

At this, the elder queen began to laugh again. As the tears began to come, mingled with her laughter, she turned her pain-filled face to heaven. "I've been alone…ever since Fei Wang uttered that curse. Do you really think you can hurt me with that? Clow was gone from me the moment it was my fate to kill him."

"That isn't so."

Everyone looked up at the sound of the new voice. A small figure was advancing through the army of brainwashed half fey. A few of them tried to strike at the figure, but were held back by the barrier surrounding him. Most of the faeries recognized the figure as Eriol, but Yuuko collapsed to her knees the moment she heard his voice.

"…Clow?"

"Yes," the boy said quietly as he came to stand before Yuuko. She shook her head and turned away.

"What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't leave you…not like this," he said, gently cupping her cheek in his small hand.

 _What's happening?_ Yuui put the question out to anyone open to her thoughts.

 _The only explanation I can think of, Majesty…is that the king's spirit remained somehow bound to this world after his murder_ , Yue explained rather jarringly as he watched the exchange with everyone else. _I don't know. I can't understand it. Such a thing has never occurred before._

"If I let you die like this…there will be no peace for you, ever."

Yuuko laughed bitterly at this. "I never looked for peace. Why should I have such a thing?"

"Whether or not you look for it, I mean to win it for you. I _will_ not let my father win. I let you kill me. Do you still believe I meant to betray you forty years ago?" he asked, slowly starting to wipe the tears from her face.

"I don't know," the old queen said after several long moments of silence.

"I came back for you. I endured being tied to the physical plain. Is it still not enough?"

"For the things I've done? It's too much," she said, looking away from him again.

"Do you really expect me to just abandon you?"

"That was what I _wanted_ ," she hissed, "for two thousand years. If you'd only…put me aside then…it could have all been avoided."

"Would I have somehow loved you less? It wouldn't have worked. I've atoned for my betrayal and my crimes. Your atonement is still to begin, but before it does…there was something I wanted you to know. Fei Wang sought to tear us apart…to destroy our unity and see our rule fail before it had begun," the possessed child started to explain.

"And he succeeded, didn't he?" Yuuko asked bitterly. "We were both destroyed."

"That isn't true. I never stopped loving you, Yuuko…and I never blamed you for what happened, not for an instant. I never saw the need for it, but I know it's what you've wanted to hear…" he said, leaning in to whisper in her ear, "I forgive you…my Yuuko."

He was right. It was all she'd ever desired to hear. As he pressed his lips to hers, she felt the weight of her guilt lift from her.

"I wait for you, my sweet," he murmured to her before taking a step back from her. Yuuko was left by herself, kneeling in the middle of the throne room.

"Do it," she called over her shoulder without actually looking back. "Do it, child of man, emperor of Nihon. Nothing is easier. It's what you've always wanted."

Kurogane was silent as he climbed shakily to his feet. He couldn't feel the vengeance he'd burned with for most of his life as he gazed down on the fallen queen. All he could feel was a strange sort of empathy. How easy would it be for either Fai or himself to come to this point?

"What stays your hand, man-thing?" she hissed, turning to glare at him out of the corner of her eye. " _Strike!_ "

Kurogane turned to look at Fai as his fiancé handed him his fallen blade. He could feel Fai's magic in it as he took the hilt in hand.

"Are you all right?" the blond asked, keeping his hand on Kurogane's for a moment.

"Fine. You with me?" he asked, holding his gaze intently.

"Always," Fai said calmly, leaning in to give him a quick, reassuring kiss.

"Face me," Kurogane requested as he turned to face Yuuko once again. "I'm not going to start my reign by stabbing you in the back."

"Heh, how _noble_ of you, little emperor," she said, staggering to face him while remaining on her knees. "At least have the decency to kill me in a fashion befitting my actions."

"I'd _like_ to," he growled, holding the point of the blade just over her heart…but this wasn't the way. This couldn't be done in anger. It had to be done in mercy.

"Please," she whispered, the hard look in her eyes softening for the barest of moments. "Send me to be with him."

He did as she asked. It was quick: the pierce, followed by the stab through the heart. As he gathered his own power, he felt himself surrounded by Fai's magic, as well, preserving his life and adding to his power. At first, the twin Hearts glowed red and blue, then white hot with the strength of their power. When he felt it was strong enough, Kurogane released it, sending the wave of magic down the length of the blade.

When the sudden rush of power entered her body, Yuuko gasped, quickly crumpling as she slipped from the end of the sword.

Eriol was waiting for her when she fell. He caught her in his arms, letting her head rest in his lap as she struggled for breath. Their eyes met one last time and he smiled down at her. She gave him a faint smile and he leaned down for one last kiss. Then Queen Yuuko Reed breathed no more.

"It is done," the boy said quietly as he closed the dead queen's eyes. "And you all are free of Fei Wang's curse."

Leaning on his bloody sword, Kurogane knelt before the boy king. "Sir…what do you mean?"

"My father's aim was to destroy me…and my existence was greatly defined by my love for her, so he attacked that. Ultimately, it failed. We were not conquered. Because the curse failed at the root, it has lost its power. You will all be free of it. Make good the time you have won."

"We will," the young emperor said solemnly.

Having gotten this promise from him, Eriol placed a hand on Kurogane's sword and the weapon was instantly clean of Yuuko's blood. Then his body shuddered and slumped over Yuuko's body. As the real Eriol came to, her body quickly faded away to nothing.

"Are you all right?" Yuui asked her cousin as she came to help him stand.

"Yes. She…the old queen…she's at peace now?" he asked.

"She will be."

"That's good."

"Your father will be wanting to know you're safe. Seishiro-san?" Yuui started, turning to look at the still shaken couple. "Could you…maybe…speak to your followers? Is there a way to calm them?"

Nodding, Seishiro glanced at the army of half fey. For a long while, he stared them down, and finally, their battle lust seemed to calm and the chamber began to silence.

"You can speak to them now, my Queen."

"People of Nihon-" she began.

"We are not of Nihon!" several people in the crowd cried out. "They have made that perfectly plain!"

"People of Nihon," she repeated, her voice somehow carrying over the crowd. "You were not cast out by your own. You were banished from your home by an imposter. You were deceived by a faerie who wished you to fight against your own people on his behalf. Empress Amaterasu is dead. Your true ruler is here even now and he will not turn you away."

A fresh outcry swept the crowd at this proposition, but Yuui simply waited them out, standing silently before them.

"However, if there are any among you who do not wish to return to Nihon, you will have a choice. _I_ , Yuui Fluorite Reed, am the new queen of Faerie. The man you've pledged your loyalty to is _my_ subject now and I am willing to accept you as my own subjects, should you choose. Wherever you choose to go, you will be welcome. Is this arrangement agreeable to all of you?"

Slowly, the resistance seemed to die out of the crowd. They looked to each other, looking lost at first, then starting to consider. Several nodded; no one outright objected or made the call, though.

"Clef-san? Rasetsu-san? Would you mind leading these people out and starting to figure out who's going where?"

"Yes, Your Highness," they both answered. As the two lords began the migration from the throne room, those that remained started to gather together.

_Tomoyo?_

_Yuui? What's going on? Is everyone all right? Is Eriol-kun with you?_

_It's all right now. Yuuko's dead. Stay where you are. We'll join you soon. Eriol-kun's all right. Tell Yukito-san not to worry. How's Kohaku?_

_Sleeping. She's been a perfect angel. Ryuou's a little cranky, though._

_Well, his father will be in soon. There are just a few things we need to get sorted._

"So…what now?" Kujaku asked, cracking an odd smile at the strange circle of allies.

"It is not over," Kakei reminded them. "Perhaps the Dark Court is dead, but there is still Kyle to deal with…and he is inarguably the most evil of them."

"That's true. Nihon cannot be free until he is dealt with. We will confront him in the morning, offer him the chance to surrender," Yuui decided.

"He won't, you know?" Seishiro told them as he and Subaru slowly moved to join the group. "Kyle has nothing left to lose. All he wants is power, and he could never hope to gain it over either court."

"Why not?" Fai asked.

"It's because of his infertility. No faerie court would ever recognize an infertile heir," Koryu explained.

"Nihon was his only hope of gaining power. He will fight to the death to hold it," Seishiro finished.

"On the subject of fertility, Seishiro-san…Arashi-san's baby…who is the father?" Yuui asked, turning her full attention to her uncle.

"You're thinking about that _now?_ " Kujaku teased.

"Yes. It's important. A child's life could be at stake. Do you _know_ who the father is?"

Seishiro gave a strange half smile at this. "Of course I do. That child belongs to them. I had no part in it."

"How do you know?" Subaru asked, looking up at him.

"I know because _I_ , too, am infertile. I _couldn't_ have fathered that child."

"But how is that possible?" Yue asked. "I know who is worthy to rule over Faerie. It's why I exist. How could I have seen you as worthy if you're infertile?"

"Look again, moon advocate. I think you'll find your judgment a little different this time around. After that day…I destroyed my own fertility myself…in order to uphold the promise I made to Subaru."

"What about Fuuma?" Kamui asked. He was holding the still unconscious faerie in his arms. "What happened to him?"

"When I attempted to break with it, the Sakurazukamori had to use everything it was in order to fight me. It ripped its presence from his mind completely. He's free of it, but I couldn't tell you how long he'll be out. I intentionally banished it from my mind, but to have it ripped out…obviously, this is an unprecedented case. He should be all right, though. Just wait," Seishiro said.

"But he's-"

"You can't wait a few _weeks_ , Kamui?" Seishiro asked, his tone somehow both cold and playful. "I had to wait a thousand _years_ for this day…and even then, I didn't expect it. Have a little patience."

That silenced the elder Shiro right quick. Subaru made no comment on it; he just held Seishiro a little tighter.

"Subaru-san, what…what did you _do_ …exactly?" Yuui asked slowly, starting to think back on the exchange. "To save his life…"

"It was dark magic," Kujaku started to explain, realizing Subaru probably wouldn't understand what he'd done. "Pure dark energy. In his hour of greatest need, he developed a Hand polar opposite to his Hand of Healing. That was the only thing that could have possibly reversed the effects of Assassin's Hand. It's a rare trick. Really, I think the queen's assassin here is the only one to have ever used dark magic like that."

"Assassin?" Yuui asked, seeing that Kujaku was indicating Doumeki.

"Oh? Did he never get around to mentioning that to you?" Kujaku asked in his usual light tone.

"It's true," Doumeki said, not quite meeting his adopted daughter's gaze. "That's my official position in the court. I am the Darkness…the sovereign's chief assassin."

"Well…hopefully, there won't be much need for that in the future," Yuui said, seeing the slight quirk of her guardian's lips that indicated his smile. "I want you all to take this night for yourselves, but then I want you back here early. We'll contact Kyle via mirror and offer him the chance to surrender. If he will not, we'll have to go from there. My promise to the half-fey _will_ be upheld."

XxX

It had been a long time since Seishiro had had rooms in the sithen, so no one was really surprised when he accompanied Subaru to his own quarters. Yuui had warned them they weren't finished entirely. Seishiro had yet to prove his loyalty to her, and she couldn't completely overlook his crimes, but she had given this one night to everyone, including him. If this was to be his only night with Subaru, he would make the most of it.

The moment they had entered the bedchamber, Seishiro had pinned Subaru against the doors, kissing him fiercely. Subaru allowed it for a while, moaning appreciatively at all the wonderful sensations.

"Subaru…Subaru…" the former prince moaned over and over again. He'd been denied his voice for so long, he didn't think he'd ever be able to have enough of speaking - of saying Subaru's name.

"Everything you did…you did for me?" the younger Shiro asked quietly, looking up at the ceiling as Seishiro kissed his neck.

"Everything," Seishiro whispered against his soft skin, knowing he was referring to both the good and the bad. "I did it all to protect you…nothing else mattered."

"Why?" Subaru asked, looking down at Seishiro. "What was so special about me?"

"I…literally came alive when I met you," Seishiro responded, his voice deadly serious. "That day in the forest all those centuries ago…when we first stumbled across each other…I felt my self…for the first time since I'd been devoured. The Sakurazukamori would have killed you, but I convinced it not to. The fact that I'd somehow regained consciousness was interesting enough for it, so it let you live. Clinging to that image of you kept me conscious of my self. When we met again…and it seduced you…I started to realize I was in love with you…and that I couldn't let my curses destroy you…no matter what else might be lost in the process."

"And it…never occurred to you I might not _want_ to be saved that way?" he whispered, remembering the images the Sakurazukamori had planted in his mind of what Fai had suffered at its hands.

"It did…but I couldn't let myself care about that…and I never expected to survive to have to answer to you for it," Seishiro said, slowly pulling back from him.

"Well…here we are," Subaru said, not really sure what he ought to do.

Seishiro seemed to know, though. Taking Subaru's hands in his, he slowly got to his knees in front of him, pressing his forehead to the younger faerie's delicate fingers.

"Please," he whispered, "I beg you…please forgive me for the things I've done. I know I don't deserve it," he continued, gently pressing a kiss to each finger as he spoke. "I could live a thousand lifetimes and never deserve it…never deserve _you_ …but I ask, on my knees, to be forgiven…for what I've done to us."

As Subaru watched Seishiro beg, he couldn't help but remember the exchange between Yuuko and Clow they'd witnessed. The words left unspoken between _them_ had nearly brought two worlds to disaster. It would not do any good for him to deny Seishiro.

"I cannot…blame you…for any of it," he said, freeing one of his hands from Seishiro's grip and using it to gently stroke his hair. "In spite of it all…I love you. What I said in the hall is no less true now than it was then. I forgive you."

Relief, actual and whole, shone in Seishiro's eye as he moved to his feet and pulled Subaru into his arms.

"Let's be together… _really_ together," Subaru whispered against his ear. "I want to be with _you._ "

All of the times before had been heated and violent. This time, they came to each other as if for the first time - slow, hesitant, gently exploring. They took the time to slowly strip each other, each relearning every detail of the other's body. For a long while, they just kissed and touched - every inch of skin - the fall onto Subaru's bed happening so naturally, it became uncertain how it had been instigated.

They held each other tightly as they moved together on the sheets - as if they still feared being lost to each other forever if they dared to let go. Despite heated skin slick with sweat, they held on. They held on long after their combined glow had peaked and faded away, long after their cries of ecstasy had died, leaving them breathless in each other's arms, their hearts beating as one as the air slowly returned to their lungs.

Neither slept that night, the fear they would wake to find it had all been a cruel dream too crushing. They simply held each other, needing only to feel the other's presence in his arms to be comforted again.

Seishiro was content. Forgiveness from the others he had wronged would be much harder to earn, but Subaru had forgiven him. That was enough.

XxX

Kamui didn't need to wait long for Fuuma to awaken. In fact, he woke up that very night. He'd taken the former lord to his own chambers in order to better keep watch over him, intending to have neither food nor rest until he'd awoken. However, a mere hour into this vigil, Fuuma's eyelids fluttered open.

"How…long have I been asleep?" he mumbled.

Not quite sure how to answer this, Kamui gently took his lover's hands in his, afraid of what he might do when he finally remembered. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I…" Fuuma didn't get past that. His eyes bulged, filling with horror and pain as his memory returned. "What…what have I done?" he whispered, the memory of his sister's blood on his hands as fresh as it had been all those months ago.

"No more than she'd planned," Kamui tried to reassure him as he lay down beside him, wrapping his arms around him. "Listen to me, Fuuma. Kotori had a plan. We'll probably never know what it was, but she saw something…and I believe she did what she did so _you_ would ultimately be saved."

"And that's…supposed to make me feel better?" he asked, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Knowing my little sister sacrificed herself…lived her life _knowing_ I would be the one to take it away from her in the end…for _my_ sake? Did I…did I kill anyone else?" he asked, swallowing hard to keep a hold on the tears he refused to shed.

"You don't remember?"

"Not much. There was just…nothing. I remember once…feeling myself again…but feeling like I was shoved into a tiny, dark hole…and I thought I saw your face…"

Kamui nodded, fairly certain he knew what moment that was. He truly did not want to burden his love with the souls he was about to lay on his conscience, but he also knew it would only be worse for both of them if he lied.

"Yes."

"Who?"

"You killed…Syaoran, and…you did not kill her, but Himawari died in combat with you…using her Hand."

"Himawari?" Fuuma whispered brokenly. One of his dearest friends - such a kind, caring soul…what _monster_ could kill her?

"You also killed…Souma Kuzuki."

"Wait!" Fuuma snapped, suddenly seeming to remember something. "What about Yuui…and the baby? What happened to them?"

"Yuui is our queen, Tomoyo is her consort, and your daughter, Princess Kohaku, was born a little more than three months ago."

"Kohaku?" he whispered, the name somehow lighting a healing warmth in him.

"Yes."

"Tell…tell me about her," he choked out, starting to feel like he might not be able to hold back the tears.

"She's beautiful. She's tiny and perfect and everyone adores her. Her hair is blonde like Yuui's. You can see her in the morning if you want. Everyone's resting tonight."

"Kamui, what…what's happened? How long have I been gone?"

"Too long," Kamui murmured into the taller faerie's chest, holding him a little tighter. There would be plenty of time tonight to tell Fuuma everything that had happened, and how he had miraculously been rescued from a fate worse than death. For now, though, Kamui just wanted to hold him - to feel him in his arms and _know_ he was really there with him. Fuuma…his love…whom he had once given up for dead.

He was not all right. By no stretch of the imagination was he all right. It might take a very long time for him to recover from what he'd been and what he'd done, but at least he was alive - _truly_ alive. That was all Kamui needed. It was he, not Fuuma, who shed the first tear that night.

XxX

"Kujaku! Wait!"

Kujaku halted his trek back to his own quarters when he heard Kokuyo's voice. Without turning to look at the former Oni lord, he asked, "What do you want?"

"Koryu told me…what happened…who you are."

"So what? Were you expecting some big happy family reunion? The Satani brothers, reunited after centuries of war?"

"No," Koryu's voice broke in. "We just-"

" _What?_ " Kujaku demanded sharply as he finally turned to face them. "What more can you possibly need from me?"

"To _talk_ to you. To find out who our parents really were. To find out _why_ ," Kokuyo said, placing a hand on Koryu's shoulder. He was used to having him as family. They'd been cousins long enough; brothers wasn't so unusual. Kujaku was something new, though. "To…apologize."

"For what? All you did was not be born first. That was _my_ misfortune. Why do _you_ need to apologize for it? I knew our parents a little better than you did, I think, and _they_ weren't sorry for it…not really, anyway. Your being sorry won't change what happened and it won't make up for what they did. That's _my_ burden."

"It shouldn't be, though," Koryu insisted. "Why should you have to bear it alone?"

"Because it shouldn't go past me. It should stop here," he said, his mask of sarcasm and indifference slipping briefly to reveal what might have been actual concern.

"What happens if we decide we don't like that?" Kokuyo asked.

"Are you going to fight me on this? Are you going to sully the one good thing I've done with my life?"

"Certainly we're going to fight you on it, but I don't think we see it as sullying anything," Kokuyo said as he and Koryu began to move toward their older brother. "We shouldn't…prosper from what you've suffered."

"I spent five hundred years trapped in the void, and here I stand before you…mostly sane. Tell me, little brother…who do you think has the stronger mind?"

"Probably you, Brother," the former lord said, the word unfamiliar in his mouth, "but when I said fight, I didn't literally mean violence. Hisui's heard the truth from you and I could easily ask her. Wouldn't you rather we hear it directly from you if we're going to hear it at all?"

Kujaku stared at his younger brothers for a long while, he the guardian they hadn't even known they had. Should he continue to protect them…and let them hear the story from a different perspective? No. Kokuyo was right. If they were going to learn anyway, he wanted it to be from him.

"Damn," he muttered as he reached his hands out to his brothers. Each took a hold of one, strengthening the mental connection with the physical contact. Instead of telling them, as he'd done with Yuui and the others, he expedited the process by giving his memories directly to their minds. The only drawback to this, unlike with the first telling, was that he couldn't keep his own emotions back. The others didn't know all of his true thoughts on the events, but Kokuyo and Koryu received all of his emotions through the transfer. They felt his rage, his self-loathing, his despair, his bitterness, and his subtle caring as acutely as if they were their own.

None of them spoke once the transfer of memory was complete. Kokuyo and Koryu simply released Kujaku's hands and rested their own on his shoulders.

"I hope you aren't expecting me to cry on your shoulders," the eldest Satani said, his typical cynicism right back in place. "Those foolish tears were burned out a long time ago."

"Nothing of the sort," Kokuyo reassured him.

"We just wanted you to know it's all right," Koryu continued.

"I know it's all right," Kujaku said quickly, not giving an inch. Clearly, the memories were the only things they would get from him.

"Of course, only…if you ever want to talk…just let us know," Kokuyo said.

"Understood. If you're quite finished being sentimental, I'm pretty sure you've got better things to worry about than me. I've served my purpose, but you've got a kid waiting for you and you've got a lover who's been pining for you for more than a year now," he said to Koryu and Kokuyo respectively, "so get to them."

Looking like they both wanted to say more, the two younger Satani brothers finally heeded their older sibling and went on their way. Kujaku watched them go, standing in place long after they'd gone.

_I certainly hope you've got your fill of brotherly love, baby brothers…because that's likely the last you'll see of it._

His role was not yet completed. There was one last reason why he'd survived when he shouldn't have and the coming day would, he had no doubt, reveal that purpose.

"My life is yours to do with as you please, Your Highnesses," he said to the empty corridor. "I hope you use it well."

XxX

Kurogane and Fai didn't speak during the walk to Kurogane's room. Yuui had assured them she could create a full set of rooms for them, but for the moment, the two were content to stay in the small room off of Yuui and Tomoyo's chamber that the sithen had created all those months ago.

The reunion with Tomoyo and Soel was joyous, if brief. Yukito was beside himself with relief to see his son alive. They two were offered rooms for the night, but Yukito said they would only remain as long as it took to meet with Kyle. Then he would have to carry the news to Touya.

Not much time was spent celebrating their victory. They were all exhausted and still too focused on the battle that still needed to be fought. Kyle might have lost the support of the Dark Court, but even alone, he was still one of their most dangerous enemies.

Once the two lovers had entered their room to rest for the night, they ended up just staring at each other for a long while.

"Well," Kurogane started, a small smirk starting to creep onto his face, "it worked."

Fai's face lit up with a smile of his own as he flung himself at his fiancé, wrapping his arms around him and smashing his lips against his.

"You stupid idiot!" Fai ground out, laughing and crying at the same time as he planted kisses all over Kurogane's face. "You could have died! You could have _died!_ "

"Stealing my lines a lot today, aren't you."

"Shut up!" Fai hissed, pounding a fist against his chest.

"It didn't happen, though," Kurogane reminded him, gently running his fingers through his hair. "You didn't let it. We stopped her together…and that's how we'll finish it."

"You know…if we defeat him-"

"If?" Kurogane cut him off.

"When," Fai amended, his voice shaking, " _when_ we defeat him…you'll be emperor."

"I know," Kurogane said quietly, his lightheartedness dying away as he drew Fai close to his chest once again, "but that's something else we'll do together."

They didn't speak for several more minutes; they just held each other, each savoring the other's warmth. Kurogane was the one to finally break the silence again.

"Are you…okay with it?"

"With what?" Fai asked, looking up at him.

"Seishiro…being here?" he explained, pointedly holding Fai's gaze as he spoke.

"It's fine," he said after taking a moment to think about it. "I've made my peace with him. Besides…it wasn't even him. It was _it_ …and it's gone now. The appearance will just take a little getting used to."

Kurogane chuckled briefly at this before leading the way to the bed. The pair didn't even take the time to undress. They just kicked off their shoes and crawled into bed, curling up close to each other. Kurogane attempted to whisper something to Fai, but the blond was already asleep, no doubt tuckered out from essentially breathing for both himself and Kurogane. Smiling softly, the ninja opted for a kiss to Fai's cheek before passing out himself.

Whatever the new day would bring, the lovers could at least sleep soundly knowing they'd triumphed.


	41. You'll Love Me at Once

Kamui hadn't told anyone that Fuuma had regained consciousness, so it was something of a surprise when the captain entered the throne room leading the former lord.

"Fuuma-san!" Yuui shouted, hurrying over to him. "Are you all right?"

"My Queen," Fuuma began, falling to his knees before her, "I have betrayed you. I have broken my vow to serve and protect you. You would be well within your rights to execute me."

Rather than take the pose of a queen over her vassal, Yuui knelt before Fuuma, as well, reaching out a hand to touch his cheek. "No. You mustn't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault…and you know what you're supposed to call me."

"Yuui-chan," he said softly, meeting her gaze. "You forgive me…time and again, even when you shouldn't. You are…truly noble."

"There's nothing to forgive…not anymore. You've only ever done what you had to; and it's because of you that she was born," Yuui said, her voice reverent as she drew Fuuma's attention to the baby held in the sling against her chest.

"This is…Kohaku-hime?"

"Kohaku, Fuuma. She's _your_ daughter, too."

The room had already fallen silent, and it remained so as Fuuma reached out a hesitant hand, waiting for the baby to acknowledge him before proceeding any further.

Kohaku's eyes zeroed in on her father's fingers the moment they entered her field of vision. Curious as ever, she reached for them, cooing insistently. Reassured, Fuuma moved closer, allowing his daughter to grasp one of his fingers in her tiny fist. As with most babies, the first place the finger went was straight in her mouth. She gummed it furiously, trying to discern what it was from her limited experience of the world.

Smiling, his eyes bright with tears of wonder, Fuuma leaned down and kissed his daughter's forehead. Releasing his finger, Kohaku cooed for him, then began smacking her lips together in the familiar gesture they all took to mean she was hungry.

"Not just yet, sweetie," Yuui said, leaning over to kiss the top of Kohaku's head. Then she looked up at Fuuma. "Would you like to hold her while I talk?"

For a moment, Fuuma looked stunned, but then he slowly began to nod, holding his arms out for the baby girl.

Gently, Yuui lifted Kohaku out of the sling, wrapped in Himawari's quilt. Then she passed the baby girl to her father. Everyone tensed briefly, waiting for Kohaku to protest, but she did not. She stared up at her father, scrunching up her face oddly for a moment before relaxing and curling up against him, deciding she was fine with this.

"All right," Yuui said, her voice firm as she turned to look past the council table, toward the throne that had so long been vacant.

All things considered, it was a very simple throne, a chair made of yew and inlaid with threads of silver and ebony. Really, the only indication it was different was the slightly raised dais it sat on. A mirror had been set up before the throne and Yuui took her place on it, with all the others taking their respective places around her: Tomoyo at her right hand with Kurogane and Fai beside her and Kamui and Fuuma with Kohaku beside them, Kakei at her left hand, flanked by Doumeki, Watanuki, Subaru, Seishiro, and Kujaku. The other lords and the generals all stood in a loose semi-circle behind them, including Koryu, newly sworn to the council of clan masters, holding his baby boy. Once everyone was in place, Yuui made the call.

"Kyle Rondart, last remnant of the Dark Court, your queen calls to you," she said, the mirror going dark as she sent out her power, seeking the dark faerie's mind.

They didn't have to wait long. Kyle soon appeared on the glass surface, surrounded by a slew of blank-faced human guards.

"You are no queen of mine, Yuui Fluorite Reed!" the hypnotist spat out. "You are nothing but a pawn whose path to the throne was paved with the bodies of those who cared for you…who _died_ for you. You have no real power."

"Kyle Rondart," Yuui continued, not acknowledging his attack, "By now, you are no doubt aware that Yuuko Reed is dead and the Dark Court has fallen."

"So I've noticed," Kyle said, sneering at both Seishiro and Koryu in their turn. "I won't ask how you won even the Sakurazukamori from us."

"There _is_ no 'us', Kyle. Your allies are either dead or defected. There's no one left who opposes us…except for you."

"Maybe so…but that's really all I need," the dark faerie said ominously.

"I'm willing to give you the chance to surrender peacefully-"

"I will _never_ ," Kyle snarled back at her. "Even if we must war until the world collapses in fire, I will fight. I will _never_ submit to you. Have your little faerie land, but leave the human world to me. That is the only condition I will accept."

"You think you can rule them?" Kurogane asked through grit teeth. "You think they'll submit to you?"

"They don't _have_ to submit to me, little boy. A human mind is nothing to me. I can control them all."

"Could you? Could you control them all…for the rest of your life?" Yuui asked.

"As long as I need to. The human mind is an easy thing to break."

"So be it," Yuui said quietly. "That was your only chance. We will not contact you again…and we will show you no mercy."

"Neither will I," Kyle said, leering unpleasantly as his image faded away, leaving the group with only their own reflections.

"So…what now?" Kujaku asked, clapping his hands together.

"We hit him hard while he doesn't expect it," Doumeki said, his tone a shade harsher than normal.

"He'll always expect it," Watanuki reminded him.

"He's got the entire city of Shirasagi under his control. He'll use that to his advantage. A city full of helpless people makes for a pretty good shield," Kamui said.

"Is there _any_ way to fight against his Hand of Hypnosis?" Tomoyo asked the group at large.

"At the very least, he won't be able to control us," Kakei started to explain. "Not those of us who are full-blooded fey. He can control swarms of human minds, yes; they are un-complex compared with fey minds, but while controlling such a vast quantity of human minds, he wouldn't be able to control even one faerie mind. This will leave us free to combat him."

"How many can he realistically expect to control?" Yuui asked.

"I couldn't say. Such an outpouring of power has never truly been tested before. He may have had some hand in the brain washing of the half fey," Kakei speculated.

"He did not," Seishiro reassured them. "I imagine myself and the Satani brothers could help you get inside his head."

"I'm not sure I want you there," Yuui told him, rising from the throne and looking back at him. "Is there anything you can do to prove to me you aren't that person anymore?"

Thinking about it for several minutes, Seishiro ultimately turned to Subaru, took his hand in his and placed it over his empty eye socket. The two seemed to share a brief internal debate before Subaru finally nodded. Magic shone briefly about his hand before he pulled it away, leaving Seishiro to blink and show off his newly regenerated grey eye.

"The Sakurazukamori…wore this socket empty as a badge…of the great warriors it had destroyed: the Masters Yasha and Ashura…and to prove it did not _need_ both eyes to be the most deadly creature alive. I here reject that badge and offer my services to My Queen unto my dying breath. You may even _take_ my eyes, if you so wish."

After pondering his oath for a time, Yuui slowly nodded. The gesture was acceptable. For so long, the image from their nightmares had been a dark man with a single grey eye. This Seishiro was whole…as whole as he was capable of being, anyway. She didn't doubt that the Sakurazukamori had left markings of its passage on him, but this would do for now.

"All right. Kakei-san…do you think it might work? If not the four of them…then the lot of us working together…to break through his mental defenses?"

"I think it certainly has a _chance_ of working. Nothing like this has ever been tried before…but we really have no other option if we want to be rid of the Dark Court once and for all."

"And…Fai and Kurogane…you would be able to kill him without the use of Assassin's Hand?" she asked her two brothers.

"Absolutely," they answered together.

"In that case, Ransho-san, Ryuuki-san, Touki-san, Kazahaya-san?" she called out to the three generals and the one acting general. "With Kyle's threats, I think it would be best to withdraw the four guards back into Faerie. It will make him wonder whether we're giving up."

"It shall be done, My Queen," Ransho said with a small bow.

"And Kurogane, if you contacted Kusanagi and they marched out now, do you think the Nihon Resistance could reach Shirasagi by dawn tomorrow?"

"Probably," he said.

"Then do that, if you wouldn't mind."

"Dawn then, Yuui?" Fai asked her.

"Yes. We make our move at first light. An army of fey will do us little good in this situation, so it will be just a small group. Only those of you who wish to need go. I won't force anyone into this."

"No one would be forced, Yuui-chan," Fuuma insisted.

"As we said…we're with you to the death," Watanuki reminded her.

"All right. We have a whole day and night before we need to assemble. Use the time as you see fit," Yuui announced. Then, in view of everyone, the young queen shook her head and her cropped hair began to blossom into long, golden locks once again, flowing all the way down to her waist.

"Yuui…what…?" Fai tried to ask, but couldn't quite manage to get the words out.

"I cut my hair…the day I lost you. I swore I wouldn't let it grow back until you were free. You _are_ free, brother… _really_ free," she said quietly, coming to her brother and running her fingers through his own somewhat lengthened hair. "No matter what happens tomorrow…you _did_ defeat them."

Fai's expression upon hearing this was strange. His eyes were bright, but his smile was contained in them as well. "Thank you," he said, laying his hand atop hers. It said to him that she believed in him…and that was all he needed - for his family to believe in him.

"Ano…Yuui-chan?" Fuuma's voice suddenly broke into the moment. Kohaku was really starting to fuss in his arms. Laughing, Yuui came to take her from him.

"All right, you silly girl, it's breakfast time already."

XxX

Lacking a significant other to pass the time with, Koryu volunteered to baby-sit for the day after the odd families of mortal and immortal had taken lunch together. He found himself in the quarters Yuui had granted him with Ryuou, Kohaku, the Mokona, and Hisui and Kokuyo. They'd tried to convince Kujaku to join them, but they got the distinct impression he'd rather swallow a hornet's nest than be a part of their little family gathering, so they'd left it alone.

Hisui and Kokuyo were playing with Kohaku and the Mokona on the couch while Koryu sat on the floor, continuing to get used to his fragile infant son, who seemed, to the Oni lord's great surprise, to be taking a shine to him.

"Soel? Larg?" the youngest Satani asked the two tiny guardians, still looking down at his son as he spoke.

"Yes?" they said together, bounding over to him.

"You're…their guardians…yes?"

"Uh-huh," Soel said.

"When they were kids, you two were always right there…ready to sweep them out of danger. There's more danger now then ever. Why aren't you glued to their sides?"

"Fai and Yuui…do not need Soel and Larg anymore," Larg answered serenely.

"Fai and Yuui can take care of themselves. If Soel and Larg are still here, it's because Fai and Yuui _want_ Soel and Larg here," Soel continued.

"What do you mean?" Kokuyo asked, looking up from Kohaku.

"The magic Clow used to create Soel and Larg…in order to bestow some of Soel and Larg's abilities…the stipulation was to be that Soel and Larg would only exist as long as there was a _need_ for Soel and Larg to exist. Because Soel and Larg are still here…there is a reason. Perhaps Fai and Yuui just… _want_ Soel and Larg to be here," Larg said.

"Maybe…because you protected them so well as children…they believe you will be able to protect their children just as well?" Hisui suggested, absently shaking a rattle over Kohaku's head for her to play with.

"Mm…yeah. Maybe," Soel said quietly, hopping up onto Koryu's lap and nuzzling up against Ryuou, who burbled in surprise as the white Mokona's fur rubbed against his cheek.

As the small group giggled at the antics of the newborn and the Mokona, they had no idea that Kujaku had, in fact, decided to join the gathering. He watched them through the mirror in his own small chamber, his throat constricting with an emotion he couldn't seem to identify as he struggled not to give in to the tears he hadn't shed since he was a child.

XxX

"What do you think it's going to be?" Fai asked Kurogane as they both traced their hands lightly over his belly. He was only two months along, so the swell had only just started to show. The lovers were currently sprawled out on their bed, stripped down to just their pants, with Kurogane holding Fai against his chest.

"No idea. After Kohaku, I'd be fine with either."

"Royal protocol doesn't care what gender your child is?" Fai asked, going a little stiff at the idea.

"My mother was the first female ruler Nihon ever had, but the idea for the royal family is to earn your position. She did that when she killed her tyrant of a father. Our kid will earn its right as heir by doing just that…earning it. I'll be happy with either a boy or a girl. Though…most of my experience is with baby girls."

"You mean…Tomoyo and Kohaku?"

"Yeah," Kurogane said, leaning in to kiss Fai's ear. "So…there's absolutely no way I could convince you to stay behind? Not even for the baby?"

"None whatsoever," Fai answered calmly, pulling Kurogane's hand up from his stomach and kissing the palm. "You _need_ me to help you work the magic. You know you do. It's the only way to destroy Kyle, and if we don't do that…we may as well not have the baby at all. Our baby will have no peace in a world where Kyle exists…and I won't let what happened to us happen to our child."

"Never," Kurogane vowed, kissing the back of his fiancé's neck.

"We will live or die together…all three of us," Fai said firmly, squeezing Kurogane's hand in his.

Kurogane made no response to this. He knew it wasn't entirely true. Either one of them would do just about anything to preserve the other's life, but what would come would come. There was little sense in worrying about it until the dawn came.

"We really ought to be getting some sleep," Kurogane said gruffly. "You especially."

"But you don't want to," Fai said, rolling over in Kurogane's embrace to face him. "You don't want to waste any time on sleeping. You want to use the time we have left…because you're terrified that any moment might be our last."

"So let's use it," Kurogane whispered, holding Fai's searching gaze for several long moments before claiming his lips with his own.

For a long while, they just lay on the bed, hands fiercely intertwined as they kissed. Then the hands slowly began to explore, taking in every precious inch once again. From that point, it wasn't long at all before they were naked on the sheets.

To make sure their activities didn't harm the baby in any way, Kurogane ended up lying flat on the bed with Fai on top of him, kissing his neck and running his fingers through his hair. No games tonight - just two hearts together as one, fearing they would never touch again after this night - never again be whole. They drew out each moment, living it to the end of eternity hand in hand, then returned to the present to try it all over again. Each kiss was a lifetime…each caress brought tears of joy and sadness…and each gentle movement became a silent cry of 'I love you'.

No words were spoken. Each could hear the other's name in their heated moans and tiny gasps. Knowing each other's bodies so well at this point, the two peaked exactly together, drawing in twin gasps of perfect pleasure and satisfaction. Fai's head fell back and Kurogane's grip on his hips tightened with the release, only loosening once the comforting scent of roses had filled his nose and his body was bathed in the moonlit glow of Fai's skin.

After the waves of pleasure had subsided, Fai sat astride his lover, smiling tearfully down at him. Once even the glow had faded away, Kurogane pulled him down to cradle him fiercely against his chest. Even as the tears were kissed away, more were provided. It was almost difficult to tell where one began and the other ended.

"I'll never leave your side," Kurogane promised.

… _no matter what happens._

"Never," Fai whispered back.

"I love you," Kurogane said, his voice firm despite the pain.

"More than life itself," Fai finished, pressing his lips against Kurogane's.

All through the night, they held on…kissing, caressing, holding…just incase…just incase they really never would again - one last embrace to replace their forever.

XxX

"I really did miss your hair," Tomoyo said quietly as she ran her fingers through Yuui's blonde tresses. Their bodies were still intertwined as they languished on their bed. They had already shared their goodbye embraces, having decided it would be best for Tomoyo to remain behind with the babies. Their brothers at least had the option of dying together, but Kohaku needed at least one of them to stay alive. This night really could be the last they saw of each other.

"Maybe I should leave a lock with you," Yuui suggested as she languidly planted kisses all along her wife's breasts, only half-joking, "as a token…"

"Maybe…" Tomoyo said, more to herself than to Yuui. "I…I was wondering-"

Whatever Tomoyo had been meaning to say never came. Yuui looked up to find she'd fallen asleep. Worried by the suddenness of it, she reached a hand up to shake her.

"Tomoyo? Tomoyo?"

"Don't worry. It's not even really a spell…just a little suggestion."

Yuui made no reaction to the shock of hearing the voice. She slowly glanced up to find a figure standing at the end of the bed.

"Doumeki?" she murmured, but knowing it was not, even in the moment she spoke the word. This figure looked exactly like her surrogate father…but was also not him. Plus the fact that there was something…off about his silhouette - like it wasn't quite coherent around the edges.

" _Haruka_ Doumeki, My Queen. Your guardian is my son."

"What did you do to Tomoyo?"

"She's only sleeping. She'll wake the moment I've gone."

"Why?"

"I needed to speak with you. I could have possessed her in order to do so, but somehow, I didn't think you'd appreciate that, so I opted for the more difficult path."

"You're…dead, then…Doumeki-san?"

"Yes…since the Last War. Kyle Rondart defeated me in combat. I have remained bound to this world since that day because…I have seen something. Something is to happen tomorrow…and the fates of the two princes, Kyle, and Shizuka are tied to it."

"What is it?"

Haruka shook his head, smiling sadly at her. "As a dreamseer yourself, you know I cannot tell you. I only want you to be aware…to change their destiny. There is a choice Shizuka must make…and if he chooses wrong, it will be the end of everything you've worked for."

"Just from one decision?"

"Yes. You of all people should know how easily causality can shift."

"And how am I to know what this choice is?"

Haruka reprimanded her with a simple raise of the eyebrow. "Only _you_ can make that decision."

"Doumeki-san…what did you mean before…when you said this was the more difficult path?"

Haruka seemed to shudder at the question, as if reminded of something horrible. "It is…painful…for a spirit to cling to this world after death. It is as if your essence is constantly being torn in all different directions. It becomes even worse when one reveals oneself to the living without the guise of flesh. Clow-sama possessed the boy Eriol to appear when he needed to because he was young as a spirit and unable to bear the strain of appearing. I've learned to bear it."

"So you've had no peace…all this time?"

Haruka chuckled self-deprecatingly at this. "Peace is not something I looked for in going to my end. Few of the fey have truly earned peace when it is their time to go to it; I certainly didn't."

"Why is that?" Yuui asked, probing deeper. "Why did you die, Doumeki-san? I don't believe Kyle could have killed you unless you really wanted to die."

"There's some truth to that. The truth is that my actions prevented a love from being realized."

"What do you mean?" Yuui asked, subconsciously resting a hand on Tomoyo's shoulder.

"My best friend was Tohru Shiro. I believe you know something of her and her abilities. We knew something of the future…and conspired to ensure that Kamui, Shizuka, and Subaru were born as they were."

"Why?"

"If we succeed in changing this cruel destiny…then I will tell you. Before I go to my rest, I want to know that my son's birth was not in vain."

Yuui wanted to ask more, but before she could, Haruka had vanished into the darkness and Tomoyo was stirring beside her.

"Mm, Yuui? I'm sorry…must have dosed off," Tomoyo said, her voice still thick with sleep.

"It's all right. What were you saying before?" Yuui asked, gently running her fingers through her wife's hair.

"I…I'm not sure."

XxX

The grey pre-dawn light found a small band of warriors leaving the cover of Celes Forest. Fai, Kurogane, and Yuui walked at the front, flanked by Doumeki, Watanuki, and Kamui. They were followed by Subaru, Seishiro, Kujaku, Koryu, Kokuyo, and Hisui. This line was followed by Ransho, Ryuuki, Touki, and Kazahaya. Last of all came the other clan masters who had chosen to be present for this fight: Sai, Karura, Rasetsu, and Eagle. Kakei had wanted to come along, but they'd all decided it would be best for him to remain behind if the worst should happen. Tenou and Tarta, not quite as battle hungry as some of the others, had elected to stay behind, ready to offer assistance if needed. Fuuma would almost certainly be lord of the Monou clan again…someday. For now, he'd been judged as mentally unstable after his experiences, and for that very reason had been kept back from the battle at hand. They all knew that their friends and loved ones were back in the viewing room at this very moment, gathered around the reflecting pool to witness the final outcome. Some had swords; Kurogane was armed with Ginryuu and Souma's twin blades, while the twins were both armed with their bows and arrows. Most of the small company, though, was armed purely with magic, in stark contrast to the rebel forces they were approaching, most armed to the teeth.

The large company of disparate Nihon warriors was led by Kusanagi, Yuzuriha, Sorata, and Lord Nataku, and each combatant wore a band of simple red cotton fabric around the right upper arm. When the two groups came together after what felt like a strangely long march from the forest borders, Nataku and Kusanagi came to greet the three royals.

"Your Majesties," Nataku said, bowing before them. "Lord Ichiro sends his apologies. He wished to be here for this day, but he felt it necessary to make certain Piffle City was well guarded. Lady Miyuki is still very young and…Lord Kakyo is not…mentally fit for the strains of battle just now."

"If we're lucky, you won't have to do any fighting," Yuui explained. "I had Kurogane ask you here because I thought it best for Nihon's citizens to retake their capital themselves once the enemy is gone, rather than to have a fey army march in there. Your emperor will lead you."

"Emperor?" Nataku and Kusanagi both asked at the same time, turning to look at their prince.

"My mother is dead," Kurogane said quietly. "She died two days ago…giving birth to a son."

Needing no more confirmation than this, Kusanagi turned to face the rebel army and shouted out, "The empress is dead! Hail, Kurogane Youou, the true ruler of Nihon!"

"Hail, Kurogane!" the cries rose up as one as the rebel fighters fell to their knees, all bowing down to their true ruler.

"Hail, Fai, emperor's consort and partner!" Kurogane called to them as he pulled Fai into his arms. Before, he had given Fai the traditional kiss on the forehead, but now, in front of all the soldiers, he kissed him solidly on the lips, holding nothing back.

"Hail, Fai!" they heard from all around them as they blended together for those few fleeting moments. "Hail, Kurogane! Hail, Fai! Hail, Kurogane and Fai!"

"If you two are finished, I think we've got a snake that wants killing," Kujaku's voice suddenly interrupted their moment.

"Right," Kurogane started, slowly opening his eyes as he pulled away from Fai, who was grinning encouragingly. "What did you have in mind?" he asked, directing the question at Yuui.

"I think it best…if you and Fai face him together," Yuui said. Kurogane nodded; he had expected as much when she'd asked if they'd be able to defeat him.

"You _do_ remember I can kill him with a touch?" Seishiro put in.

"I remember, but Kyle could kill half the city by the time you'd have even gotten within reach of him," Yuui reminded her uncle sternly. "We want to win this with as little loss of life as possible. We can't win the city back by destroying it. Kyle would only move on to another one. What we need to do is get inside his head, and you said you and the Satani brothers could help with that."

"Certainly. With all of us working to break his control, I imagine we could manage it long enough."

"Well…there's nothing for it but to do it, then," Yuui said calmly. "Nataku-san? Kusanagi-san? If you would, please hold your distance here. We don't want to spook Kyle into doing something drastic-"

"Or give him more fuel to add to the fire," Kujaku interrupted snidely.

"I'll let you know if we need your help," Yuui said, pointedly ignoring the eldest Satani's jibe. Then, wasting no more words, she turned and began to walk toward the city, Kurogane and Fai easily falling into step beside her, with the others following as they had done earlier.

For all the distance they had to cover over a mostly barren field, the march didn't seem to take all that long. The sun never quite managed to rise, as clouds had gathered to cover it, promising a storm as morning sped over the small band.

"KYLE!" Kurogane shouted, projecting his voice into the heart of the city like a lance. "COME OUT AND FACE US!"

Then, as if he'd been expecting them, which no one doubted he _had_ been, the massive main gates of the city began to part and Kyle strode out from them, surrounded by a throng of Shirasagi's citizens, each wearing a blank expression and holding some sort of sharp implement to their exposed throats. Some held daggers, some broken pieces of stone or glass, any common item that could be used to pierce the skin and draw blood.

"Sweet Goddess," Fai whispered. He wished he could say he was shocked, but he knew none of them really were. Of all their enemies, Kyle was the only one unconditionally capable of committing such an atrocity.

As Kyle and his "entourage" approached them, Kurogane and Fai broke away from Yuui, moving forward while the rest hung back.

"You had something you wanted to say to me, little boy?" Kyle asked, his voice condescending as he smirked at them through his horde of captives.

"Not really," Kurogane growled as he slowly drew Ginryuu. "We're through talking."

"Do you really want to be doing that?" Kyle continued to question, casually raising an arm. Glancing at the first ring of prisoners, both royals saw thin lines of red begin to appear on their necks where their weapons were pressed harder.

 _Any day now_ , Fai threw the thought back at their friends.

 _Working on it_ , Kujaku reported tensely.

"Did you really think you could-" The smug look on Kyle's face died just as quickly as his voice, the color draining from his already sallow skin. The look of shock was soon replaced by rage as the threads of power emanating from the dark faerie began to thrum all the stronger. Several people in the first ring dropped to their knees; some cried out. One man did slit his throat open.

"We were thinking to, yes," Kurogane said calmly, slowly moving toward the first ring with Fai at his side.

 _Run_ , Fai projected into the minds of all who could hear him. _For God's sake, run!_

Most of them managed it. Some could only crawl away. Just the one could not rise. Subaru and Yuui wanted to help, but they both knew the captives would only come out the worse if they attempted to interfere now. So they waited, watching with baited breath as Kurogane and Fai proceeded forward.

Ring by ring, the two rulers made their way toward Kyle. As each ring fell, Kyle began to look more and more distressed. He managed to force a few into suicide, but he simply couldn't control all of those people and fight off mental bombardments from a band of faeries at the same time. When the last ring fell, only ten of the prisoners lay bleeding.

"You won't harm these people anymore," Kurogane announced to the stricken faerie, raising his sword to strike when they were finally face to face with him.

For a moment, Kyle looked terrified, but then a sneer lit up his pale face and Kurogane felt his mind go blank. The next things he became aware of were his own hands, gripping Ginryuu. His eyes slowly traced the blade from hilt to tip. Then something in his head guided his eyes to his left and he found himself looking at a chest…a chest protected by nothing but blue cloth…Fai.

_The sword ought to be_ _**in** _ _the chest…in the_ _**heart** _ _…_

"No," a voice whispered in his ear as a warm hand laid itself over the cold hands that gripped the silver sword hilt. "Don't let him control you."

Fai…Fai's voice…his hands…his lips on his face…his warmth…

"You have the power to fight back."

That was when he really became aware of himself again. He was Kurogane…emperor of Nihon…and he'd been fighting Kyle…then…he'd been about to-

" _Oh, God_."

The warrior emperor dropped his sword in horror, finding himself gazing into Fai's gentle blue eyes.

"It's all right," Fai whispered to him, resting his forehead against his. "It's all right."

Kyle growled in frustration at the display. "Maybe your rabble _can_ block my hypnotic powers…but I do still have _one_ ability left to me."

It was happening before Kurogane could even get his wits gathered again. Fai was there…and then he wasn't. When the young ruler looked up, he thought he saw Kyle grappling with Fai. Strange flashes of energy swirled around them as they struggled, and several times, Kurogane thought they almost seemed to be melding together at the points of contact.

"What are you for…if not to be used?" Kyle hissed in his face.

"That won't work, Kyle," Fai ground out. "It's done. It's in the past."

"It doesn't matter. You're angry, aren't you…that I toyed with your man? Your resistance only gives me more power."

Then, with one last cry and a blinding flash of light, Fai was gone…and Kyle stood alone in the grey morning light.

"What…just happened?" Yuui asked, shock plastered across her face.

"He…he…absorbed him," Seishiro explained, just as shocked as Yuui, but not visibly so.

"What do you mean?" Yuui demanded, turning to face him.

"He stole his essence…everything he was. It's all part of Kyle now. I had…no idea he had such an ability."

"Can we get him back?"

"I…don't see how."

Kurogane heard none of this. All he could perceive was Kyle standing before him, sneering vindictively. His words entered his brain, but he barely made sense of them.

"I can usurp the life of another…absorb it and make it my own. I imagine you can see where it would behoove me to keep such an ability to myself…unless it was absolutely necessary. Of course, you understand…your Fai is mine…forever. He is gone from this world."

The world faded away around him; it became a seething mass of red with Kyle at its heart. This creature was nothing but a cage - a cage of flesh he had to break open at any cost. He had not come this far…endured so much, _lost_ so much…only to lose Fai now…like _this_. With each passing moment, he felt more of his restraints slipping away. The power he had cultivated grew to a boiling point, mindless of how much of his own life he was spending.

"I want Fai," he hissed. "Give him _back!_ "

Physically, Kurogane sprang at Kyle, wrapping his hands around his throat as he tackled him to the ground, but the physicality of the act wasn't important; it was what was happening on the mental plane that mattered, that could be felt by anyone with even the smallest drop of fey blood. Kurogane was literally breaking Kyle's mind open - forcing his way inside.

 _KUROGANE, STOP!_ Kakei's voice sounded in every mind from across the divide between worlds. _You won't survive this! Neither of you will be able to come back!_

" _I don't care what happens to me!"_ Kurogane growled, neither knowing nor caring if he actually spoke. _"I don't care about_ _ **anything**_ _ **!** No matter what, I'm bringing him back!"_

"This…this is what all the omens meant…about the world ending in fire," Yuui said as the group watched in shocked awe. "It wasn't Fai himself who would cause it…but his death…it would cause Kurogane to lose control."

Indeed, as they watched, Kurogane's power only continued to grow, igniting the barren fields before the captive city. Already, the fire was growing. Before long, it would grow out of control.

Kurogane was numb to all of it. All he could do was channel his growing rage into peeling back the layers of Kyle's psyche, reaching deeper until he found what he sought. Kyle's mind was weak. Ancient or not, Kurogane had known horrors he had never even imagined. He had known the hollow desolation of the void - the crushing, infinite nothingness pressing in around him, threatening to snuff out his very existence like a dying candle. A mind was nothing compared with that.

 _Where are you?_ he cried into the splintering supernova of the dark faerie's mind, seeking his only reason for being.

The situation only appeared to be getting worse on the outside. The combatants were hidden by fire and smoke and there seemed to be nothing Yuui or her compatriots could do…until it occurred to Watanuki…

 _You never miss_ , he thought-spoke to Doumeki, laying a hand on his shoulder. Doumeki's eyes widened as he glanced over at his lover.

_You're suggesting I-_

_He could destroy them all…everyone here…the humans…this_ _**world** _ _. We cannot let the Dark Court win._

_But Fai…_

_He's dead already,_ Watanuki thought bitterly, squeezing the assassin's shoulder even tighter. _At least we can help them to be together._

Finally nodding, Doumeki slowly reached for his quiver, plucking out an arrow.

"What are you doing?" Yuui asked, sounding slightly panicked when she noticed the movement.

"Yuui, I _have_ to."

"No! Wait! _Please_ wait!"

 _FAI!_ Kurogane cried out with all his being, completely unaware of his present danger.

 _What are…you doing?_ the blond's voice sounded faintly from an even deeper layer. _You'll…kill yourself._

 _I'd die anyway_ , he insisted harshly, pushing even deeper. For a moment, he thought he could see Fai's face. _You_ _ **know**_ _that!_

_It's…too late. Get out. Go._

_Don't say that! I'm_ _**going** _ _to get you out!_

_Go._

"Doumeki, wait! You _have_ to wait!" Yuui pleaded in the waking world, realizing that this was the moment Haruka had warned her about. Only…which was the proper choice? If the wrong choice was made, it could mean the end of everything. Could it be…that her brothers were meant to die here today? If he could only wait just a little longer.

"I have a shot, Yuui," Doumeki said, catching a brief slice of clarity through the growing blaze. "I'm taking it."

" _No!_ "

Kurogane may as well have already been dead anyway. Just because Kyle's mind was weak against him didn't mean it wouldn't resist. His own psyche was already beginning to shatter.

 _You…will die_ , Fai cried out to him, his presence seeming to flare stronger.

 _You can't…just stay here_ , the dying emperor ground out. _You can't lose to him. What about the baby?_

_Kuro-koi, I-_

_Fai,_ _**come on!** _ _I'm_ _**here** _ _**!** Take my hand!_

The group's attention was briefly drawn away from the momentous clash of wills by Yuui stepping in front of her guardian at the last minute and taking his arrow straight in her heart.

"YUUI!" Watanuki screamed, running to catch her as she fell.

"Help her, Subaru!" he pleaded.

"No…wait," Yuui gasped out, pulling the arrow from her chest herself. It hurt…Goddess, it hurt so much, but she forced herself to look as her heart pumped the blood through the open wound. This was fatal…for a human.

_I am fey. Fai…_ _**we** _ _are fey! We do not have to die._

_Kuro-sama…please_ , the fading light pleaded.

 _We live together…or we die together_ , the ninja insisted, stretching out his hand. _Which is it?_

Fai's spark flickered hesitantly…then a hand reached out to grasp his outstretched one…and Kurogane was tumbling back from Kyle with Fai in his arms.

Yuui felt it the moment her brothers separated from Kyle, and this was the catalyst that finally jumpstarted her heart, causing it to knit itself back together. None of the others could see it through the flames, but she rose almost simultaneously with her twin.

Fai shook his head as he climbed up off of Kurogane. His mind noted that his ninja wasn't in any immediate danger, only dazed from the awesome feat of psychic attack he'd just performed. For the moment, all Fai could think about was protecting their family. Turning about, he managed to find Ginryuu, raising it and whirling to face Kyle.

The dark faerie was on his knees, struggling to rise. He was coughing up blood and it was trickling steadily from his ears and nose. Seeming to realize his peril, he looked up, terror filling his eyes to see Fai standing over him.

For a moment that seemed to last for several years, Fai hesitated. No matter what Kyle had done, this could not be done in anger. He was so tired of anger, hate, and pain. As Kurogane had done with Yuuko, this had to be done in mercy - in an effort to protect that which he held sacred. Slowly, he drew the sword back and, aiming for the heart, plunged it into Kyle's chest. The weakened faerie gave a small cry of pain when the combined powers of the Hearts started to flow into his body.

"Die and pay for all the lives you've destroyed."

Kyle's eyes widened, bright with fear as yet more blood poured from his body.

"I…I don't… _want_ to die…"

Shaking his head remorsefully, Fai sliced the blade up from his heart and out through his shoulder, feeling what little remained of his strength drain out through the sword.

"Too late for that…far too late."

Gurgling up one last mouthful of blood, Kyle fell awkwardly to his side, his body disintegrating into black vapor before he even hit the ground.

As Ginryuu dropped from his grasp, Fai turned his face skyward, feeling the first drops of rain. Then, as he fell backward, the clouds burst open.

For a time, it seemed he was just falling through space; but then, as if through the haze of a dream, he felt warm arms catch him and hold him, securing him before he could hit the ground. The acrid scent of smoke hung heavy in his nostrils as the blaze surrounding them was slowly dowsed.

"I…I did it," he whispered, seeing Kurogane's concerned face hovering above him. "I broke…the curse."

"Yeah. Yeah, you did. You were great. Just rest easy now."

"You're…all right?"

"Yes."

"Good," Fai murmured, resting his head against Kurogane's chest. "I can go then."

Fai felt Kurogane's arms stiffen around him.

"What are you talking about?"

"My strength is gone. I used it…to defeat him."

"You're…really going to do this?" Kurogane choked out. "After everything we went through? What about the kid?"

"Yuui can take him. She can carry him…and you'll have him…after I'm gone," Fai soothed. Perhaps this was what was meant - the whispers that said he and Yuui would join flesh? "At least…I die on my own terms."

"Wait!" a different voice broke in on their last conversation. "It doesn't have to be that way."

The next face to enter Fai's field of vision was Kujaku's. Others gathered around them, but Fai couldn't make them out; his vision was already going dark.

"You can do something?" Kurogane asked.

"This isn't a matter of simply healing him. His life force has been drained away, by both Kyle and the sword. However, as Kyle could literally steal the lives of others, I can _give_ my life for the sake of another."

"What do you mean?" Fai asked, voice getting weaker.

"Never thought to ask what my Hand of Power is, did you?" Kujaku chuckled. "It is given to me…to choose a person and to offer my own life as a sacrifice…in place of that person's life," he explained, laying a hand on Fai's heart.

"You…you can't _do_ that," Fai tried to protest, but could get his voice no louder than a small groan. "I can't…let you do that…for me."

"My Prince," Kujaku insisted, using Fai's title without a trace of sarcasm. "Please…this world you've won should not die in the moment of its making. I am of the old world. Let the life I've led have some _meaning_. No one else need die here."

Fai wanted to protest, but he couldn't speak anymore, and no one else seemed to be stepping in. The only change he saw were two hands coming out of the group to rest on Kujaku's shoulders. His brothers?

"I, Kujaku Satani, first born child of Akuma Satani, do block the gates of death with my own spirit. Lord and Lady, appease your hunger with a far larger soul."

Then, a dagger seemed to appear in his hand, and as he plunged it into his heart, splashing his blood on Fai's chest, the world around them seemed to disappear, leaving only the two of them. Fai couldn't even feel Kurogane holding him anymore. As Kujaku slowly began to fade from his sight, he thought he could see other faces just beyond his.

_Souma…Sakura…Syaoran…Clow…Himawari…Kotori…even Yuuko and Amaterasu…all smiling in their own way._

_**It isn't time for you to die yet. You shouldn't waste your life on a rat like Kyle.** _

_Kujaku-san…please, don't…_

_Don't be like that,_ the dark faerie said, his normal level of sarcasm returning. _This is what_ _ **I**_ _want._

When Fai came to in Kurogane's arms, the rain was falling so hard, there was no telling the difference between the rain and the tears.

"Goddess," he sobbed, reaching his arms to wrap around Kurogane, who held him tightly.

"It's okay," the ninja emperor whispered to him. "It's over."

No one really knew how long the group stood there in the rain, gathered around the two young rulers. They could have stood there for days, for all anyone knew. The rain never let up, so there was no marking the passage of the hours. Yuui, though, eventually knelt down beside Kurogane, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Kurogane?" she said softly as she shook him, not continuing until he looked over at her. "It's time."

Nodding, he and Fai took the hands she offered them, allowing her to help them stand. Sai brought him his fallen sword and, gripping Fai's hand tightly in his, he raised Ginryuu high above his head, signaling to Kusanagi and the others in the distance. The rebel army came toward them quickly, almost at a run, rebels no longer. When Kusanagi finally came to stand before his former pupil, he gave the young man a good clap on the shoulder.

"Always knew you'd do it…Your Highness."

Again, Kurogane's only acknowledgment was a nod. Still holding Fai's hand, he turned and began to walk toward the city, whose gates Kyle had overconfidently left open. Yuui and Kusanagi stayed close with the two rulers, but the other faeries mixed with the army a little more as they all followed the young men through the gates, hoping to downplay the fey element in the victory. These people had been fed horrendous lies already and they didn't need to make it worse.

The army was mostly silent as they walked through the city streets. It was almost as if they hardly dared to believe they were free of the Dark Court's shadow. The already sizeable group slowly began to grow as it moved forward. The frightened citizens slowly emerged from their houses, asking word from the soldiers and trying to get a glimpse of the true emperor, who had finally returned to free them. The city still reeked of darkness, but the rain was already beginning to cleanse it. Someday, the city would be beautiful again, Kurogane vowed to himself as they came within sight of the castle.

If it was possible, the people seemed to grow even quieter upon passing though the main gates and into the dark, dank corridors of the once bright dwelling. Part of Kurogane wanted to be just as timid as them upon beholding his old home once again, but there was no room for that here. Besides, Fai was at his side now. With him, he could face the things that had happened here - could face the darkness and drive it away. Never, not once, even in his wildest childhood dreams, had the young emperor dreamed that his way to the throne would be paved in such a manner…and yet here they stood, on the threshold of the throne room.

Kurogane hesitated a moment once he and Fai reached the steps leading up to the royal dais. Without Chang Ang…who would perform the ceremony?

"In the absence of a high priest or priestess, I, as the spiritual head for my own people, will perform the ceremony of coronation," Yuui announced to the crowd. Kurogane shook his head, smirking lightly. He should have known. There were plenty of willing brains around for her to pick. Normally, there would be speeches and all manner of fiddle-faddle, but there would be none of that today. Today, there would be a simple oath.

Briefly releasing hands to turn and face Yuui, Kurogane and Fai knelt together before her at the foot of the steps. Kurogane drew Ginryuu once again, placing the tip of the blade securely against the carpeted floor and leaning his own weight slightly against it. After all, a Nihon emperor's vows were made not on a crown, but on a sword - on protection.

"Kurogane Youou, son of Amaterasu Youou and Ashura Youou, do you swear on your life to defend your consort, the people of Nihon, and Nihon itself against all harm, and to render justice unto them as befits the laws of your forebears?" Yuui asked, resting a hand on the hand gripping Ginryuu. Looking into her eyes, Kurogane nodded.

"I so swear it…on my life," he said solemnly, giving Fai's hand a brief squeeze before Yuui took their joined hands in hers.

"And do you, Fai Fluorite Reed, son of Sakura Fluorite and Syaoran Fluorite, grandson of Clow Reed, swear to aid Kurogane to the best of your ability…to council and succor him as he has need?"

"I swear it on my life," Fai vowed, returning the pressure of Kurogane's fingers with his own.

"Rise, then, my brothers…and take your places as rulers of Nihon."

Once Kurogane and Fai rose from their kneeling positions and Kurogane had sheathed his sword once more, the three rulers shared a look. They smiled sadly, each in their own way, remembering absent friends - those who should have been present, but never could be. They also seemed to realize that this was it - the beginning of their separate destined paths.

Still holding hands, the newly anointed rulers turned and moved up the steps. When they both took their places on the thrones, Yuui let out a great cry.

"Hail, Kurogane and Fai! Hail to the emperors of Nihon!"

That was when the cheering broke out. The people took up the cry, shouting praises to the new sovereigns. A new day was soon to dawn, ripe with promise.

"HAIL KUROGANE! HAIL FAI! HAIL KUROGANE AND FAI! HAIL TO THE EMPERORS!" the cries rang out from every corner, rising to the heavens. The noise lasted well into the night.


	42. The Way You Did Once

It was a week before the wedding could take place. Shirasagi's citizens needed to be talked out of the frenzy Kyle had worked them into before they would allow aid to come to the city from Faerie. Food was needed, along with medical help for the emaciated, the sick, and the torture victims. Working together, it didn't take a crew of faeries more than a few days to rebuild the city. Also within that week, Amaterasu was laid to rest.

The ceremonial grounds were set up on an unburned patch of ground just outside the borders of Celes, essentially the divider between all three nations, and citizens from all three traveled to the capital: their friends, people who had fought with them, and ordinary people who just wanted to catch a glimpse of the lost prince and the new emperor.

Kurogane had chosen Caldina as the new high priestess. A bit of an unorthodox choice, but in the wake of the war that had come so close to being lost, no one really contested the choice. Caldina and Yukito had met several times in order to create a new set of vows. The ceremony would be a twining of Valerian and Nihon traditions to symbolize the joining of the two countries, as well as the two young men. Valerian vows focused more on the exchange of rings, but Nihon rights, like most other things about it, focused on vows of the sword.

When the day arrived, a crowd of hundreds was gathered around the altar: sitting and standing, human and faerie alike. The lovers themselves were back in a tent, waiting for Caldina and Yukito to complete the trek to the altar through the crowd of wedding guests.

Fai and Kurogane had both heard it was normal to experience nerves on the day of one's wedding, but neither was experiencing anything of the sort at the moment. They were too caught up in each other and the fact that they were actually _here_. Only a few short months ago, it had seemed almost impossible for them to ever reach this point…and of course, in remembering those months of hardship, they couldn't help but remember all the people who weren't here to celebrate this day with them. Fai didn't even try to look away when Kurogane noticed how bright his eyes were.

"You ready for this?" he asked, resting a hand on Fai's shoulder. Smiling gently, Fai placed his own hand over his soon-to-be-husband's.

"Absolutely. Completely ready."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing's _wrong_ …as such. I just…wish Himawari could be here…and Souma…and Sakura and Syaoran…even Clow-sama and Kujaku. They all…fought so hard for us…and they paid for it. They should be here," he whispered as several tears slid down his face.

Sighing, Kurogane leaned down and gently started to kiss the tears away. "I wish my parents could see this, too. Hell, I even wish that damn priest could be here, but we need to enjoy today…not just for us, but for them, too. If we don't…and if we don't live well…rule well…then they died for nothing. Let's not waste it…any of it."

Nodding, Fai wrapped his arms around Kurogane's neck, pulling him back down for a kiss.

"You're right," he whispered against the taller man's lips. "Let's go."

Indeed, as the soon-to-be newly weds glanced down the long, grassy isle they were about to traverse, they saw Caldina and Yukito reach the end of it. Eriol was about halfway there, scattering flower petals as he went. As the two priests began to bless the altar and the items upon it, Kurogane began to make his way forward.

The young emperor was dressed in the traditional black kimono. The garment was made of luscious silk, but that was as extravagant as it got. The design was otherwise simple and it suited the warrior emperor. All the true extravagance of a wedding in either country centered around the bride, and Fai was the one to draw every eye there when he began the walk down the isle, not because of his adherence to this tradition, but because of how he varied from it.

Fai hadn't wanted traditional clothing from either country because, frankly, they were not his traditions. Neither would anything from Faerie have truly been his. As he was a unique individual, a product of all three nations, he wanted something that was uniquely his - so he'd chosen to wear the clothing Himawari had made for him, his foster mother's own blend of Faerie and Valerian style. All told, the outfit was simple for a wedding, but it was still beautiful: white linen pants and an undershirt with a silk blue tunic. At the hems of the pants and the cuffs and neckline of the tunic, there was a flowery wing pattern stitched in gold thread, and as an added touch, having grown up barefoot in the forest, the blond had chosen to be married today without shoes. The final touch was the two roses tucked behind his ear. Brides in Valeria carried bouquets, but he didn't feel quite right doing that, so he'd chosen only two flowers: a red rose from Valeria and a blue rose from Faerie. After months of war, the lost prince of Valeria was truly a sight to behold.

Fai felt a little awkward at first. He didn't really know anyone at the far reaches of the crowd. For a while, all he could see was people staring at him and all he could think of was how scared he'd been at the masque in Shirasagi - with all the nobles staring at him like he was a piece of meat. However, as he continued forward, he began to notice how different the looks these people gave him were. They were all overjoyed to be free, to have lived to see the end of the fighting…and they were pleased with _him_. They had all heard the rumors and they were pleased that he would be the new emperor's consort.

As this happy revelation washed over the young man, he began to recognize people in the crowd: the lords and ladies of both Nihon and Faerie, his Uncle Touya, Hisui and Kokuyo, Kamui and Fuuma, Subaru and Seishiro, Sorata and Arashi, Kusanagi and Yuzuriha, Koryu with little Ryuou, his two fathers, Doumeki and Watanuki, and right up in the front, Yuui and Tomoyo with Kohaku and the Mokona. Upon seeing the rest of his family, and seeing Kurogane reach the altar and turn to wait for him, Fai wasn't sure what kept him from running the rest of the way.

Yukito and Caldina were standing with their backs to the altar, where all the necessary items were laid out: a red pillow with their two rings laid on it, a ceremonial sword, a crystal goblet of wine, a small loaf of bread, and a red cord. Caldina was the first to step forward, looking to both royals before beginning.

"We are gathered here to witness the handfasting of Kurogane Youou and Fai Fluorite Reed in the presence of the Lord and Lady. Be welcome all those who come in perfect love and perfect trust. We call upon our lovely Lady of the Silver Moon and our gentle Lord of the Wildwood to be present here today to bless this act of love celebrated in their honor," she announced to the crowd at large. Yukito then picked up the pillow with the rings on it and stepped forward.

"The ring is the perfect circle, whole and unbroken. I bless these rings in the name of the God and Goddess, that they symbolize the bond of true love between Fai and Kurogane."

"Kurogane," Caldina began, addressing her emperor without any form of honorific, as the ceremony dictated she must, "is it your wish that you shall become handfast to Fai before the Lord and Lady and these witnesses?"

"Such is my wish," Kurogane responded, keeping eye contact with the high priestess as she continued.

"And do you pledge on your honor, and before the Lord and Lady and these witnesses, that you will ever strive for his happiness, placing it above your own from this day forward?"

"I do so swear," Kurogane promised.

"Then place your ring on his finger," Caldina commanded gently. Kurogane turned to Yukito, picking up the silver and blue ring that had been through so much already, and placing it on Fai's pinky finger, symbolizing the sacred bond of the red string.

"Fai," Yukito continued once the ring was in place, "is it your wish that you shall become handfast to Kurogane before the Lord and Lady and these witnesses?"

"Such is my wish," Fai replied, a bright smile lighting up his face.

"And do you pledge on your honor, and before the Lord and Lady and these witnesses, that you will ever strive for his happiness, placing it above your own from this day forward?"

"I do so swear."

"Then place your ring on his finger."

The ring Fai lifted from the pillow was one he had made himself, out of his own power: a gold band set with a ruby, a match in design for the one Kurogane had given him. Smiling, he turned to the taller man, took his hand in his, and slipped the ring on his finger. Kurogane's face was mostly composed, but Fai knew him well enough to see the grin contained in his eyes.

As Yukito went to lay the pillow down, Caldina moved to lift the ceremonial sword from the altar, coming to stand before Kurogane with it. The Valerian vows were completed with the exchanging of rings. Now was the time to swear in Nihon fashion.

"My Lord and Lady," Caldina continued, "here before you stand two of your children. Witness now what they have to declare." With that, the high priestess placed the hilt of the blade firmly against the warrior's chest, directly over his heart.

"I, Kurogane, do come here of my own free will to seek the partnership of Fai. I come with all honor, love and sincerity, wishing only to become one with him whom I love. Always will I strive for Fai's happiness and welfare. His life will I defend before my own. May this sword be plunged into my chest should I not be sincere in all that I declare. All this I swear before the God and Goddess. May they give me strength to keep my vows."

As Yukito took the sword from Caldina and brought it over to Fai, the blond caught the wry look on his lover's face. He knew words meant little to him and the only thing that really mattered to him was action. These words were simply for the people to admire and joy in. He had proven his vows already with the things he had done. Indeed, as Fai felt the ceremonial weapon pressed against his own heart, he didn't truly feel the weight of it, as he imagined some did. The weight had already been present. The vow had been proven already. There was no hesitation in his voice as he spoke the words.

"I, Fai, do come here of my own free will to seek the partnership of Kurogane. I come with all honor, love, and sincerity, wishing only to become one with him whom I love. Always will I strive for Kurogane's happiness and welfare. His life will I defend before my own. May this sword be plunged into my chest should I not be sincere in all that I declare. All this I swear before the God and Goddess. May they give me strength to keep my vows."

Taking the sword away, Yukito went to place it back on the altar while Caldina lifted the red cord from it - their own red string. Joining their hands together, the couple raised them for Caldina to bind them securely together.

"You are bound together by the right of handfasting in the eyes of the Lord and Lady," she announced as she worked to tie the cord. "Ever love and help one another as you have promised here today. May the God and Goddess bless you."

As Caldina stepped back, Yukito came forward with the crystal goblet, holding it first to Fai's lips, then to Kurogane's lips, allowing them to drink as he spoke the prayer. "Lord and Lady, I call upon you to bless this wine, the blood of the Earth pressed smooth. As we drink of thee, may we learn of the wisdom of the God."

This finished, Yukito stepped back and allowed Caldina forward with the loaf of bread. As she spoke, she tore chunks from it for the newly-wed couple to eat. "Lord and Lady, I call upon you to bless this bread, the fruit of the womb of the Goddess, without which we would not live. As we eat of thee, may we learn of the love of the Goddess."

Once the ritual meal had been consumed, both Yukito and Caldina stepped back, allowing the two this moment to say what they needed to say to each other. They hadn't told anyone except Kakei, whom they'd had to ask, but they were going to use a portion of the Faerie ceremony that they both liked. It felt only right. If they were going to use pieces of ceremonies from their respective countries, then they ought to use something from Faerie, as they had first known and loved each other in Celes, the faerie forest. Turning to face each other, they joined their unbound hands and looked into each other's eyes. Then, speaking together, they gave their last vow.

"By seed and root, by bud and stem, by leaf and flower and fruit, by life and love, in the name of the Lord and Lady, I take thee to my hand, my heart, and my spirit, at the setting of the sun and the rising of the stars. Nor shall death part us; for in the fullness of time we shall be born again at the same time and in the same place as each other; and we shall meet, and know, and remember, and love again."

Finishing these words to each other, they leaned in and kissed, briefly, but passionately. Then they turned back to the two priests, letting them know it was okay to finish. Smiling warmly, Caldina stepped forward to speak her part.

"As it has been since the beginning of time, and as it shall be until the end, two lovers have been joined together, and by this have been made stronger, happier, and greater than they were apart, and the simple fact that their love exists in the world benefits us all. This wondrous state is the gift of our gracious Lady and her own gentle Lord, whose love flows through all things, and whose passion we see reflected throughout the seasons, and which is the deepest mystery of all creation." When she'd finished, Caldina bent down and kissed the pair's joined hands before kneeling in front of them. Then Yukito came forward to finish.

"We thank you, O Lady, for your presence here today. Give each of us your gift of love; let each of us find the one who makes us more than we are, who brings us joy and happiness. We thank you, O Lord, for your presence here today. Give each of us your gift of love; let each of us find it within our hearts to love, to be the lover, and to be loved."

Finishing the ceremony with the same gesture as Caldina, Yukito knelt before the newlyweds, signaling to them it was time to take their first steps. So, carefully, they turned and began to walk back down the grassy isle, their hands still bound together.

As the cheers rose up around them, the two turned to look at each other. Rather than feeling ecstatic in this moment, as he thought he would, Fai just felt warm and secure. All he could think was, _I'm_ _ **married**_ _to him now. He's my_ _ **husband**_ _. We'll never be parted again. We survived. Somehow…we survived it all._

They weren't permitted to stop midway back, but once they'd reached the tent, Kurogane wrapped his free arm around Fai and kissed him deeply, milking every moment until their friends and family came stampeding after them.

"We made it," he whispered in Fai's ear. "We did it together."

As they were swamped by Yuui and Tomoyo, it was all they could think about. Somehow, they had survived. They had survived everything the world had thrown at them. For all they had lost and all they had suffered, what else could be said but that they had earned this day?

XxX

As with most celebrations of this magnitude, the reveling lasted well into the night. Human and faerie alike were ecstatic, not only to celebrate the wedding, but to revel in the fact that there was still love and life in the world after there had been so much darkness and despair.

Tents had been set up for any among the nobility who wished to retire early, and Kurogane and Fai had opted to do this before they could get too drunk. The wine, both human and faerie, was flowing freely tonight. They both wanted their wits about them for consummation, after all.

"Have you and Koryu-san decided what to do about Ryuou-kun?" Fai asked as he flopped down on their futon.

"He wants him," Kurogane replied as he sat down beside him, a bit better at fighting off the effects of the wine than Fai was. As he kicked off his shoes and untied his obi, he continued with, "He really wants to be the kid's father, so I guess he'll return to Faerie with him. He couldn't be away from your sister for long, anyway, not until he's weaned off the breast."

"We'll have to stay in touch, then," Fai said as he fumbled with his tunic. "The little ones ought to be part of each other's lives. Though, speaking of little ones, did I hear that Yuzuriha-san is expecting one now?"

"Yeah. I'd say that's why Kakyo originally wanted to offer his title to Kusanagi."

The main political concern of the past week, apart from setting up young Nokoru as the new Imonoyama lord, was Kakyo's wish to abdicate his position as lord of his province. He no longer had an heir and he staunchly refused to remarry, so he'd thought it best to remove himself from the political scene. As Kurogane had said, he'd originally wanted Kusanagi to have the position, but the ninja master had refused, liking the position he was in now. Kurogane had suggested Sorata in his stead. He had proved himself just as able a commander as Kusanagi during the war and he and Arashi were, of course, expecting a child. Sorata had been overjoyed to learn he was, in fact, the father of Arashi's child, and it was probably that happiness that had prompted him to accept the new position.

"What did Yuui decide to do about Seishiro?" Kurogane asked, moving to help Fai with his clothing after getting out of his kimono. He knew there had been talk among the faerie lords, but he'd never heard what the final outcome was.

"She's accepted that he's loyal to her, but he's being placed under house arrest. He's to remain within the Shiro estate for the next fifty years. He's accepted it. He even seems to agree with her. I don't know why, but I guess she knows things the rest of us don't. He _did_ give her his mind, after all."

"Does it matter to you one way or the other?" Kurogane continued, lying down beside Fai and pulling him into his arms, both naked as the day they were born.

"No," Fai said calmly, resting his head against Kurogane's chest. "I've made peace with it. Anyway, the creature who did those things no longer exists…not in the physical world, at least."

"So what are you feelin' up for tonight?" Kurogane asked, nuzzling the top of Fai's head.

"Nothing too rough," Fai said, leaning up to kiss Kurogane's chin. "We don't know how it'll affect the baby."

"Okay," Kurogane said, rolling onto his back and bringing his new husband to straddle his hips. "Slow and easy, then."

"Yes," Fai said, moaning softly as he leaned down to kiss his emperor lightly on the lips.

Both rulers knew, however, that slow doesn't necessarily mean brief.

XxX

"Well, I certainly hope that worked, because I am _never_ doing it again," Yuui said, the timbre of her voice changing from male to female as she spoke. Indeed, her entire body had been changing from male to female during that single statement. "It was just a little too weird."

"I know," Tomoyo said, the expression on her face an odd combination of satiated and troubled. "It was a little bit like…sleeping with _Fai_."

Tomoyo had decided a long time ago that she wanted to be a mother in her own right, and the festive, triumphant mood coupled with the alcohol had prompted the young queens to try and make it happen. Though Yuui was unable to bear more children as a woman, she was still fertile, so as a man, she could conceivably father many more children on her wife. Transforming herself into a man had been all it had taken…or at least they had _thought_ it would be that simple. She'd managed it, but Yuui had had absolutely no love for being a man right from the very start. As such, the love-making had been more than a little awkward and over very quickly…once they'd figured out where everything went, that was.

"It'll work," Yuui tried to reassure them both as she wrapped her arms around her wife, her breasts squashed comfortably between them. "It'll work."

"Yes. It most definitely worked."

Tomoyo was the only one to show surprise at the new voice. Yuui simply pulled the flimsy blanket up a little higher and cast her gaze into the airy shadows of their tent.

"I really hope you weren't watching that," she challenged the darkness beyond the flickering candlelight.

"Not as such," Haruka Doumeki explained as his astral form took shape out of the shadows, "but I _am_ a ghost. I can't help but be aware of what happens in the realm of the living…and incase you were wondering, I see two beautiful girls with long brown hair and dark eyes."

"Did I get it right?" the faerie queen asked without preamble.

"What do you think?" the former Darkness asked her.

"I think…that I wouldn't want to live in a world where letting Shizuka kill Kurogane was the right decision."

"Then you have your answer."

"This…is the reason I fell asleep the other night, isn't it?" Tomoyo finally managed to ask.

"Perceptive. You've made a good choice, My Queen."

"You were going to tell me what happened…between you and Kyle, weren't you."

"Not to be deterred, I see."

"I tend to be like that when interrupted in the bedroom," Yuui shot back. "Besides…Shizuka is practically my father and Kamui-san and Subaru-san are some of my most loyal friends. I want to know why they had to suffer…and why Kujaku-san had to live…and die…the way he did."

"Because those children had to exist…every single one of them. If even one piece of the puzzle had been absent, you would not have won this war. If Tohru had been able to be with Akuma as she'd wanted, the Satani brothers would never have been born, neither would Kamui. If Subaru had been born under those conditions, Sonsei would have been driven mad by the loss of her sister to Tohru. When Yuuko was banished and came to power, Sonsei would have killed them both and taken both the rule of the Oni and Akuma's child for her own. Subaru would have grown up under the hand of the Dark Court…and as the unwilling lover of his own aunt. Seishiro still would have won him eventually, and they would have overthrown both Sonsei and Yuuko, rising up to become the masters of both the Dark Court and the Oni. Seishiro would have had no reason to secretly battle for your side. He and Subaru would have led the Oni to victory against you. Instead, the Shiro brothers were born to serve you and the Satani brothers were born to live the life they did so that they might undermine the Dark Court and eventually come to serve you, as well."

"And…Shizuka?" Yuui asked, barely able to comprehend it all.

"My son was needed…to protect you and your brother. Without him, Kimihiro and Himawari wouldn't have survived, and neither would the two of you. Tohru and I knew this…and the key to it all was for us to come between our two friends…Oruha Doraggu and Kazuhiko Fay-Ryuu. They loved each other; every one knew it…even if they never said anything…and we convinced them of what needed to happen. They understood…they knew how powerful a dreamseer Tohru was. So, even though they were so in love, Oruha married me when I became the first Darkness, and Kazuhiko and Tohru later married. It was the best possible future any of us could have hoped for."

"Not for Kujaku-san," Yuui said softly. She still couldn't get the sight of his resigned face out of her head.

"There wasn't anything anyone could have done. For him, it was either the life he had, or no life at all. Besides, you know that at the end, he felt that the pain he'd endured was worth something…and that should be all that matters."

"What about the four of you?" Tomoyo asked, looking at the dead faerie with pity in her eyes.

"You must understand, Your Majesty…we lived under the rule of Fei Wang Reed. Our happiness was to dream of this future…when his evil influence had finally been defeated, once and for all."

"So…all of this…these generations living and dying…was all for the sake of me and my brother?" Yuui asked, still not quite sure how to feel about it.

"Yes. You and your brother are the keys to all of this; you always have been. You two are the place where all the peoples of this world come together. Faerie, the people of Nihon, and the Valerians, the children of the old world. They are all joined through you, and from this day forward, the people will go on together. The spirits of the dead can finally rest in peace. Maybe you're not ready to believe that, but you'll see the proof of it in the days to come, and there will be many days in which to see it."

Smiling, albeit somewhat sadly, Yuui nodded. "All right, fine. If you say so, but the only bit of your dreamseeing I really care about is the two beautiful girls."

"They'll come. I guarantee it. Though, Yuui-sama, would you mind…saying goodbye to Shizuka for me? He's moved on and he thinks I have, too. He doesn't need to see me here again. Also give him Oruha's love."

"Wait," Yuui started, raising a hand to stop him. "You never told me about the battle with Kyle…why you died…"

"Because I wanted to, Yuui-sama. My guilt had become too great by that point and he was revealing his strange life draining Hand…threatening to consume me. I didn't want it to end that way, so I let one of the wounds he'd inflicted take me. I died because I was ready to."

"And I'm supposed to tell Shizuka that?"

"Absolutely. He'll understand. You know he will." With that, Haruka Doumeki finally faded back into the shadows, drifting onward to his hard-earned rest.

"Will he understand?" Tomoyo asked after a time.

"Yes. In my experience, there's a time in the life of most every faerie when they'll come to understand that. I guess…living so long makes you realize a few things."

"So…twins?" Tomoyo queried, returning to the former line of inquiry.

"It looks that way. I hope he's right. I can tell you a thing or two about twins."

XxX

The wedding guests remained in Nihon for a few days before returning home. Kurogane and Fai accompanied the faerie and Valerian parties back through Celes on Suwa's back, the horse having finally been returned to Kurogane just before the handfasting. The first stop on the journey was Spirit Lake. Watanuki, Doumeki, and the others all said their goodbyes to the new emperors and while small groups of faeries took turns traveling back through the inter-dimensional gateway, the royal siblings said their goodbyes.

"It's almost like back when we were kids," Tomoyo said as she hugged Fai, "and we were saying goodbye for the day."

"Distance is a little bit further, though," Kurogane noted. He wasn't doing a lot of hugging himself, but he let both his sisters hug him.

"Only a little," Yuui said, smiling sadly. "It's…the first time the four of us are really going to be apart, isn't it."

"Yeah…but this is what we all wanted…to end up like this," Fai said, his expression mirroring his sister's, "and we'll see each other often enough. There's always mirror communication, and Soel and Larg."

"You're right," Yuui said, moving in to give her brother one last hug. "We'll come back to see the baby born."

"You'd better," Fai said, his eyes bright.

"Rule well, you two," Yuui warned as she took Tomoyo by the hand. "We'll be watching."

"Don't we know it," Kurogane said, his expression wry as they watched their sisters, Kohaku, and Larg all head down to the boat that would take them back to Faerie. They stood watching until the boat had sailed off, vanishing into the water. Soel continued to wave, even after they were gone.

"It's okay," the tiny creature said. "This is what Clow made Soel and Larg for…what Mokona always fought for."

"And you did so well," Fai said, nuzzling the top of the diminutive guardian's head.

The Valerian party rested at the lake for the night before pressing on toward Valeria. Arrangements had already been made between Touya and Kurogane that Touya would serve as lord of the new province, with Eriol following him to the position. The two emperors had been invited to stay in Valeria for a time, but there was still one other thing Kurogane wanted to take care of first. So, once they had guided the party out of Celes and back to Cephiro, Fai and Kurogane rode on alone. It didn't take long on Suwa, but they still rode through the night, winding up on Valeria's eastern coast by morning.

"So this is what you wanted to show me," Fai said quietly as he gazed out over the vast ocean, sparkling in the morning light.

"Yeah. I promised I'd bring you here when I had you back. I don't know why, but I felt…at peace here. Kakei said it was because you and I have been here before."

"I know what you mean. It is peaceful…and it does feel familiar. Maybe he was right."

"No maybe there," Kakei said as he appeared beside them. "You were definitely here. The land was a little different and so were you, but ultimately…not so different as all that."

"I had a feeling you'd be here," Kurogane said to the faerie lord.

"Yes. Apart from our promised meeting, there is one last thing to take care of," he said, removing the sword belted to his hip. No one needed to say that the blade was Assassin's Hand. They all knew it.

Kakei stepped up to the very edge of the beach, allowing the water to wash over his feet as he raised the black blade high over his head. Then he threw it, threw it with all his strength. The three watched as the evil thing spun into the distance, disappearing from sight before it even dropped into the water.

"It isn't gone," the ancient lord said quietly. "It's the force of chaos, and it cannot truly be destroyed. Someone will find it again someday…somehow…someone will be drawn to it. This is the best we can do."

"It came from _your_ world, didn't it?" Kurogane asked sharply. "Why shouldn't it be buried there, too?"

"Because for better or for worse, our worlds are joined, Kurogane-sama. Perhaps they will one day go their separate ways, but they will always touch each other in some way…somehow shape each other's futures. Why do you think the place that is most sacred to Faerie rests in the mortal world?"

"Were they always joined?" Fai asked.

"No," Kakei replied. "I was there when they came crashing together, and the country across the sea still lived then, as well. That was where the two of you were fleeing from when you came here. It was the first peace you'd known in some time. That feeling lingers on, even now."

"What was it we said to you back then?" Kurogane asked.

"That you would create a world worthy of all that had been lost. You've had a lifetime and then some to accomplish this. Do you think you've done it?"

"I don't know what was lost then," Kurogane began after thinking about it for a while, "but I do know what's been lost this time, and we're not there yet, but we will be…soon."

Smiling wearily, Kakei nodded. "As I thought. Despite what you might think, I have seen the world the two of you have shaped, and I have known the things that have been lost throughout the centuries. I believe you have done it already. You have fulfilled your promise."

Neither of them could really explain why, but both Kurogane and Fai felt a deep sense of relief at hearing the old clan master's words. It was as if they could finally let go of what had gone before and really move into the future.

XxX

Seven months later, Kurogane found himself sitting in the same place he'd been seventeen years ago. He sat in the exact same pose with Kusanagi by his side, only now he was the same height as his guardian and there were strands of grey in the ninja master's black hair; and instead of his mother screaming in agony giving birth to his sister, it was his husband screaming in agony giving birth to their child. Kurogane wanted very much to be in the room with Fai, but it was something of a taboo for the current ruler to be present at the birth of the future one.

Fortunately, Fai didn't have to go through the process without some form of painkiller, as Yuui had. The only trouble was that there wasn't much to be done until Yuui arrived to help. The only one other than Fai capable of performing the necessary magic was Kurogane, and he didn't trust himself to perform such precision magic. His abilities were all geared toward destruction. Fai would have done the spells himself, but he simply couldn't manage it in the state he was in. At the rate the labor was progressing, Kurogane was starting to worry he'd have to order the physicians to cut Fai open before the infant broke free on its own.

"Where is he?" Yuui demanded the moment she appeared before him. Tomoyo, Larg, Watanuki, Doumeki, and Kohaku teleported into the corridor right along with her. Watanuki was carrying the wriggling ten-month-old princess and Tomoyo was seven months pregnant with twin babies. In about another month, she would give birth.

Kurogane jerked his head in the direction of the door at the end of the corridor, hard-pressed to keep the relief from showing on his face. Wasting no more time, Yuui swept down the corridor and through the door. Tomoyo waddled over to her brother and sat down beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"You look like you could use a rest."

"Or a drink," Doumeki suggested with a slight smirk as he pulled a bottle of faerie wine from his cloak. He'd barely had a chance to uncork it before Kurogane snatched the bottle from his hands and took a long swig. Tomoyo rolled her eyes at the assassin.

"I needed that."

"Kamui, Fuuma, and Subaru will be coming before too long. They want to see the baby before the naming ceremony," Watanuki related, finally giving up on Kohaku and setting her down to crawl around on the floor with Larg. "Eagle and Kakei would like a chance to visit before then, as well."

"That's fine," Kurogane said, waving a hand absently.

"Yuui was also wondering if she could impose faerie rule on all of Nihon," Tomoyo added.

"Whatever," Kurogane said, not looking at her, but then he seemed to think about it and his head snapped up. Then he turned to glare at his imp of a sister. "Very funny."

"Don't worry. Yuui's delivered a few babies. With her here, it'll only take a few minutes."

'A few babies' was beginning to be an understatement in both kingdoms. Subaru had given birth to Souma's son, Akira, not even a month ago. Hisui and Kokuyo had conceived, and as the child was fully fey, it was born in only six months, a boy named Tachibana. Eagle and Geo had married and Eagle was expecting a baby in another three months. Kazahaya and Rikuo hadn't married, but Kazahaya had become pregnant during the war and had given birth to a baby girl, Kobato, about three months ago. He and Rikuo were still dancing around the subject of marriage. Arashi and Sorata's daughter, Dita, had been born roughly four months ago. Yuzuriha was due in another two months, and they had recently received word from Mong Ryong that Chun Hyang was expecting a child and they were all invited to the wedding that would be taking place in a few weeks' time.

As Tomoyo predicted, it was only a few moments before a scribe and a priest burst out of the room. The scribe rushed away, but the young priest headed straight for Kurogane.

"A prince is born, Your Majesty, a little boy," he said excitedly.

"A boy," Kurogane said slowly, as if he couldn't quite comprehend it.

Feeling he might grow old waiting for his emperor to give some other reaction, the priest hesitantly broke in on his confusion. "Sir…I'm sorry, but…Fai-sama's asking for you."

That snapped the young emperor awake right quick. He moved past the priest and into the room. Priests and physicians were scurrying about cleaning, though there was a great deal less cleaning to do than they were used to, considering that the faerie queen had essentially 'magicked' the baby out of her brother's body. Fai was lying on a futon with Yuui sitting beside him, mopping at his brow with a damp cloth. When he saw Kurogane, though, he attempted to shoot up from the futon. Yuui, however, managed to stop him in time.

"Hey, now! Just because they didn't cut you open doesn't mean you don't need to rest. He's coming to you."

"You okay?" Kurogane asked once he'd settled himself gently down on the futon.

"Fine," Fai said, smiling tearfully. "I'm fine. Where is he?"

"Right here, Your Highness," a priestess answered, coming toward them with a tiny forest green bundle. Rather than cry out, the baby boy only sniffled slightly when the woman handed him to Fai.

Even now, neither man could get over just how tiny the boy was. The tip of Fai's finger just fit into the palm of his little hand. He had ten plump little fingers and ten little toes. His blue eyes were wide in his tiny face and his head was covered with a small tuft of dark hair.

"This is what I wanted," Fai whispered as the tears streamed quietly down his face. "For so long…I've wanted to hold him…your son."

"He's here now," Kurogane said quietly as he wrapped an arm around Fai's shoulders.

Looking up from the new family, Yuui saw the others gathered in the doorway. Fuuma, Kamui, and Subaru had arrived with little Akira. Soel immediately bounded from its place beside the futon to hug Larg.

 _Yuui-chan?_ the queen heard Watanuki's voice in her head. _I…don't suppose now would be a good time to tell you I'm with child?_

Yuui had a good chuckle to herself. _Kimihiro…really?_

Watanuki just nodded.

"All right, everyone. Come in and see him…slowly and quietly, please," Yuui warned as she stood from the futon. Doing as she said, they all filed in and gathered around the futon, slowly sitting. Watanuki even allowed Kohaku to crawl up onto the blankets. The little girl curled into a ball at the end of the futon, staring at her cousin, not quite sure what to make of him.

"Heheh. He's your cousin, Kohaku-chan. Do you like him?" Fai asked his niece, turning his son slightly so she could see him. The girl's green eyes widened a little more.

"What's his name?" Tomoyo was the one to finally ask.

"Zima," the two rulers answered together.

"Prince Zima Youou," Yuui said slowly, trying it out. "I like it."

Suddenly, little Zima began to sniffle again, sounding like he might start crying. Exchanging a look with Yuui, who nodded approvingly, Fai snuggled the baby a little closer and quietly began to sing to him.

_Come, stop your crying._

_It'll be all right._

_Just take my hand,_

_Hold it tight._

_I will protect you_

_From all around you._

_I will be here._

_Don't you cry._

Picking up her own spellbound daughter, Yuui brought her a little closer to the baby boy, and she and Fai began to sing together.

_For one so small,_

_You seem so strong._

_My arms will hold you,_

_Keep you safe and warm._

_This bond between us_

_Can't be broken._

_I will be here._

_Don't you cry._

From all their time with Yuui and Fai, Kurogane and Tomoyo had learned the words to the lullaby, as well. Doumeki, Watanuki, Soel, and Larg all remembered Himawari singing it when the twins were little. Even the three knights had heard Yuui sing the song before. So, for the last verse, they all sang together.

' _Cuz you'll be in my heart._

_Yes, you'll be in my heart._

_From this day on,_

_Now and forever more._

_You'll be in my heart,_

_No matter what they say._

_You'll be here in my heart_

_Always._

"Always."

XxX

"Where are we now? Is it winter?" Fai asked, seeing all the white particles flying through the air.

"Uh…Fai-san…I think you just landed in flour," Syaoran supplied, surveying the situation along with his mentor.

"Looks like a kitchen," Kurogane noted. "Maybe a bakery."

"Mokona's sorry. Maybe Mokona was just hungry and wanted to come somewhere with yummy treats," the small creature suggested.

Hearing all the commotion in back, someone entered from the front of the shop. The woman stopped dead in her tracks when she saw them, and all four travelers were shocked to hear her declare, "Heavens above! Your Royal Highnesses!"

"Say what, now?" Kurogane asked

"What– what are you doing back here? I mean…certainly you're _welcome_ , but…my shop's been inspected before. I thought it was perfectly safe for the princess. Is something wrong?"

"I…don't think we're who you think we are," Syaoran said slowly. However, before the baker could protest, a different voice joined the conversation.

"Erii-san? Is something wrong?"

A little girl entered the kitchen from the main area. She couldn't have been more than seven. Her short hair was black, her skin pale, and her eyes were a deep hue of red. Her eyes widened in momentary curiosity, but then her serene face split into a wide smile.

"Hana-sama, you didn't sneak off again, did you? Your parents knew you were here?"

The girl, Hana, shook her head as she walked toward them. Coming to a stop in front of Fai, she drew in a huge breath of air and blew it toward him. The gust of air was backed by a stream of magic and her breath ended up dusting every last grain of flour from the mage's body. For a moment, he eyed her, just as curious about her as she had been about him. To be so in control of her magic at her age? What sort of world had they landed in?

"Come," she said, motioning them to follow her as she headed for the front room. Fai didn't give it a second thought. Kurogane and Syaoran gave it a second thought, then a third thought, but they eventually ended up following the other two.

"Hana-sama?" the baker, Erii, called after them. "What about your order?"

"Don't worry!" Hana called back. "I'll be back later."

Hana led them through what appeared to be a noodle shop out onto a crowded city street, flush with vendors and shoppers alike. Fai was wondering if anyone else might potentially recognize the people Erii had mistaken them for, but after a time, he got the impression that the people didn't even see them at all, let alone recognize them. Then he realized.

"They can't see us at all, can they?" he asked Hana. She shook her head.

"Nope. It would be too much trouble."

"You have very strong magic, Hana-chan," he complimented.

"Yup. Tou-chan taught me."

"Tou-chan?"

"You'll meet him, and Tou-san. Just wait a few minutes. I can't teleport more than myself yet."

_Tou-chan and Tou-san? Hmm…_

Hana led the group through the city streets and up to a large castle. When they reached the main gates, Fai felt Hana remove her shield of glamour from herself. The guard on duty didn't quite jump out of his skin, just a brief flinch.

"Hana-sama, you and your brother need to stop doing that. You're going to make me old before my time," he reprimanded her as he opened the gate for her.

"Sorry, Saiki-san," she apologized quietly as she entered the castle. The travelers hurried in behind her before Saiki could shut them out.

"Are you going to take the shield away yet?" Fai asked quietly.

"MmMm," she murmured, shaking her head and continuing on through the corridors. "Just a little further."

'A little further' turned out to be through a maze of corridors and into an open-air garden somewhere in the center of the castle. The garden was only occupied by two men. The taller man, tan and dark-haired, lay sprawled beneath the shade of a tree, his head resting on his clasped hands as he dozed lightly. He was dressed in a simple black yukata. The other was tending to a rosebush. He was slender and pale, and the blond hair tied in a ponytail fell to just past his shoulders. He was dressed in a blue furisode and he hummed to himself as he worked - an old lullaby, Fai couldn't help thinking. When they entered the garden, the slender man looked up instantly and Fai saw his own face smiling at Hana - as he'd somehow known he would.

"Hana!" he called out joyfully, holding out his arms for her. Hana ran to him and he swept her up in his arms, spinning her around. Hana laughed out loud and the man dozing beneath the tree, Kurogane, of course, woke up, grinning at the two.

"Where have you been all day, you little imp?" Fai asked Hana, but before she could answer, he looked over her shoulder, directly at the concealed group, and began to understand. "Who have you brought us this time?"

With that, Hana allowed the glamour she was conjuring to dissipate, revealing the four travelers. Fai's eyes widened in mild surprise, but then he smiled knowingly before glancing over at Kurogane. "Kuro-sama, you might want to get up. We have company."

Sitting up, Kurogane looked in the direction Fai's gaze indicated and saw their look-alikes staring at them in apparent fascination. He was no more surprised than Fai had been.

"Oh. You."

"Welcome," Fai said as he came toward them, leading Hana. "Yuui and Tomoyo said you would probably be coming here sometime soon."

"Tomoyo?" Kurogane spoke for the first time.

"Yuui?" Fai asked, his tone a shade harsher than the ninja's. "As in…your twin?"

"That's right."

"You mean…he's still alive in this world?"

Fai chuckled lightly at this. "Well…yes. Only…he is a she."

Fai Fluorite's eyes widened slightly at this, but he soon shrugged it off. His sibling was alive somewhere. That was all he needed. His thoughts of his twin were soon left in favor of contemplating the man before him.

"I know you…don't I," he said after a time.

"Well…yes. I guess you would have to say so."

"You were younger then."

"Much."

"But I _was_ right?"

"Absolutely."

"So…we were mistaken for royalty. That makes you…?"

"Emperor and Emperor Consort. Typically, they just call me 'emperor', though."

"And you're…Tou-chan?"

"Mm-hm."

"Making… _him_ …Tou-san," Fai finished, nodding toward the other Kurogane.

"Yes. Hana is our daughter, our second-born," the emperor consort explained, ruffling the little girl's hair affectionately.

"How does that work, exactly?" Kurogane asked, his gaze darting curiously between the two rulers and the princess.

"I'm descended from the faerie folk. Physical form is…shall we say _fluid_ to me," he said. For a moment, the travelers could have sworn they saw a woman standing before them, but the moment was over before it had even begun. His gaze a shade more interested than before, Kurogane turned his eyes toward his own Fai.

"Can _you_ do that?"

"Maybe. I don't know," Fai said, sounding almost prim.

"If he can, you don't want him to. Trust me," Emperor Kurogane said as he stood and stretched. ""It's weird."

"Second-born, you said?" Fai continued politely, returning to the former line of questioning. "Who's your first?"

"Zima. He's probably around here somewhere. He prefers to play his games closer to home," the blond emperor said, teasingly nudging his daughter, who just smiled and hugged his leg. "Hana loves her noodles…even though we've got perfectly good cooks here at home."

"But Erii-san's are the best," the little princess insisted.

While this had been going on, Kurogane had been sizing up his counterpart, eventually coming to the same conclusion Fai had.

"You're that kid, aren't you."

"Yeah," the emperor said as he strolled over to them. "Been a while."

"Went through with it after all."

"Took a bit longer than I wanted, but yeah. You?"

"He's here, isn't he?"

The king smirked at this. "Guess so. Maybe you're not so much of a coward, after all."

Giggling at this, Emperor Fai took his counterpart's hand and led him to sit beneath the tree his husband had been sleeping under. Kurogane followed and, after several moments of confused wondering, Syaoran and Mokona followed. The emperor followed as well, but only leaned against the tree, rather than sit with the rest of them. His husband was already chattering away.

"I'll have some food sent up. I know it's been a long journey for all of you. Of course, you're welcome to remain here as long as you like. Tomoyo-san wanted us to tell you she's thinking of you."

"When was that?" Kurogane asked.

"I don't know how long it will have been for her or for you four, but by our count, it's been nearly fifteen years. Our Tomoyo never forgot, though. She met your princess during a very trying time in all our lives."

"Ours, as well," Fai said quietly, "if when we all met is anything to go by."

"I know," his royal counterpart responded with a look of sad understanding. "Yuui's kept track of you since our spirits were connected. You journey ever on…in search of answers that may not be spoken. Isn't that right…Syaoran-san?" he asked, his gaze finally settling upon the youngest member of the group.

For a moment, the emperor consort and the boy who was not a boy locked eyes, and a shared experience passed between them. They had both known the roaring silence and the absolute nothingness of the void - an experience only those who had known it firsthand could truly understand. Slowly, Syaoran nodded, knowing he was sharing his entire life with this other Fai through this connection, even as he shared his with him.

 _These questions you want to ask him…you already know the answers, don't you…because you_ _ **are**_ _him…and he is you. That is why they can never be spoken,_ the emperor consort spoke directly to his mind.

_All the same…I want to ask. Just…to be_ _**able** _ _to ask. That's all I want._

"I understand. I'm sorry for prying, it's just…you're a great deal like what I imagine my own father to have been. You see, in this world, my sister and I were the children of Sakura and Syaoran Fluorite," Emperor Fai said, saying it aloud more for the benefit of Syaoran's companions. Syaoran himself had seen this already, inevitably blushing at the thought of just what that entailed.

"Were?" Fai asked uncertainly.

"Yes. My parents have been dead for fifteen years. They died…fighting a war. Many people died. I never really had a chance to know Syaoran Fluorite…so I know what it is…not to be able to ask your father all the things you wish you could have," he said, still speaking mostly to Syaoran.

"And you can't stop thinking…maybe there was something you could have done," the young man said quietly.

"You never stop thinking it…and the horror remains behind your eyes at night for the rest of your life," the emperor consort returned, no longer speaking only of their parents' deaths. "All you can do is live a life that makes it worthwhile to survive the doubt and the nightmares."

_Carry them with you…but not as a burden…as a reminder of why you are who you are…and why you will make them proud._

Once the blond emperor had finished speaking, his husband sat down beside him and he rested his head on his shoulder, taking comfort from him. Whether he'd intended it or not, each of them had taken something from his words. Syaoran didn't realize there were tears in his eyes until he heard Fai asking him, "Syaoran-kun? Are you all right?"

"Yes," he said, shaking his head and quickly wiping at his eyes to clear them. "I'm fine.

"Uh…what's the girl doing?" Kurogane asked, drawing everyone's attention to where he was looking. Hana was staring pointedly at a young sakura tree off in a far corner of the garden. After a time, she began pointing at it, too.

"Just watch," Emperor Fai said, barely managing to hold in a giggle.

No one was really certain how long they all stood watching the young princess point and stare, but after a time, she drew in a huge lungful of air and shouted, "BOO!"

At her cry, a glamour field that had been held before the tree shattered and two teenagers came tumbling out of the branches, a boy and a girl. The girl looked annoyed, but the boy was laughing.

"And here I thought I'd tricked you. You're just getting too good for me, Hana."

"Zima-san, I take it?" Fai asked his counterpart, who nodded.

Hana grinned and pounced on her brother. When she landed, a squeak came from inside his kimono and Soel popped out.

At the sight of the new Mokona, the traveling one slipped out of Syaoran's cloak and bounded over to it, shouting, "Yay! Another Mokona!"

"Dear God, there's _two_ of 'em!" the two Kuroganes groaned almost exactly together. Both Fais giggled.

"Who is she?" Fai asked the emperor consort, nodding toward the peeved girl with the black hair.

"That's Dita-chan, Lord Arisugawa's daughter. She and Zima have been best friends since they were very little. She's a little formal."

"Zima-sama, why do we keep doing this? You haven't been able to fool her for six months now," the young woman said primly. Zima just rolled his eyes. Clearly, the conversation about her level address had been had many times before.

"See what I mean?"

"They do look exactly like their father," Fai commented, glancing over at the dark-haired emperor, who sighed.

"Maybe so, but they get their behavior from _him_ ," he said, jerking his head toward his husband.

Kurogane grumbled low in his throat, half-smiling at the same time. "Ain't that just the way."

"As I said before, you're all welcome to stay here as long as you wish," Fai said as the three noble children and the two Mokona returned to sit with the group. "We can even visit with Yuui and Tomoyo if you like. I'm sure they'd love to finally meet you."

"Yes. Yes, I think that would be nice," Fai said quietly, glancing around at his companions and receiving their nodded agreement. This seemed like a nice world to rest in - at least as long as Mokona allowed them to. There were still many things for all of them to talk about. They could be at peace here - for a time.


	43. Epilogue - Once Upon A Dream

"How long did Emperor Kurogane and Emperor Fai reign for?"

"Their reign lasted a hundred years," the old storyteller told the child on her lap.

"But…Fai was a faerie. Didn't he outlive Kurogane?" the little girl asked, her eyes bright with tears of worry.

"By no more than a few minutes. You see, when it came the old emperor's time to die, Fai lay down with him…held him in his arms until he'd passed, then simply willed himself to follow, just as Queen Sakura did for King Syaoran. And of course, Prince Zima became emperor after them, reigning in peace with his empress, Dita, for nearly as long as his parents had."

"So they died together?" a young boy in the audience asked.

"Of course," the old woman said with a chuckle. "What other way would they have chosen?"

"What about Queen Yuui and Queen Tomoyo? Did Tomoyo die, too?" another little girl asked.

"No. Living in Faerie with Yuui granted her the life of the fey. They reigned for many hundreds of years, up until Faerie separated from our world, disappearing into the mists of time, and for all anyone knows, they reign there still to this day."

"Did Tomoyo ever have her babies?" yet another child asked.

"Yes, she did. Two baby girls named Yuzuki and Kaede. No one knew it at the time, but Kaede-hime was the reason Sai had been so protective of Tomoyo. She and the princess shared a faerie's soul connection, and when she was old enough, they fell in love."

"What about Watanuki? Did he have a baby?"

"Yes. Her name was Kohane. He and Doumeki lived out their lives with her in the cottage in the forest."

"Why?"

"Who knows? Perhaps they were simply tired of court life and wanted a chance to raise their own child in peace. They passed eventually, but some say you can still see Kohane in Celes."

"Was Akira the only baby Subaru was ever able to have?" another little girl asked sadly.

"Unfortunately, yes. If you'll remember, Seishiro couldn't have any children of his own. It was the sacrifice he made to ensure everyone's future. So he helped raise Akira as if the boy were his own, in place of his mother."

"Obaa-sama!" another girl in the audience called out. "My name is Soma, too!"

"Really now? I certainly hope you live up to the name, then. Souma was both a worthy warrior and a fierce friend. Honor her name and she will surely guide you."

While a few children remained to ask questions, the rest of the audience slowly began to disperse: some young, some not so young, all familiar with the Tale of the Two Princes. It was always a big event when the ancient storyteller came around. It was said that no one knew the old stories better than she did. There were whispers that she was more than a hundred years old. Few like her remained in the world. Whenever she came around, work always ceased so that people might listen to her stories. Unfortunately, though, the old woman knew what her audience did not - that time would soon be coming to an end. She wasn't entirely sure why; she simply sensed that her time was ending.

"I think Emperor Kurogane should have died in battle," the storyteller suddenly heard the insistent voice of a boy among the crowds of dispersing people.

"Why?" another boy asked. "I think it was nice they got to die together."

"You would. You just don't get it. A warrior like him, he would have wanted to go that way."

Looking through the crowd, the old woman quickly found the sources of the two voices - two boys standing with the girl who'd identified herself as Soma. Somehow, she'd known what she would find when she looked at them: a boy with dark hair and red eyes and a slightly smaller boy with blond hair and blue eyes.

"You know this for a fact, do you?" she asked, her voice lancing directly toward the impetuous boy as she gently pushed through the gaggle of children surrounding her. Soma and the blond boy both started upon being addressed by her, but the dark-haired boy tried to look defiant. He couldn't have been more than twelve.

"Yeah," he started slowly. "Yeah, I think so. That's what I'd want."

"Tell me, young man, how old are you?"

"I'm gonna be twelve in another week," he announced proudly. The old storyteller sighed, reaching out a hand to rest it on his shoulder.

"Then I suppose you _would_ think battle is a good thing," she said, looking to the toy rifle strapped to the boy's back. "What is your name, young one?"

"Youou Suwa," he said. The old woman laughed quietly at this.

"I suppose it would be." This was it - the reason why her time was coming.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded petulantly. Looking into the boy's mind, the storyteller could see that his parents had given him the name in honor of the ancient royal line. The land of Nihon was no longer governed by an imperial court and a sovereign. Over the centuries, the empire had taken on a more democratic system of governing. The only vestige of the old system was the way the provinces were still divided up.

"What about you?" she asked turning to the other boy. "What's your name?"

"Yuui," he answered shyly.

"Ah," she said. "What a coincidence. _My_ name is Yuui, too."

The boy's already intense blue eyes lit up at this; not only to learn he had the same name as the honored storyteller, but also to know that he and his friends were the first people she'd ever revealed her name to. Everyone else just called her Obaa-sama.

"Would you children like to see something?"

All three children nodded eagerly. Something new and exciting was always appreciated in their lives.

"Is it far?" Youou asked as the three followed Yuui through the town.

"It's in the forest," she answered. This particular town had grown up not far from Celes' borders. "Is it still all right?"

"Well…I guess if it's not too far in. It's just…our moms need us at home," Youou explained.

"Any particular reason?" Yuui asked, feeling that she already knew.

"Well, You-tan's mom just had a baby girl a few weeks ago, and mine's going to have a baby soon, too," the younger Yuui explained. The elder laughed out loud at this.

"You might have waited," she said with a grin.

"What?" Soma tried to ask.

Rather than explain, Yuui asked, "What's her name?"

"Tomoyo," Youou answered.

"Heh, even your name has endured…just as I promised you," she said, speaking to someone who was not there.

"What are you talking about, Yuui-sama?" Yuui asked her.

"You know…it isn't entirely true…what I told you about Yuui and Tomoyo," she said as she led them into the forest. It wouldn't take long to reach their destination. The forest's magic was more subtle these days, slipping into a state of near-hibernation ever since the break with Faerie, but Yuui had a relationship with the old wood such that it would take her where she needed at the pace she desired. Just enough time to explain…

"How so?" Soma asked.

"Tomoyo did die…not so very long ago, actually. Just sixty years."

"Sixty _years?_ " Youou repeated incredulously. "That seems pretty long to me."

"Not to me, it doesn't. We traveled together for nearly a hundred years before she left, telling the old tales to those who would listen."

"You traveled with Queen Tomoyo? But…that must mean you're…" Soma struggled for the words.

" _Queen_ Yuui," Yuui finished for her, his eyes wide with wonder.

"Not anymore. I haven't been a queen since this world and Faerie parted ways. My Kohaku became queen when I left."

She could tell that Youou was skeptical of her, but Yuui and Soma still possessed some of their sense of childhood wonder.

"But…why _did_ you stay here…when the two worlds split? You could have stayed in Faerie with Tomoyo…and been happy forever," Soma said.

"As young as you are, you wouldn't understand…but sometimes life can get too long. The half-fey in this world have lost touch with their roots and they live mortal life spans. I'm the only one left. Even Kohane has gone now. As for why I returned. Even _I_ couldn't tell you…for who am I to resist the charge of the Lord and Lady? For good or ill, I am bound to the land of my birth until my time of dying…though that land be utterly changed…save for this forest."

"Yuui-sama…how long has it really been…since it happened…since the time of the Two Princes?" Yuui asked her.

"Nearly sixteen hundred years have come and gone since those days…and the time will soon come for me to join them," she said quietly as they finally approached the little hillock. Youou was starting to ask her what she meant when he was interrupted by the sound of shifting stone. If he'd been skeptical before, he really had to believe in the magic the former queen used to move aside the rocks, revealing the entrance to an underground chamber. Soma covered her mouth in shock.

"Is…is this the place where…"

"Yes," Yuui said, knowing the girl couldn't bring herself to say the words. "Come," she said, heading down into the crypt. The three followed close behind.

Two tombs had been added since the crypt had been created all those centuries ago. Yuui led the three children to the oldest of the tombs, using her power to shift the heavy lid and reveal the sarcophagus' occupant: Souma - dead at only eighteen, and looking the same as she had the day they'd laid her to rest, preserved through magic, untouched by time. The young Soma gasped, knowing just who she was looking at.

"She died before she could really live," the old woman said sadly, her grief still evident even after all this time. Gently, she pulled her reborn friend into her arms, whispering to her, "You have the chance to live the life she could not. Don't waste it. Honor her name."

Once Soma had nodded, Yuui took the time to shift the lid back into place before moving on to the next sarcophagus, which was much larger. The two occupants were also much older. Kurogane was well and truly an old man, his once youthful skin wrinkled with age and his once black hair snow white. Fai didn't have quite the same appearance of age: a few lines on his face and a decent amount of grey strands mixed in with his blond ones. Whatever the difference in their appearances, they were resting peacefully together, the Hearts of Fire and Water around their necks and Ginryuu clasped securely in the old emperor's dead hands.

"The sword is here," Yuui began to explain to Youou, "should you ever have need of it."

"G-Ginryuu?" the boy whispered in reverent awe, taking in every detail of the well-honed blade before turning to look up at the old storyteller. "Why would I?"

"I don't know…but I now think this is the reason I was meant to stay for so long…so that I could meet you once more…and give you these gifts. They may be needed again someday soon."

"But…why me?"

"You've been carrying that toy too long, Youou-kun. You _know_ why…don't you. You _are_ him. Only Kurogane could ever truly wield that blade…he and Fai. Return to this place if you ever have need and you will see I speak the truth."

After returning the lid to her brothers' sarcophagus, Yuui led the group to the last one, which was also built for two. This occupant was an old woman, much older than even Yuui seemed to be. Lovingly, the old storyteller reached a hand in to stroke her grey hair.

"My beautiful Tomoyo," Yuui said reverently. "I've waited so long to return. The time's finally come for me to lie beside you."

"What?" all three children demanded in shock.

"Y-you're dying?" Soma asked, her voice thin with sorrow.

"Why? Why do you have to die _now?_ " Yuui asked, tears already beginning to form in his eyes.

"Oh, don't worry, Yuui-kun. You'll see me again soon," she reassured him as she pulled him into her arms for a hug. "I'm coming right back to you, Otouto. I just have to die before I can be reborn. Though, heh…I suppose I ought to call you Nii-sama now. We won't be twins in this life, but at least we'll still be together."

"But…I don't… _want_ you to die," Yuui sobbed, burying his face in the old woman's chest. Soothingly, she stroked his soft, blond hair.

"Children, please don't be sad for me. I'm happy. I can finally rest…and I can be with all of you again. There's a whole new lifetime of memories still to come."

"Then…you're the baby…my mom's going to have?" Yuui asked, still sniffling as he wiped at his eyes.

"Yes, and that new life can't be born until I die."

"A-all right," Yuui said, drawing a shuddering breath as he released the old woman. "If you promise you're coming right back…"

"A few days at the most," she said, dropping a gentle kiss onto the boy's forehead before turning to climb into the sarcophagus.

"But…if we _do_ need to get back in again…how will we do it?" Youou asked her. "You moved all the rocks to get us down here."

Turning back to survey them one last time, Yuui smiled down at Soma. "You have the gift in you. There is a spark of faerie blood…and that will be enough. All you need do is find it."

"M-me?" Soma murmured in shock. Could it really be true?

"Absolutely. Go now. Return to your homes and tell them the old storyteller has passed on."

"Won't the old stories die with you, though?" Yuui asked her.

The elder Yuui chuckled at this. "No. Believe it or not, a government scribe actually tracked me down a few years ago to record the whole thing on paper. It will stay…through the ages…so long as you do not forget."

"We won't," Soma promised her, a few tears escaping her eyes.

"Good. Now go home. I'll seal the entrance after you."

"But…won't you be lonesome?" Yuui asked.

The former queen smiled tenderly down at her brother. "No, I won't…not here with my Tomoyo, but if you wish, you may stand at the entrance and sing for me. I will hear you."

Nodding, the three children bowed their heads to her before turning and heading back up the stairs. Once Yuui felt them reach the surface, she raised the stone barrier that protected the crypt from the outside world once more. Then, as she lay down beside Tomoyo, slowly pulling the sarcophagus lid over their heads like a thick blanket, she heard their voices - singing her to her rest.

The old woman knew the old lullaby. She recognized all the familiar words from her childhood, but there were some new words, as well. Centuries of singing had made the song longer.

_Don't listen to them_

' _Cuz what do they know?_

_We need each other,_

_To have, to hold._

_They'll see in time._

_I know._

_When destiny calls you,_

_You must be strong._

_I may not be with you,_

_But you've got to hold on._

_They'll see in time._

_I know._

_We'll show them together, 'cuz_

_You'll be in my heart._

_Believe me, you'll be in my heart._

_I'll be there, from this day on_

_Now and forever more._

_Oh, you'll be in my heart,_

_You'll be here in my heart,_

_No matter what they say._

_I'll be with you._

_You'll be here in my heart._

_I'll be there,_

_Always._

_Always._

Yuui smiled as the world slipped away around her. She was eager to see them all again, even though she knew she wouldn't consciously recall them…not for a long time, at least. What she had told them was true, though. She _was_ happy…happy that she could at last lay down her burden, knowing that their legacy was preserved. Already, she could hear Tomoyo calling to her.

_Yuui, my Yuui…come to me. We're all waiting for you. It's time to let it go._

The old woman cried, feeling the years lift from her as she died. It was the best thing she could have said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, guys, I am soo sorry it took so long to get all of this cross-posted. Life happens and all, that sort of thing. I'd say the shorter chapter format certainly works better. It was definitely nice for me to revisit LBABD after a few years away from TRC. I haven't looked at the new Tsubasa yet, but I hear it involves the gang meeting up with the Gate 7 crew. Heheh, apparently I called that back in the day. For all my old friends, I hope you enjoyed your second look at the ol' sleeping beauty in the wood, and for all my new readers who have stuck with it through the cross-posting process, I hope you enjoyed it just as much. No matter where I end up as a writer, La Belle Au Bois Dormant will always have a special place in my heart and it makes me happy to know it's touched some of your hearts.
> 
> Til next we meet, dear readers, adieu.


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